At a press briefing promoted by the National Insurance Institute, an overview was given of its activity during the three months of fighting since the 7/10 disaster
Due to the fact that there is no compensation law for national disasters, the National Insurance Institute will begin to treat the war victims with respect to their remaining damage incurred, and the treatment from now on will be throughout life
- The National Insurance Institute held a press briefing this morning, which gave an overview of the organization's activities in the last months since the fighting began.
- In the State of Israel, at the moment of writing these lines, there is no compensation law for victims of national disasters (although the National Insurance tried to promote this during the Meron disaster) and therefore the assistance is provided as part of the Compensation for Victims of Hostile Actions Law.
- During this period, the National Insurance Institute reached tens of thousands of people, made payments to about 45 thousand citizens (not including security forces handled by the Ministry of Defense) and their sons: Nova victims, casualties in the settlements in which terrorists infiltrated, families of hostages and missing persons, families of fallen soldiers, hostages who returned from captivity, etc.
- The recognition as victims of hostile actions was part of an expedited procedure conducted by the National Insurance Institute vis-à-vis the Ministry of Defense, which is the certifying authority for the recognition of a hostile action event and a person who was present at a hostile action event.
- The National Insurance has so far paid over NIS 650 million to 45,000 people, while at the same time continuing to receive inquiries all the time.
- According to the National Insurance Institute, 6,000 people contact the Emergency Center for War Victims every week, and there are about 25,000 more requests online through the organization's website. This is at the same time as all the ripples of war that drain into the National Insurance Institute, including: occupancy grants, unemployment benefits to those put on unpaid leave, benefit to reservists and the current work as part of the organization such as: old-age pension payments, long-term care, income support, bankruptcies and more.
- During the conversation, the National Insurance Institute recognized the fact that there are people who took advantage of the situation and applied for compensation even though they are not eligible, but beyond the call for basic fairness at this time, the National Insurance Institute has the tools to deal with it, and a conscious decision was made in the understanding that this is a marginal occurrence – to provide responses to the tens of thousands of victims who were present at the disaster.
- Acting Director General of the National Insurance Institute, Ms. Yarona Shalom, underlined the procedures for reducing the bureaucracy that has been carried out over the past few months. Obtaining data from hospitals, creating shortened forms, digital developments and more.
Ms. Shalom also noted the fact that the National Insurance Institute turned over every stone to reach the residents who experienced the worst, and proactively contacted the secretaries of settlements, mayors, physically arrived at the hotels and more, because until now, there is no official list of the security officials regarding the combat zones. Moreover, the amounts paid to civilians each month were presented, as well as the procedure to be followed by the victims of hostile actions who remained mentally or physically harmed. The procedure, according to the National Insurance Institute is also expected to be shortened compared to normal times and the medical boards may be conducted in absence of the insured, as long as there are sufficient medical documents.
- The resilience centers are also open to victims, and the National Insurance Institute asked to people to inquire about official resilience centers, to be able to receive the 12 treatments funded by the National Insurance Institute and even more - if necessary.
- The National Insurance Institute has produced a booklet of rights for the injured, to be sent to all tens of thousands of citizens. There was contact during these months and in the coming days they will move between the hotels and present the continuation of the available actions with the National Insurance, explain, accompany and present all the entitlements of the victims.
Yarona Shalom, Acting Director General of the National Insurance: "The disaster that befell the State of Israel is beyond a terrorist event, it is in many ways a war on the civilian home front. Many citizens have been recognized as victims of hostile actions in an expedited process, and have been provided with responses as before in the initial stages, and we will now do everything possible to facilitate the continuation and check the solutions in accordance with the remaining damage suffered by each person and grant entitlement to its envelope from now on. Although the National Insurance operates under the Compensations for Victims of Terrorism Law, we will continue to act in every possible format to assist, help, shorten the bureaucracy and give the best service to those who have gone through the hardest of all."