ANGELES CITY — Pampanga 1st District Rep. Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. has filed a bill seeking the removal of participation fees in motor vehicle comprehensive insurance claims.
House Bill No. 10005 proposes to amend RA 10607 (The Insurance Code) by inserting a new section that will prohibit the collection of participation fees in motor vehicle comprehensive insurance claims.
The new section states that the owner of a damaged motor vehicle covered by comprehensive insurance shall not be required to pay any participation fee or deductible for the cost of repair or the replacement of parts, and any claim for damage sustained by the vehicle covered by insurance shall be paid without requiring the insured to pay, advance, or shoulder any participation fee.
Likewise, deducting any participation fee from the proceeds of the claim shall be prohibited, without prejudice to the right of the party paying the claim to recover against the owner or insurer of the vehicle responsible for the accident.
“A comprehensive insurance policy protects vehicle owners against financial loss from damage or loss of the insured vehicle due to accidents, theft, natural disasters, etc. However, in practice, many vehicular comprehensive insurance policies require the insured to pay a ‘participation fee’ or ‘deductible’ for every claim,” Lazatin said.
“While risk-sharing mechanisms may be used in insurance pricing, participation fees may operate to unduly reduce the actual benefit received by the insured, particularly where the loss was caused by another motor vehicle,” he added. Team Lazatin Media