Page 30 - The Insurance Times September 2025

road blocks thus manufactured, print a QR code with basic taught about these mistakes committed across India, and
details. Anybody who either scans the QR code or reads that repeating them would result in disastrous results. We
these details can know the origins of the road block, what often talk of the seven wonders of the world. Here, the
was it before, how the road block came into being say, from world itself will become a wonderful place when we learn
a car, and thus it automatically tells the importance of safe from our mistakes. Don't you think salvage is wonderful?
driving and being safe. Don't you think salvage makes us lifelong students?

Yet another salvage wonder could be key chains. This can be Not only the case that the insurance companies would offer
distributed free of cost by the insurers to its customers. When to their customers these items produced from salvage, but
also it becomes every organisation's Corporate Social Respon-
we refer to an insurer, it can be life or non-life insurance. Let
the insurer distribute these along with new policy document sibility (CSR) to educate society, their employees & their fami-
or to a customer who has renewed his policy. This key chain lies. Let renowned companies like Google, Tata, Wipro, TCS,
will have a printed QR code with basic details. Anybody who Municipalities and others offer these items for free to make
either scans the QR code or reads these details can know the our society, streets, cities a happier place to live and drive.
origins of the key chain, what was it before, how the key chain Remember what Rabindranath Tagore has said:
came into being say, from an airplane, and thus it automati- "Where the mind is without fear and the head
cally tells the importance of safety and being safe.
is held high
Where knowledge is free "
Thus, Salvage wonders shall aid for a continuous learning
process. The children will also learn. Nowadays, who doesn't The knowledge of accidents, the knowledge of disabilities,
use a smart phone? The way Ring-a-ring o' roses was the knowledge of lives nipped at their budding stage and
brought to the notice of children and adults alike, the ef- the knowledge the billions of dollars' loss to society due to
fects of accidents, not following safety mechanisms would insurance salvage this knowledge alone will make the so-
also be imbibed into the user's psyche. Lifelong learning, and ciety a wonderful place to live.
this learning never stops.
These insurance salvage wonders can also be distributed for
free of cost to the school and college going children, to the
Insurers' responsibility does not end with prompt and timely
claim settlement. In fact, this is where it begins. For society's pavement hawkers on their evening business and everyone
benefit as well as their own, the insurers must see the ho- else. The moot question arises: To who do we owe the re-
rizons that lay beyond claims - greatest safety of the great- sponsibility? We owe the responsibility to the society. If it is
est number of people. a company then it is CSR; if an individual, then a moral re-
sponsibility. Do not expect the Government to do every-
thing. The government cannot do everything. It is impos-
Depending on the size and/ or the utility of the salvaged
sible. The government needs help - a helping hand from
property, any item can be produced. It could be a pin or a
pen holder. From a pin to a piano - anything can be pro- corporates and philanthropists. Mathew 4:19 says "Give a
duced from salvage. All that is needed is the space to put a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish,
QR code and details to enable the interested parties to and you feed him for a lifetime."
access such information. Thus, learning will happen from Salvage is not wonderful per se. We are not glorifying salvage.
cradle to grave. Society becomes a safer place. People will What we are trying is glorify the mistakes committed by oth-
start respecting the rights and obligations of others. They ers and imploring the society to learn from them. That is the
would stop swearing while driving rashly. The innocent, their key issue. The king of Denmark in his speech to parliament
wives / husbands, their children - lives saved. Though we remarked - due to social developments such as globalisation
know that we are impermanent, we acquire property for and an ageing population, our labour market and public ser-
the benefit of our families. Thus, we can pass on the value- vices are no longer suited to the demands of the times. The
added property to the posterity. Salvage is a wonderful classical welfare state is slowly but surely evolving into a 'par-
learning weapon. Any insurer can be discharged from re- ticipatory society' - one, that is, where citizens will be ex-
sponsibility by paying claims. pected to take care of themselves, or create civil-society so-
lutions for problems such as being safe or retiree welfare.
What causes accidents? The lack of education and the lack
of understanding? No, these do not cause accidents. What Insurance Salvage is wonderful. It can create a new, a safer,
causes accidents is our failure to learn from mistakes. We more efficient and committed society. Don't you think sal-
are stubborn to learn from our mistakes. We need to be vage is wonderful?

28 September 2025 The Insurance Times