Hunger striker
wins insurance reforms

After 30 days without food, accident victim Suresh Matadeen forces the TT Government to put insurance reform on the legislative agenda.

by Peter Campbell, Port of Spain- Trinidad

Suresh Matadeen was preparing to die.
He wasn't suffering from some incurable disease, neither did he think he had lived life to the fullest, ready to depart from this world. On the contrary, Matadeen was putting his life on the line for a cause.
Matadeen felt his hand was forced and he had no choice but to take this drastic step in order to get the authorities' attention so they would review the country's insurance legislation which allowed some insurance companies in Trinidad the freedom to prolong Court matters and delay payments for critical medical procedures. Like most hunger strikers, Matadeen's personal experiences, more specifically a major accident more than a decade ago, changed his life forever.

"I really don't want anybody else to go through what I have experienced," says Matadeen. "It is time for change." "One of the reasons I really had no choice but to undertake the fast was because accidents like mine happen every day and most of the victims do not have the where-with-all to challenge the system, so they are bullied by the insurance companies to accept what ever is handed to them. Matadeen, no doubt, considers himself a major victim of insurance delinquency.

He's yet to receive the full TT$1.6 million compensation awarded to him by High Court Judge Lionel Jones for the injuries he sustained 14 years ago in a motor accident on the Uriah Butler highway, Chaguanas. A former manager at Cosal's Quarry, Matadeen was working on the new Guayamere Highway when the accident occurred on May 2, 1982. He was on his way home around 4:00 am when the truck in which he was riding collided with another. His driver was killed, and that accident launched Matadeen on a lengthy legal battle which, he said, opened up a can of worms with respect to the Trinidad and Tobago Motor Vehicles Insurance Ordinance.

That accident also left Matadeen with multiple injuries: brain damage,, broken ribs, arthritis, facial disfigurement and later, a stroke. Matadeen also suffers from Parkinson's disease as a result the accident. According to Matadeen, medical care and corrective surgery had cost almost $1 million and he has since sued Caribbean Insurance Company claiming damages. The matter is due to be heard on May 1st. And so, on March 20, 1996, Matadeen, 55, commenced an indefinite 24 hour "spiritual and conscience fast against insurance injustices" at the Endeavour Hindu Temple at Rodney Road, Chaguanas, in Central Trinidad.

During the fast, which turned out to be a hunger strike, Matadeen did not eat and he drank only controlled amounts of water in which leaves from the sacred Tulsi tree soaked. Tulsi leaves are sacred to Hindus, who sip this water on their deathbeds. He had also stopped taking medication. Matadeen said his fast was to bring to the forefront certain inadequacies within the insurance industry. He has since put forth 15 proposals for consideration by Government as part of the planned changes to the country's insurance laws.

Speaking on the first day of the fast, Matadeen said; "Today is a very critical day in my life as I begin this serious undertaking, with all humility, to bring focus on the issues related to victims of insurance and the court. Over the years, he said, we have observed that some insurance companies, instead of paying legitimate claims, would rather frustrate accident victims by offering part settlement saying 'Take it or leave it' or 'Put us in court'. Some are ready to move us from their offices should we speak for our rights.

"So what do we do most of the time? We take the pittance they offer, lick our wounds and say we cannot fight them, making them the untouchables. Because of the loopholes offered by the law, we allow them to take our premiums, treat us with contempt, clog our courts and even allow them to police themselves. Isn't that condoning the way they treat us? "Today I am agitating on behalf of our citizens who have been engaged by the insurance companies and the courts in pursuance of their matters. What may surprise the public is that those who are placed in this frustrated exercise are not a few. It might startle us all to discover the high percentage of citizens who are affected. The annual figure is perhaps more than those affected by diabetes, or even AIDS".

