Traffic Accidents
Costing INS Billions
Drunk driving, speeding
and reckless driving
that are the leading
cause of traffic
accidents have cost the
Instituto Nacional de
Seguros (INS) ˘3 billion
colones (us$58 million
dollars) between January
and June of this year in
payouts to medical
services and payments to
victims of traffic
accidents.
That amount only
pertains to payments
made under the Seguro
Obligatorio de
Automóviles - the
obligatory insurance
payment included in the
annual "marchamo" - and
does not include payouts
under the voluntary or
supplemental insurance
that the owner of a
vehicle can purchase
from the INS.
During the period of
January to June, the INS
received 7.498 claims
and providing attention
to 7.967 injured and 234
deaths.
INS statistics show that
weekends, Saturdays and
Sundays, are the days
with greatest number of
accidents, particularly
between 6:00pm and
6:00am.
The majority of
accidents are collisions
between vehicles,
followed by runovers.
Speeding, drunk driving
and imprudence by
pedestrians the major
cause of the accidents.
During 2006, the INS
paid out ˘6.8 billion
colones, an increase of
˘1.3 billion over 2005.
Under the Seguro
Obligatorio de
Automóviles the maximum
coverage for third party
liability is ˘2 million
colones (us$3.785
dollars) up from ˘1.4
million from last year.
For additional coverage,
the INS offers coverage
of up to ˘50 million per
person and ˘150 million
colones per accident
under its voluntary
policy, which can also
include coverage for
theft, vandalism, and
collision. |
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