Solon files bill for insurance of ATM theft victims

MANILA, Philippines – Victims of automated teller machines (ATM) theft and fraud may soon get back their hard-earned money through an insurance policy if this bill becomes a law.

Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo on Monday filed House Bill 5036 entitled “An Act mandating all banking institutions to offer an automated teller machine theft insurance to all clients, prohibiting fraudulent claims relative thereto, providing penalties and for other purposes.”

In a statement, Romulo cited the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as saying at least P220 million were lost to ATM thieves in 2013.

According to the bill, all banking institutions are required to offer an insurance policy “that would guarantee customers a replacement of their money deposited that was withdrawn without their knowledge or against their will through … card-skimming, robbery, theft, employment of coercion, intimidation, duress,  and other threats of violence…”

Romulo cited card-skimming techniques through which the ATM user’s identification number is skimmed from the machine, as well as incidents of holding ATM users at gunpoint coercing them to withdraw their money from ATMs.

“If the law permits obtaining insurance policies on properties we value such as vehicles and houses, with more reason to pass this bill because more often, money deposited in ATM accounts are salaries of employees or allowances or tuition of students,” Romulo said in the statement.

“This is also to ensure the safety of our people. If a person is being forced to withdraw his hard earned salary at gunpoint, he can just give in without having to gamble with his life because he knows he can recover the same because his funds are insured,” he added.

In the bill’s explanatory note, Romulo said banks should provide an insurance policy on ATM theft and fraud “to provide relief to customers whose funds were withdrawn without their knowledge…”

Under the bill, the maximum allowable premium for ATM theft insurance is at P20 per month or P240 per year.

Meanwhile, the measure allows a maximum amount of claims at no more than P50,000, and no more than three incidents per year.

The bill requires the following for insurance claims: letter request to the branch manager, a copy of the ATM theft insurance policy, notarized affidavit of account holder, and a police report.

Complainants should file their claims no less than seven working days from the discovery of the loss of deposited funds, the bill read.

The banks are given at least 15 working days to process and verify the claims.

ATM users who did not avail of the insurance may still request the recovery of the lost deposited funds, the bill said.

Those who file false claims may be punished with a P50,000 to P300,000 penalty and a six to 12 year imprisonment, according to the bill.

Romulo said he plans to file a separate bill setting the minimum security standards for ATMs to be complied with by all banks.

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