Prevention is better than cure, insurers insist

The Malta Insurance Association is calling on the authorities and, in particular, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, to provide adequate enforcement measures in order to ensure health and safety at work.

The association said it was very concerned with the increasing number of accidents at work places due to the lack of conformity with the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.

Insurers are there to fulfil their obligations by providing adequate compensation to victims of accidents or their relatives, the association said. "However, that is all they can do. They can neither cope with loss of life nor with any permanent disabilities sustained by victims of these accidents."

The association said that financial compensation offered by insurers should in no way diminish the duty imposed on the authorities and employers to ensure that the health and safety regulations are there to be enforced and not merely to have them written down.

"The accidents that occurred in the past few weeks give a clear indication that the enforcement of these regulations leaves much to be desired. The situation shows that the responsible authority lacks the resources, which would enable it to employ an adequate number of inspectors and to take other measures to enforce the law," it said.

The association pointed out that the real solution does not lie in the repetitive handling of claims and the payment of compensation by insurers but in the measures taken by the authorities for the minimisation of risks and the prevention of such accidents.

"The occupational health and safety regulations, if enforced, can prevent accidents from happening whereas the role of the insurance companies can only be that of giving due financial compensation to an injured party or to a victim's family," it said.