Decision No. 14/2004/QD-BTC dated January 16, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance issuing the rules and bracket of insurance indemnities for laborers in construction and installation enterprises

DECISION

ISSUING THE RULES AND BRACKET OF INSURANCE INDEMNITIES FOR LABORERS IN CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION ENTERPRISES

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Pursuant to Law No. 24/2000/QH10 of December 9, 2000 on Insurance Business;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 42/2001/ND-CP of August 1, 2001 detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 77/2003/ND-CP of August 1, 2003 prescribing the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 52/1999/ND-CP of July 8, 1999 promulgating the Regulation on Construction and Investment Management;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 07/2003/ND-CP of January 30, 2003 amending and supplementing the Government’s Decree No. 52/1999/ND-CP of July 8, 1999 promulgating the Regulation on Construction and Investment Management;

Pursuant to the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 76/2003/TT-BTC of August 4, 2003 guiding investment and construction insurance;

At the proposal of the Director of the Insurance Department,

DECIDES

Article 1.- To issue together with this Decision the Rules and Bracket of insurance indemnities for laborers in construction and installation enterprises.

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 3.- The director of the Insurance Department, the director of the Office of the Finance Ministry and the heads of concerned units shall have to inspect and supervise the implementation of this Decision.

RULES

OF INSURANCE INDEMNITIES FOR LABORERS IN CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION ENTERPRISES

(Issued together with the Finance Minister’s Decision No. 14/2004/QD-BTC of January 16, 2004)

Article 1.- Interpretation of terms and phrases

Under this Insurance Rules, the following terms and phrases shall be construed as follows:

1. Laborers mean those who are aged at least full 15, have working capacity and have entered into labor contracts.

2. Labor accidents mean accidents which cause injury to any part or function of laborers’ bodies or their death, occur in the laboring process and are associated with the performance of jobs or tasks.

3. Occupational diseases mean ailments which appear due to the effects of harmful working conditions on laborers. The list of occupational diseases shall be drawn up according to law provisions.

4. Laboring process means the process of working under labor contracts, including  labor during and beyond the working hours, the time on working trips and the course of travelling from residence places to working places and vice versa.

5. Wages mean contractual wages calculated as the average of wages of 6 consecutive months preceding the occurrence of labor accidents or the identification of occupational diseases, including rank or position salaries, regional allowances and position allowances (if any) according to the Government’s current regulations. In cases where the working duration is not long enough for the calculation of the average contractual wages of 6 consecutive months, the wage of the preceding month or the wage paid at the time the labor accidents or occupational diseases occur shall be used for the calculation of indemnities and accident and/or ailment allowances.

6. Insured events mean labor accidents and/or occupational diseases falling within the insurance liability.

7. The insured means the employers in construction and installation enterprises who are insured under conditions and terms of these Insurance Rules.

Article 2.- Insurance subjects and scope

Under these Insurance Rules, in cases where the insured have paid or agreed to pay the insurance premiums inscribed in insurance contracts, insurance enterprises shall have to pay to the insured the indemnities which the insured have to pay as compensation to laborers upon the occurrence of insured events.

Article 3.- Insurance interests

When insured events occur, insurance enterprises shall have to pay the following indemnities:

1. In cases where the laborers die or suffer from permanent decline of 81% or more of their working capacity:

a/ 30 months’ wages, if such laborers are not at fault.

b/ 12 months’ wages, if such laborers are at fault.

2. In cases where the laborers suffer from permanent decline of less than 81% of their working capacity:

a/ 30 months’ wages multiplied by the indemnity rates in the insurance indemnity bracket prescribed in Appendix 1 to these Insurance Rules, if such laborers are not at fault.

b/ 40% of the indemnities calculated according to Point a, Clause 2 above, if such laborers are at fault.

3. Hospitalization-leave allowances (regardless of whose faults), equal to 100% of daily wages (1/30 of monthly wages) for each day of leave under therapists’ indications until the permanent injuries are determined, but the hospitalization period must not exceed 6 months for each insured event.

4. Actual medical expenses (regardless of whose faults), including: expenses for first aid and necessary and rational expenses for in-patient and out-patient treatment, which must not exceed 6 months’ wages for each insured event.

In cases where the employers wish to participate in insurance with the liability levels higher and insurance scope larger than those prescribed in these Insurance Rules, they may negotiate with insurance enterprises on the levels of insurance indemnity  and insurance premiums. 

Article 4.- Insurance period

The period of insurance shall be inscribed in insurance contracts.

Article 5.- Exclusion of insurance liabilities

Insurance enterprises shall not have to pay indemnity for:

1. The liabilities which are agreed upon by the insured not in accordance with the provisions of labor legislation;

2. Labor accidents or occupational diseases occur beyond the insurance period;

3. Any labor accident or occupational disease blamable for wars, acts of aggression or hostility of foreign countries, civil wars, riots, terrorism or strikes;

4. Any labor accident or occupational disease having directly or indirectly arisen from:

a/ Nuclear materials or nuclear weapons;

b/ Radioactivity or nuclear radioactivity infection;

5. Any accident or occupational disease having arisen from the use and direct effects of alcohol, beers, drugs or other stimulants, except for cases where stimulants are used for therapeutic purposes under doctors’ indications. Particularly for drug addicts, the insurance liabilities shall be excluded even if they use drugs under doctors’ indications;

6. Laborers suffering from food or drink poisoning;

7. Labor accidents or occupational diseases having occurred due to intentional actions of the insured or laborers;

8. Accidents having occurred due to fighting by laborers, except for self-defense and rescue of human beings and/or properties;

9. Accidents or occupational diseases having occurred due to law violations by the insured or laborers;

10. Accidents or occupational diseases having occurred outside the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 6.- Insurance conditions

1. The insured must strictly observe the provisions of these Insurance Rules. In cases where the insured fail to strictly observe the provisions of these Insurance Rules, insurance enterprises shall have the right not to pay indemnities or to request the insured to return the whole indemnity amounts already paid by the insurance enterprises.

