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Beneficiaries under the mandatory insurance coverage for outbound migrant workers received Tk 372 million against their claims until June this year, official data shows.
The government introduced insurance for outbound workers in 2019 though Jiban Bima Corporation (JBC).
The state-owned JBC settled insurance claims made by 1,047 beneficiaries, a vast majority of them are from dead migrants' families.
The Wage Earners' Welfare Board (WEWB) introduced mandatory insurance coverage to ensure the financial protection of migrant workers with benefits in case of their death or disability.
More than 2.5 million outbound workers have come under the insurance support, so far. Of them, over 2.3 million are male and 251969 are female workers.
The WEWB has recently doubled the benefit of insurance policy to Tk1.0 million from Tk400, 000 earlier. And it renewed the deal with JBC on December 07, 2022 again for two years.
The fresh agreement came into effect from December 11. The duration of a policy is five years while the premium is Tk1, 000 for one time.
As per the new deal, each of the workers who will return within six months of their migration will get Tk50,000.
The workers who will go abroad with zero migration cost, meaning the cost is borne by the employers, they will not be entitled for the coverage.
The nominee will get 100-per cent benefit in case of the death of a policyholder during the coverage period.
In case of accidental death during the policy term or within 90 days after the expiry of the policy period, the policyholder's family will be eligible to get 100 per cent benefit.
Besides, the workers will also get 100-per cent benefit if their eyesight, hands and legs get fully damaged.
In case of partial damage, the policyholders will be eligible for 10 per cent to 100-per cent benefit depending on the degree of their injuries.
According to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training, on average 0.8 million workers go abroad from Bangladesh annually.
On the other hand, the WEWB data shows that the country receives 3,000-4,000 dead bodies of migrant workers every year.