OMR68m disbursed to cover insurance expenses

Muscat: More than OMR68 million was disbursed by the Public Authority of Social Investment (PASI) to cover insurance expenses, according to a report.
The government arm that provides insurance coverage against ageing, disability, death, work-related injuries, and occupational diseases, registered a six per cent rise in the number of active employers in 2016. The total number of active insurers reached 227,193. This includes self-employed, nationals working abroad, workers in GCC countries and private sector employees.
Under these coverages, the PASI provides insurance benefits, such as pensions, end-of-service gratuities, additional grants and allowances, and compensations for work-related injuries. Over the year, the PASI paid 13,603 pensions and disbursed 8,065 lump-sum compensation cases.
Insurees less than 31 years old represented 42.5 per cent of the total active insures, with an average wage of OMR539, while insurees older than 60 years represented only 1 per cent of the total, with an average wage of OMR 550.
Micro employers of one to five workers represented 82.4 per cent of the total active employers and provided about 10 per cent of the total insurees, while employers with one hundred workers or more only constituted two per cent of the total employers. The largest number of active insurees is concentrated in this category, with 63.5 per cent.
The Muscat Governorate came in first, in terms of the number of insurees, with 33.5 per cent, while the Musandam Governorate came in last with 0.5 per cent of the total active insurees. Leavers receiving less than OMR400 per month represented the highest percentage, while those receiving between OMR900 and OMR1000 represented only 0.8 per cent. The average insured wage of the total leavers in 2016 was OMR476.
Investment portfolio
The PASI also maintains a strong investment portfolio, outperforming the MSM 30 Index by 2.1 per cent. Most of these investments, nearly 85 per cent, are in the domestic markets. Returns on short term assets for PASI increased by 108 per cent.
In line with the E-Government Transformation plans, PASI began digitalising its insurance services in 2016 through its electronic portal.
As per the plan, the most prominent initiatives executed during the year included streamlining invoicing, introducing new reporting mechanisms for work-related injuries and occupational diseases, and digitalising nine other services. More than 30 per cent of 376 PASI employees are females.