Since the accident, Matadeen has formed V.O.I.C.E (Victims Of Insurance Companies Encounter), a registered non- profit organization that speaks for individuals who have problems with insurance companies or difficulties in obtaining legally determined compensation for injuries suffered. V.O.I.C.E was founded in 1994 and Matadeen serves as is its current President. "In my own struggle, I have gained experience and insight into the system. Consequently I am always being approached and have been offering advice to various victims through V.O.I.C.E. Through this organization I have also been experiencing an ongoing detail of sadness, tears, frustration and depression by citizens of all classes, races and religions.

"But I tell victims that we are going to have a say and we will be heard. We have had enough and we are going to do something about it," said Matadeen. "I cannot leave a system like this for my children to inherit. There are many poor people who do not have the strength nor the finances to fight. I am prepared to die if it means I can help the people of this land. When they have my dead body on their hands, they can go and explain that to the world." He also wanted to make it clear that he did not want to get involved in politics, 'but people's human rights are being violated and our democracy is being gradually chipped away.'

During the fast, Matadeen stayed in a makeshift tent 24 hours a day in front the Temple. The shed, which has carat leaves for walls, is furnished with a bed, a three piece living room set, centre table, rug and television set. He spends most of the day reading from the Gita and Ramayana as well as taking calls from the many people and religious groups which have been visiting, particularly insurance victims who came to give him their support. After three weeks, Matadeen said that although he now feels "very weak in body, my spirit is being strengthened daily".

Three medical bulletins had been issued by his doctors. The last bulletin issued on April 9, 1996, stated that Matadeen had lost 30 lbs. The bulletin noted in part that "his physical appearance bears adequate testimony to his weight loss. His eyes are deeply sunken. His cheek bones are prominent and his face thin. His neck is slender with loose skin more marked in the lower areas. His ribs are more visible, revealing a degree of weight loss. His abdomen is sunken with folds of loose skin. His hip bones are more pronounced and his legs and thighs are thinner and weaker. He also developed a high fever and cough and has a left pneumonitis (infection of the left lungs) which has proven 'intractable'.

It continued: "Matadeen complains of progressive weakness and walks with difficulty to the bathroom using a cane. He has to be assisted constantly by his wife, Shanti." In their report the doctors noted that notwithstanding all these factors and continued exhortations to discontinue the fast, Matadeen appeared to be more adamant in his resolve to continue. "He displays impatience bordering on agitation at the mere suggestion of discontinuing his fast. He behaves as a man totally consumed and committed in his quest," said the doctors.

Matadeen's wife, 46 year old Shanti, is constantly at his side. She said she has given her "undivided support until a commitment is given." Since the start of the fast, a typical day for Mrs Matadeen involves assisting her husband with his daily absolutions; washing his clothes and bed sheets; cleaning up his makeshift tent on mornings before visitors arrive as well as boiling all his drinking water in which tulsi leaves are subsequently immersed. "It must be noted that God is watching closely and the Prime Minister will understand the significance of a fast and what repercussions could follow," said Ms Matadeen.

When asked what if Matadeen should die in the process, she said: "then so be it." She said that her husband is "a strong- willed person. Although he had undergone so many days without without food and his body is weak, he is still serene as ever and he has that inner strength which is so vital." "I am with him all the way. For days I have seen the hurt and frustration in his eyes when he comes home after meeting with victims of insurance. I have also seen the hurt of those victims on occasion. A number of Government and Opposition MPs had also visited his bedside over the course of the strike.

Trinidad's Opposition Leader and former Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who met with Matadeen said that he was impressed with the fast, but hoped it would not have to be continued. Manning gave Matadeen the assurance that he would raise his proposals in Parliament, if those proposals were not examined by the relevant authorities. The opposition leader also stated his intention to incorporate Matadeen's proposals in his party's next manifesto, but said they may have to be reworded as he still saw room for negotiation on some of the issues.

The Inter Religious Organization (IRO) stepped onto the scene on the 23rd day of Matadeen's fast seeking to have him end it. The organization, while it endorsed Matadeen's 15 proposals, said it was against anyone undertaking a hunger strike. The IRO said it was standing firmly behind 'the national issues which Matadeen has highlighted, as well as his personal claim against the insurance company. What he is asking for is not unreasonable, says the IRO. The IRO, which later met with Acting Attorney General, Ganga Singh to discuss the fast, noted that "it was confident that the Government, in its overall policy, was preparing an overall plan to manage the problems in the insurance industry." Bramhanand Rambachan, the IROs Public Relations Officer, said that the proposals were being forwarded to Cabinet but it was found that not all the issues could be addressed immediately.

