JEDDAH, 5 July 2005 — The time has come to launch an awareness campaign outlining the benefits of life insurance to the members of the Pakistani community living in the Kingdom, said Consul General of Pakistan Masood Akhtar while giving a check for $47,262 (Pak Rs.2, 813, 950) to the widow of a Pakistani businessman here on Sunday.
“People still have no idea how beneficial this scheme is and how it can help alleviate their misery in the case of a tragedy,” said the consul general.
He assured the consulate’s full support in launching a campaign and promised to raise this issue at community meetings.
Referring to the widow of Mukhtar Hussain, who was given the check, Masood Akhtar said: “Had Hussain not bought the policy his widow would not have got the benefit.” The life of Razia Sultana, Hussain’s widow and mother of four, living in Jeddah, had become miserable after the sudden death of her husband in March.
After his death, she contacted Malik Abdul Aziz, area manager of the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (Gulf Region) and sought his help in getting the insurance money.
Hussain had bought a life insurance policy in 1997 but due to some reasons he had stopped paying premium.
Malik Aziz contacted Dr. Shoaib Akbar, community welfare attaché at the Consulate General of Pakistan, and asked him to help in the case. Dr. Shoaib made all-out efforts to get necessary documents to initiate the process.
Malik Aziz told Arab News that Hussain had originally taken the policy for 15 years in 1997 for a sum of $50,000 and agreed to receive the amount in three-payment schedules of $12,500 in every five years.
He paid the premium of $4,000 per annum up to year 2001 and after that he stopped it due to some reasons.
The company had already paid him the first installment of $12,500 in 2002 during his lifetime.
The policy has covered 8 years but due to his death the company had not only paid his widow the lump sum of Rs. 2,813,950 but will also give her the amount of $52,500 in the remaining seven years in terms of Family Income Benefit.
That amount which is $7,500 per annum shall be given to her from the beginning of January 2006 up to December 2012, said Aziz. Razia Sultana has opted to stay in the Kingdom.
