Insurer refused to pay us, Manila survivors say; Pair told injuries not serious enough
Mar 15, 2011
Two survivors of last year’s Manila hostage crisis said they were denied payouts by insurers, despite suffering severe injuries.
“They told me the terms of the policy said I would only be considered as `permanently disabled’ and get compensation if my arm fell off,” Joe Chan Kwok-chu, 46, said yesterday. Chan lost functionality in his right hand after it was injured by gunfire in the incident.
His friend Yik Siu-ling, 34, whose thumbs and lower jaw were shattered by bullets, said she had heard their claim had been turned down. “They previously told us that they would compensate us,” she said.
On the day after the shooting, August 24 last year, a representative from Chartis Insurance said at a press conference with Hong Thai Travel Services that each of the insured victims could get up to HK$1 million in compensation.
A Hong Thai spokeswoman said yesterday that this compensation referred to medical claims for the injured and she could not comment on the details of compensation.
Chan and Yik bought a HK$159 travel insurance policy with Chartis through Hong Thai when they booked their HK$1,899 tour to the Philippines.
“I asked the staff member if it covered everything and he said yes, but he didn’t tell me what was covered and what was not,” Chan said.
He said he had made a full claim for several hundred thousand dollars through the life and accident insurance he had bought from another insurer.
Yik also had compensation through her medical insurance.
The two victims’ medical fees were being paid by the Hospital Authority. However Yik, whose jaw is now deformed, said the compensation from Chartis was important for her as she was in financial difficulty. “I cannot work,” she said.
Chan and Yik’s lawyer, Daniel Wong Kwok-tung, said he would consider taking legal action.
Chan pointed out that Yik had suffered severe injuries. “She used to have all 30 teeth, now only eight remain,” he said. “She has lost her ability to chew. How can this not be considered permanent disability?”
Chartis Insurance said yesterday its travel policy provided cover for injuries that resulted in death, permanent total disablement (disability that prevents the person from ever working again) or the permanent severance of a hand or foot.
It said that based on medical reports, Chan and Yik’s injuries, although very serious, did not fall in the category of injuries covered by the policy. It had given them “full payment of hospital income benefits due” and “full payment for loss … of personal belongings”.
Meanwhile, Democrat legislator James To Kun-sun said he would renew his bid for an urgent Legco debate tomorrow on Filipinos refusing to testify at Hong Kong’s inquest.
Tse Chi-kin, brother of slain tour guide Masa Tse Ting-chunn, told a radio programme last night a signature petition was being organised to urge Legco president Tsang Yok-sing to approve the motion. Tsang rejected the motion last Wednesday because the matter was not urgent.
SCMP
Lo Wei and Simpson Cheung
Source: http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=31143c0fc74be210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=Hong+Kong&s=News
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