Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor said that the state’s current level of occupational accident insurance fund is sufficient at NT$35.1 billion (US$1.15 billion).
As of March 1, and going back to May 1 last year, the insurance fund has collected NT$8.65 billion in premiums and paid out NT$6.6 billion in compensation. The fund was started after the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection took effect on May 1, 2022.
According to a report from The Taipei Times, 787,000 employers had provided 11.03 million workers with the insurance as of February. Under the issued act, all employers must provide occupational accident insurance to workers, including employers of live-in caregivers and those who run businesses with fewer than five employees. Neither of the latter are legally required to offer labor insurance.
The act also punishes employers who fail to insure workers against occupational accidents with a fine of NT$20,000 to NT$100,000. As of February, the ministry recorded 1,200 employers that had been fined for failing to provide workers with insurance. Forty of these involved beneficiaries who sought compensation after an employee sustained or succumbed to work-related injuries. None, however, involved migrant live-in caregivers, the latter of which are automatically insured against occupational accidents upon arrival.
Elsewhere in the country, insurer WTW appointed Tony Yen as head of Taiwan in January.
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