While agreeing with some of the proposals put forth by Matadeen, Agency Manager of Trinidad and Tobago Insurance Limited (TATIL), Sharon Ramrattan, said there were several points which needed to be looked at from a different perspective. She said some members of the general public have a negative attitude towards insurance due to allegations by some customers about claims not being expeditiously settled and there were always different issues involved. She said because insurance companies take on the risk, they must thoroughly investigate all claims.

Ramrattan noted that the purpose of insurance was "to provide the means to put back an individual in the same position he/she was before the loss occurred." Commenting on point five of the Matadeen proposal which deals with misrepresentation by sales representatives, Ramrattan said one of the responsibilies of a sales representative is also to explain the details of policies. However, she added, it is also the client's responsibility to read the entire document so he can understand and express concerns of what he was purchasing. "Too often clients purchase insurance without asking questions or understanding the details of what they are buying and only after a claim is made they realize that there are aspects of the policy which they do not know," said Ramrattan.

But she also concedes that many insured persons have difficulty reading their policies not because of any fault of theirs, "but because of the technical language which is sometimes used. "As such, TATIL has reviewed its policy documents, trying to incorporate very simple language which the insured can more easily understand. It shows clearly what is covered and what is not." She said that because everything is well documented, it will be very difficult for an insured person to prove that his/her agent misrepresented the facts. With point six, which states that in the event of personal injury, the insured should be made responsible for medical expenses until a final settlement is arrived at, Ramrattan felt the only hitch to that was that, "liability must be ascertained first. No company would take on liability until it can be proven."

She said in the case of stolen vehicles, insurance companies must be given sufficient time to verify the claim since we accept risks on a person's behalf. With respect to claiming for stolen vehicles, Ramrattan said it was in the client's interest to set the true value of the vehicles. So the client must continuously adjust the insured value of his/her vehicle to avoid over- insuring or under- insuring,' said Ramrattan. With regard to Matadeen's call for setting aside of a reserve of $30 million, Ramrattan wanted to know from where will the money come. She, however called for a review (every 2- 3 years) of the maximum ceiling for injury claims. Ramrattan felt that if claims were valid, insurance companies should not hesitate to pay and that measures should not be taken to place stringent control mechanisms in the industry.

"One should look at all the players in the industry and develop regulations. Customers need to have the peace of mind that their risks would be settled when the time comes and so we create a more vibrant, people- friendly insurance industry," says Ramrattan. She said that due to trade liberalization and the opening up of the global market, local insurance companies have to get their act together very quickly or they could be wiped out. President General of the Trinidad and Tobago Insurance Complaints Association (TTICA), Nanan Bhagwandeen also made an appeal to the Attorney General and the Chief Justice to urgently establish an insurance claims court in Port of Spain and San Fernando to bring quick justice for claimants. He felt that the current Ombudsman role and function could be widened 'giving him full powers to deal with delinquent and reluctant insurance firms and to investigate complaints from the public regarding their grievances with insurance companies.'

Bhagwandeen also welcomed the Bill amending the Motor (Third Party Risk) Act to facilitate shorter court proceedings in the event of a motor accident. If approved, insurance claimants can look to speedier settlement via the courts. Calls to the Supervisor of Insurance were not returned. After 30 days surviving only on tulsi water, negotiators were able to strike a deal and to symbolize the end of the strike, Matadeen sipped from a glass of pure orange juice. He acknowledged that most of the demands he set out were met, and he received the assurance from the Attorney General that consultations will begin on the remaining issues as soon as possible.

A draft of the new legislation for five of the issues raised had already been forwarded to VOICE. However, says Matadeen, "there is nothing to be excited about, since the work has now started."

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