2. The insured shall have the obligation to fully and truthfully declare all details related to insurance contracts at the requests of insurance enterprises.

3. The insured shall have to apply all necessary safety measures and strictly abide by law provisions on labor safety and occupational disease prevention and combat for the laborers.

4. Upon the occurrence of insured events which may lead to claims for indemnity according to these Insurance Rules, the insured shall have to notify the insurance enterprises thereof in writing within 72 hours as from the time of detecting such occurrence.

5. The insured shall have to send to the insurance enterprises all the laborers’ complaints and/or claims for indemnity for labor accidents and/or occupational diseases and inform the insurance enterprises of other issues related to the labor accidents and/or occupational diseases at their requests.

6. The insured must not accept or promise to accept to pay indemnities or pay any money amounts related to these Insurance Rules at their own will without the written consent of the insurance enterprises.

7. If the insured’s production and/or business activities witness changes, thus leading to the increase in  the level of risks regarding labor accidents and/or occupational diseases, the insured shall have to immediately notify the insurance enterprises thereof in writing and must get the written consent of the insurance enterprises before labor accidents or occupational diseases occur.

8. Both the insurance enterprises and the insured have the right to unilaterally cancel insurance contracts.

a/ In cases where insurance enterprises cancel insurance contracts, they must notify the insured thereof in writing 7 days in advance. In these cases, the insurance enterprises shall return to the insured the insurance premiums corresponding to the remaining duration of the insurance contracts.

b/ In cases where the insured cancel insurance contracts, they must notify the insurance enterprises thereof in writing in advance. In these cases, the insurance enterprises shall return to the insured the difference between the insurance premiums already paid and the short-term insurance premiums payable for the validity duration of the insurance contracts, provided that no indemnity claim has been settled by the enterprises during the insurance period.

The short-term insurance premiums shall be determined according to the short-term insurance premium bracket prescribed in Appendix 2 to this Insurance Rules.

9. In cases where injuries or diseases have appeared before or after the occurrence of labor accidents and/or occupational diseases, thus aggravating the laborers’ working capacity decline, the insurance enterprises shall not bear responsibility for such additional decline.

10. In cases where insurance enterprises have paid indemnity at the highest liability level according to these Insurance Rules for any insured event, their liabilities for such insured event shall terminate.

11. The insured shall have to preserve all dossiers, papers, and records related to labor contracts and the performance thereof. Insurance enterprises shall have the right to inspect these documents at anytime during the insurance period.

12. In cases of coincident insurance, insurance enterprises shall only have the responsibility to pay indemnity according to the proportion of the insurance money already agreed upon to the total amount of insurance money of all insurance contracts which the insured have concluded.

Article 7.- Insurance premiums and methods for determination of insurance premiums

Insurance premiums shall be calculated on the basis of the total wage funds paid by the insured to the laborers during the insurance period.

If the total wage funds paid by the insured to the laborers during the insurance period are different from the total wage funds used for calculation of insurance premiums, insurance premiums shall be readjusted according to the actual wage funds. Such adjustment shall comply with Article 8.

Insurance premiums shall be determined according to the insurance premium bracket prescribed in Appendix 2 to these Insurance Rules.

Article 8.- Change in the number of laborers and their wages

1. Laborers who are additionally recruited by the insured during the insurance period shall be automatically subject to insurance after their labor contracts come into force. Every 60 days, the insured must notify all changes in the number of laborers in writing to the insurance enterprises.

2. All changes in the wages of current laborers shall be automatically taken into account for insurance right from the date such changes occur. Every 60 days, the insured must notify all changes in laborers’ wages in writing to the insurance enterprises.

3. Adjustment of insurance premiums due to changes in the number of laborers or the total wage funds

a/ If the number of laborers or the total actual wage funds fluctuate by 25% or more as compared with those inscribed in the insurance contracts, the insurance premiums shall be adjusted right at the time such changes occur.

b/ If the numbers of laborers or the total actual wage funds fluctuate by less than 25% as compared with those inscribed in the insurance contracts, insurance premiums shall be adjusted at the end of the insurance period.

Article 9.- Assurance of the right to request the third party to pay compensation

In cases where the third party is at fault in causing labor accidents or occupational diseases to laborers, the insured shall have to apply all necessary measures to assure the insurance enterprises’ rights to request the third party to pay compensation.

Article 10.- Settlement of disputes

For all disputes arising from insurance contracts, if they cannot be settled through negotiation between insurance enterprises and the insured, they shall be brought to courts in Vietnam for settlement.

APPENDIX NO. 2

TABLE OF INSURANCE PREMIUMS

1. Table of annual insurance premiums:

2. Table of short-term insurance premiums:

3. Classification of occupations:

Type 1: Laborers doing non-production jobs, working mainly in offices, doing clerical work or other similar jobs with little travel. For example: accountants, administrative personnel,…

Type 2: Non-manual work with levels of risks higher than those of Type 1, requiring much travel, or occupations involving manual but irregular or light manual labor. For example: Civil engineers, managerial officials regularly visiting sites,…

Type 3: Occupations involving largely manual labor with levels of risks higher than those of Type 2. For example: Mechanical engineers, electric engineers, workers on sites,…

Type 4: Dangerous occupations where accidents easily occur, which are not prescribed in the above-said three types of occupations.-