The Egyptian Gazette - No. 99 dated May 6, 2003

Ministry of Planning

Decision No. 19 of 2003

Regarding Insurance Conditions and Rates at the Government Insurance Fund to Guarantee Risks Facing Postal Services

The Minister of Planning,
Having reviewed Law No. 16 of 1970 on the Postal System; And Law No. 10 of 1981 on Supervision and Control of Insurance in Egypt; And Law No. 19 of 1982 establishing the National Postal Authority; And Presidential Decree No. 415 of 2001 amending certain provisions of the Organization of Ministries; And Council of Ministers Decision dated February 8, 1950 establishing the Government Insurance Fund for Guarantees of Custodians; And Prime Minister's Decision No. 229 of 2003 establishing a government insurance fund to guarantee risks facing postal services; And Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Decision No. 400 of 1986 regarding insurance conditions and rates for the Government Insurance Fund for Guarantees of Custodians; And the Executive Regulation of Law No. 10 of 1981 issued by Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Decision No. 362 of 1996; And the proposal of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Insurance Regulatory Authority; And based on the opinion of the State Council; Decided:

Chapter One: Insurance Conditions and Rates

Article 1 - Insurance conditions and rates at the Government Insurance Fund to guarantee risks facing postal services shall be in accordance with the provisions of this Decision.

Article 2 - The insurance amount must be equivalent to the following:
(a) 100% of the custodial value if it consists of cash, stamp paper, or value-bearing stamps based on the highest amount likely to be in the custodian's custody during the insurance period. (b) 100% of the motorcycle custodial value calculated based on the latest inventory. 20% of the car custodial value calculated based on the latest inventory. 25% of the custodial value if it consists of valuables or tools, calculated based on the latest inventory. The insurance amount shall be determined in multiples of one hundred Egyptian pounds without a maximum limit, and in no case shall it be less than two hundred Egyptian pounds, for all amounts covered by insurance at the Government Insurance Fund for Guarantees of Custodians.

Article 3 - Insurance rates shall be as follows:

1. Three per thousand annually on balances and contents of postal units.
2. Three per thousand annually on the estimated value of the Postal Authority's stamp and its contents.
3. Three per thousand annually on the average monthly circulating cash surplus in postal offices for the Savings Fund, as well as other assets.
4. Six Egyptian pounds annually for domestic mail routes.
5. Six Egyptian pounds for a private agency or office upon commencement of operations, and five Egyptian pounds for every fifty Egyptian pounds of custodial value or fraction thereof upon annual renewal.
6. One hundred Egyptian pounds annually for express mail agencies.
7. Ten fils annually for each pound of custodial value entrusted to custodians.
   It is stipulated that the insurance premium deducted from the custodian's salary or wage shall not exceed 1% of the total salary or wage; if it exceeds this, the National Postal Authority shall bear the difference. The Board of Directors of the Authority may, by decision, bear this premium on behalf of the custodian. The insurance period shall be a complete financial year starting with the beginning of the State's financial year and ending with its conclusion. If a private postal office, postal agency, or express mail agency commences operations during the financial year, or if the custodianship is assigned to an Authority employee during it, insurance shall apply from the commencement of work or assignment of custodianship until the end of the financial year. The premium shall be determined by multiplying the annual premium by the proportion of the financial year during which the insurance is in effect. The Egyptian Insurance Regulatory Authority shall review the insurance rates stipulated in this Article annually in light of the actual results achieved by the Fund, and if it deems it necessary to modify these rates, it shall submit its proposals to the Minister of Planning to issue the necessary Decision.

Article 4 - The postal region must, in the event of any insured risk under Prime Minister's Decision No. 229 of 2003, take the following measures:

1. Prepare an incident report with the competent police station.
2. Conduct an administrative investigation into the incident.
3. Notify the Fund of the incident, its date, and the resulting losses.
4. Notify the Authority's relevant departments (Region Management, General Inspection Department, Postal Investigations, Legal Affairs Department).
5. Follow up on Public Prosecution decisions and rulings issued regarding the incident and notify the Fund thereof.
6. Follow up on necessary procedures for compensation disbursement after submitting documents and fulfilling the procedures outlined in the preceding clauses.
7. Refer the matter to the Authority's Legal Affairs Department to examine the permissibility of compensation disbursement, and submit the memorandum prepared for this purpose to the Fund's Management Committee to take a decision.
8. The Fund shall notify the Authority's Personnel Affairs Department or Legal Affairs Department, as appropriate, to take criminal, civil, or disciplinary measures before the claim is settled.

Chapter Two: Insurance for Custodians

Article 5 - Subject to Article 10 of Prime Minister's Decision No. 229 of 2003, the Fund shall compensate for shortages in the insured's custodianship under the following conditions:

1. The shortage must result from negligence, fraud, misappropriation, or embezzlement committed by the custodian during the insurance period.
2. The entity to which the custodian belongs must notify the Fund of the shortage immediately upon discovery, while continuing to provide the Fund with all data and documents indicating participation in insurance, occurrence of the shortage, its amount, and the administrative investigation establishing the insured custodian's liability.
3. The compensation amount shall not exceed the insurance amount.

