Fishermen in deep waters, insurance renewal delayed

4.20 lakh members left without cover as renewal stalls over pending state premium

metro india news  I hyderabad

Fishermen in the state are in a deep state of anxiety as the accident insurance cover has not been renewed. Under the insurance scheme, jointly funded by the Centre and the state government, each member is provided accident coverage of Rs 5 lakh. The annual premium is around Rs 91 per member, with the Centre contributing 60% and the state government 40%.

There are 4.20 lakh fishermen members and part of around 6,000 societies. For all members together, the total premium amounts to around Rs 3.82 crore annually. The state government’s share is approximately Rs 1.52 crore. Fishermen societies allege that since the state has not paid its share, the Centre has also not released its contribution, resulting in the delay in renewal.

Under the scheme, families of fishermen who die in accidents receive Rs 5 lakh insurance compensation, while permanent disability attracts Rs 2.5 lakh and medical expenses are covered up to Rs 25,000. Fishermen organisations also point out that although the state government had announced an additional Rs 4 lakh assistance for families of fishermen who die in accidents, the benefit has not been implemented so far.

Meanwhile, fishermen are also unhappy with the 19-day deadline for submitting insurance claims after an accidental death. Families often need 10 to 12 days to complete funeral-related procedures, after which obtaining death certificates and other documents within the limited period becomes difficult. Technical issues in registering beneficiary details and delays in application processing are adding to their problems.

Fishermen allege that the Fisheries Department headquarters, Matsya Bhavan, lacks even a basic help desk to guide beneficiaries. People travelling from distant areas to resolve issues related to society registrations, membership disputes, pond licences and government schemes reportedly struggle to get proper assistance.