Dear PAO,

My father was formerly hired as a construction worker by ABC Corp., a foreign company in Saudi Arabia, through its local partner agency, Goodie Manpower Agency. He was employed for a contract period of 24 months from July 2023 until July 2025 with a monthly salary of 2,500 SAR. However, in the course of his employment, he met with an accident and sustained severe injuries.

On Sept. 16, 2024, my father was rushed to a hospital, but unfortunately, he passed away on the same day. He was then repatriated back to the Philippines, and we were paid his remaining salaries and benefits amounting to 5,500 SAR. However, I heard from my father’s co-workers that our family is entitled to insurance benefits due to his death. Is this correct? What should we do to claim such insurance?

Arvin

Dear Arvin,

Cognizant of the alarming health crisis of vulnerable workers abroad, our Philippine laws provided for the mandatory insurance protection of agency-hired overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), through the compulsory health insurance coverage mandated by Section 37-A of Republic Act 8042 (RA 8042), otherwise known as The Migrant Workers and Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, as amended by Republic Act (RA) 10022.

The relevant portion of Section 37-A of RA 8042, as amended, provides:

“SEC. 37-A. Compulsory Insurance Coverage for Agency-Hired Workers. – In addition to the performance bond to be filed by the recruitment/manning agency under Section 10, each migrant worker deployed by a recruitment/manning agency shall be covered by a compulsory insurance policy which shall be secured at no cost to the said worker. Such insurance policy shall be effective for the duration of the migrant worker’s employment xxx.”

As can be gleaned from the foregoing, insurance coverage is compulsory for agency-hired migrant workers, and it is the responsibility of the recruitment agency to provide the insurance cover to every worker it seeks to deploy abroad. An OFW is considered agency-hired if his or her overseas employment or application abroad was processed through a recruitment/manning agency.

Given that your father’s overseas employment was handled by a local agency, he was agency-hired. Thus, he should have compulsory insurance as required by law. Upon his death, his family or listed beneficiaries are entitled to an accidental death benefit of at least $15,000 as per Section 2(a), Rule XVI of the Omnibus Rules and Regulations Implementing RA 8042, as amended, which states:

“Sec. 2. Policy Coverage. Such insurance policy shall be effective for the duration of the migrant worker’s employment contract and shall cover, at the minimum:

“(a) Accidental death, with at least Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$ 15,000.00) survivor’s benefit payable to the migrant worker’s beneficiaries.”

To file an insurance claim, you must contact the compulsory insurance provider. You must submit the necessary form, together with the attachments or documentary requirements, to the insurance company. For this purpose, you may ask the assistance of your father’s recruitment agency in filing your claim as recruitment/manning agencies mandated to assist the migrant worker and/or the beneficiary, and to ensure that all information and documents in the custody of the agency necessary for the claim must be readily accessible to the claimant. (Sec. 3, Rule XVI of the Omnibus Rules and Regulations Implementing RA 8042, as amended).

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice was based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

We appreciate your trust and support.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected].