Page 20 - Insurance Times September 2023

People do face a lot of mental and physical pressure in developed by Vision Zero to reduce and minimize
their daily lives. Since it is an accepted fact that they fatalities and serious injuries it would have a positive
will make mistakes it is important to ensure that when impact on lowering the incidence of accidents and
accidents do happen, the injuries are minimized and concurrently improve their third-party claim outgo. This
serious injuries are avoided. would be of great benefit to society and result in
Design principles for road-way infrastructure and monetary savings for insurers too, in the long run.
vehicles must incorporate safety features such as speed- 2. The creation of a body on the lines of the erstwhile Loss
limits, air-bags etc. Insurers with their experience of Prevention Association of India, which could represent
claims due to road-crashes are in a position to all insurers across the board where loss making trends
participate in contributing their inferences from their and causes of accidents- whether on the road or in
data on accidents to augment these safety features. occupational areas - could be studied and remedial
measures developed would be of great benefit to society
Even at the work-places where accidents that lead to
at large and loss prone industries in particular.
claims are numerous, suggestions of safety protocols to
the industry will be of great help in minimizing serious This body could also be utilized on behalf of the
injuries. insurance industry to develop awareness at all levels to
avoid accidents-whether on the road, in the work-place
4. The fourth principle says that situational prevention or at home - for better awareness of safety protocols.
comes first
This is an extension of the third principle, as it were. 3. The actuarial dimension in insurance results in pooling
Traffic systems and work-places must be adapted to and rating of similar risk profiles and incentivizing good
human beings as they are and not the other way risk management and claim-free record profiles. No
around. This is the underlying thought behind doubt, this is at the core of insurance rating but
insurance can achieve a greater purpose by redefining
traditional occupational health and safety and is
its boundaries. It can actively participate in customized
referred to as - situational prevention.
risk-reduction measures in claim-prone industries such
as chemical industries, mining and quarrying, for
However, it is also important for work-place managers and
example. Many such fatalities and diseases can be
road users to also take responsibility for staying safe in all
prevented through effective occupational health
situations. Thus the concept of shared responsibility must
practices and by raising awareness to inculcate a safety
be emphasized by the persons in authority.
culture within the workforce. This will not only result in
a safer working environment but also result in profitable
Awareness in this regard can be created by different bodies and claim-free accounts for the insurance industry.
and insurers with a large volume of data at their disposal
4. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy in India still resonates globally.
have an important role to play in this regard.
The chemical leak at The Union Carbide India Ltd
pesticide plant during the night of the 2-3rd December,
How Insurance can contribute to Vision 1984 killed an estimated 20,000 persons in the city of
Zero Bhopal and left many with lifelong health problems. The
learnings from this occurrence lie in the fact that
Insurance can improve safety levels and contribute to Vision
hazards in industries are not limited to their physical
Zero in loss-prone areas in myriad ways. Some of them are boundaries. Such hazards can encompass large urban
elucidated below:
agglomerations very fast and without much warning.
1. All insurers pay a large proportion of motor third-party These situations can result in losses of catastrophic
injury claims to the victims of road-accidents. They incur proportions. Hence, it is very important that such
a lot of expenditure on their workforce and the legal industries are identified and insurers and planners work
fraternity to service these claims. They also have to to increase the safety-levels at these industries, without
maintain large outstanding claim reserves to pay these any delay.
claims from the time of intimation until maturity.
Were insurers to co-ordinate with the government, How realistic is Vision Zero?
road- planners and vehicle - designers on the lines The goal of an accident-free world seems to be utopian.

18 September 2023 The Insurance Times