Article 6 - If a single custodianship is entrusted to more than one custodian, it must be fully insured for each custodian individually.

Article 7 - The Fund shall not be liable to compensate for any shortage occurring in a custodian's custody if the Fund has already compensated for a shortage in that custodian's custody.

Article 8 - The entity to which the custodian belongs may not claim compensation from the Fund in the following cases:

1. Failure to discover the shortage within six months following the date of the custodian's death, resignation, or transfer of custodianship to another custodian.
2. Expiration of one month from the date of discovering the shortage without notifying the Fund.
3. Expiration of two years from the date of discovering the shortage without fulfilling the data and document requirements stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 5, unless it is proven that the delay in fulfilling these documents is due to reasons beyond the entity's control. This period may be waived by a decision of the Fund's Management Committee.

Chapter Three: Insurance for Express Mail Materials

Article 9 - Insurance for express mail materials covers risks of loss, damage, theft, or embezzlement, and the following conditions are required for insurance acceptance:

1. Proper packaging of the letter in accordance with the nature of its contents.
2. The insured (sender) must write the complete and correct address of the recipient, including postal code and telephone number, and all data facilitating delivery on the letter's envelope and the corresponding deposit form.
3. The material value of the letter's contents must be proven on the referenced deposit form when necessary.
4. The letter must not contain banknotes, paper money, jewelry, ornaments, or any prohibited items.
5. The letter's contents (for air transport) must comply with the conditions of the Cargo Clauses Institute covering material damage from loss, theft, or damage.

Article 10 - The insurance rate for express mail materials shall be one Egyptian pound for outgoing international letters and twenty-five fils for domestic letters. The sender is entitled to receive one Egyptian pound in case of damage, loss, theft, or embezzlement of the letter. The sender may arrange additional insurance for the postal material, determined at a rate of 2% of its value, as stated in the dispatch notice, provided the insured amount is not less than two hundred Egyptian pounds and does not exceed five thousand Egyptian pounds.

Article 11 - Inquiries regarding express mail materials may be made after a period exceeding one hundred and twenty days from the date of depositing the letter at the postal office. If the office fails to prove within the following three months that the letter has been delivered to the recipient, a relative, or an associate at the address on the envelope or deposit form, the insurance amount becomes due. The sender or their agent must complete the data for the claim form and undertake to return it if any information proves incorrect. The request must be accompanied by the deposit receipt of the insured letter.

Article 12 - The Fund shall not be liable to compensate for shortages in the following circumstances:

1. If the cause of the insured risk is the sender's error in writing the insured's address, failure to clearly indicate delivery data, or improper packaging of the contents.
2. If administrative authorities destroy the letter due to lack of insurance, or seize or confiscate it due to containing prohibited materials.
3. Force majeure.

Chapter Four: Security and Precautionary Measures

Article 13 - Insured postal units must take the following security measures:

1. Unit doors must be made of wrought iron, and iron bars must be fixed on all windows and any openings that threaten its integrity.
2. Verify the integrity of external unit doors, close them, and immediately replace or repair any damaged parts.
3. Verify the integrity of cabinets, safes, and other items used for storing records and parcels.
4. Fix iron safes in a manner that ensures their security.
5. Provide all tools and equipment ensuring the unit's safety and verify the validity of fire extinguishing tools and civil defense means.

Article 14 - The following precautionary measures must be taken for insured postal units:

1. The office agent must keep an insurance register specifically for the unit, recording opening and closing times.
2. The office agent must keep the keys to the unit's external doors as a duty and be responsible for them. Upon closing the unit, they must verify that all valuable items have been deposited in the designated cabinets and safes, and that all unit lights are extinguished except for one bulb left on overnight.
3. The office agent must be present with the mail delivery officer upon the arrival of postal shipments in the morning or evening, and the office must be opened in their presence.
4. It is prohibited to keep the approved cash balance or the insured value of the safe's contents in the unit's safe.
5. The office agent must not allow any employee or worker to remain in the office after working hours unless their presence is necessary for their job nature. The employee or worker in this case is fully responsible for the office during their stay.
6. It is prohibited to allow members of the public to remain inside the office; their interaction must be conducted solely through service counters.
7. The office agent must comply with the Authority's instructions regarding pension disbursement times. The shift supervisor is responsible for implementing all procedures in case the office agent is absent.

Chapter Five: General Provisions

Article 15 - Documentary cycles and special forms for the Government Insurance Fund to guarantee risks facing postal services shall be prepared and printed in accordance with practices at the National Postal Authority.

Article 16 - If insurance activities conducted by the Fund require tenders or auctions, they must be conducted in accordance with the laws, regulations, and financial rules applicable at the National Postal Authority.

Article 17 - This Decision shall be published in the Egyptian Gazette and shall take effect from the day following its publication.

Issued on 24/2/2003
Minister of Planning
/Dr. Othman Mohamed Othman