The families of the GV Florida Transport bus passengers who died in the Feb. 7 crash in the Cordilleras—including the widow and orphans of actor Arvin “Tado” Jimenez—are not entitled to insurance benefits but will nonetheless receive financial aid from a consortium of insurers.
The head of the Insurance Commission (IC) delivered the comforting news as Jimenez’s remains were cremated in Marikina City on Wednesday. The 39-year-old, long-haired actor, widely popular among the youth for his wise-cracking, street-loafing geekiness, left behind four young children.
Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel Dooc confirmed that the ill-fated bus that fell into a ravine in Bontoc, Mt. Province, and left 15 people dead was not registered and therefore not covered by any insurance policy.
However, Dooc said a consortium of nonlife insurance companies had agreed to provide financial assistance to the victims and their families in response to calls for such support and as prodded by the commission.
“Results of investigations showed that no liability falls to any insurance company because the bus was not registered and was not covered by insurance. But the IC called for a meeting with insurers, and it was agreed during the meeting that financial assistance will be given,” Dooc told the Inquirer.
He said aid was set at P50,000 each for the families or heirs of the passengers who were killed, and P7,500 each for the medical treatment of the 32 injured passengers.
Speaking to reporters in Marikina, a spokesperson for the Jimenezes said the victims’ families had begun conferring with one another on the criminal charges they would pursue against the bus driver Edgar Renon, who was also injured and now recuperating in a hospital in Bontoc.
“We’re trying to reach out (to each other),” said Leni Velasco, noting that representatives of the other grieving families attended the actor’s wake.
Also on Wednesday, the Mt. Province police filed complaints for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide against Renon and the bus company president, George Florida.
Dooc said the financial assistance would be given by a consortium of insurers that includes UCPB General Insurance Co. Inc. (UCPB Gen), the provider for some of the buses of Florida Transport.
This was the reason why the insurance company and the consortium, called the Passenger Accident Management and Insurance Agency (PAMI), had agreed to provide financial assistance, he added.
According to the commissioner, it has been a practice of insurance companies in the country to form consortia, through which they pool funds and share the risks carried by comembers.
Dooc said the financial assistance would be given by the insurance industry without prejudice to the claims that the victims and their families may want to pursue against Florida Transport. With a report from Kimberlie Quitasol, Inquirer Northern Luzon