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It was reported in the press recently that an insurance company
recorded billions of rupees in profits. The profits were made by the
contributions of the insured public.
A lot has been written about the pathetic stories of road traffic
victims. Those victims who are disabled for life are a burden to the
immediate family members. To claim compensation the victims have to go
to courts. The insurance companies either offer to pay a meagre sum or
do not pay at all knowing that the courts will take decades to decide
the damages and by that time the value of the money has depreciated.
In my case the appeal is still pending in the Western Province High
Court since 2003 and the accident occurred in 1999. Do the insurers have
no moral duty to settle claims adequately?
Some talk highly about corporate community service etc. but they
never do justice to the victims. Whilst boasting about profits and
handing over the annual report to the President with much fanfare, this
insurance company must review its claims register of the motor accident
victims and offer them adequate amounts of compensation from the earned
high profits.
Insurance companies like to pay lakhs of rupees to lawyers and misuse
the delays of the courts to deprive the victims due compensation. No one
is bothered about this malady.
C S Seneviratne - Colombo 5
Normally soiled or torn local currency notes are deposited pasting a
white paper on the reverse and then writing the name and account number.
Last week when I did so at a popular bank, the counter shroff said
that I should paste a brown coloured paper not white as instructed by
the Central Bank and refused to deposit it.
I then went to another shroff and forwarded it as it was a bigger
value one, and was accepted.
The question is why should the Central Bank introduce this
requirement and push the customers into an ‘unwanted inconvenience?’.
Could there be any special reasons for this change of colour?
One of the qualifications to open a current account is a current
account holder to introduce him.
When the Passbook is lost an affidavit, at least signed by a Justice
of Peace is essential to obtain a new one.
The bank accepts a JP who is not known to them and the customer
himself getting the signature from such a JP paying a couple of hundreds
who hangs around the court premises or Immigration Dept.
It does not accept the customer whose name, address, signature,
identity card details etc. are in the bank’s file.
Nazly Cassim - Colombo 13
Stratford Avenue in Kirillapone was made one way from the Kirillapone
Bridge end to the Pamankade Bridge end about an year ago.
However, to date traffic flows in the opposite direction making it a
nightmare for the correct users of this one way system.
On June 26, around 3.30 pm I experienced this and avoided a head-on
collision with great difficulty. The driver of the other vehicle had
come to the plant nursery on Stratford Avenue and was going back after
her purchases not knowing it was a one way road.
I suggest to the authorities to place a few boards indicating the
direction of the flow of traffic on Stratford Avenue, so that drivers
are made to understand the direction of the flow.
This will ensure that those who are unaware of this system are
educated on the regulations.
U R Kodagoda - Dehiwela
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