A Colombian who dies abroad not only involves pain for those close to him, but a whole drama for the family that wants to say goodbye to their loved one. The process of repatriation of a deceased national can currently take up to a month and can cost between six million and thirty million, including all the procedures that the family of the dead Colombian must carry out.
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This does not always have the support or advice of the Colombian State, which further increases the family drama.
For this reason, a bill is being processed in the Congress of the Republic, authored by the representative of the Democratic Center Juan David Vélez and former senator Álvaro Uribe, which seeks that, At the moment of obtaining their passport, Colombians acquire a funeral insurance that covers the expenses of their repatriation in the event of a possible death.
The project, which has already passed its first of four debates, notes that the cost of this mechanism “It will be caused and paid in a single opportunity at the time of issuance of the passport, the mechanism being linked to the same validity with which the passport was issued.”
The initiative clarifies that this cost “must be marginal and will be regulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.”
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Although today some cards or companies offer options in the event of an eventual death abroad, few people acquire it or know how to activate it so that it really works. The reality is that nobody leaves the country believing that they are going to die or that they will go through a drama that causes their death.
The bill will immediately cover more than 9 million Colombians who have an ordinary passport, 300,000 who have a border passport and 100,000 with a passport of another type; and to all that compatriot who acquires his passport.
However, several members of opposition parties have been against the initiative, considering that this bill is tailored to the insurance companies that can profit from this determination.
“This is a great deal for insurers,” said representative Germán Navas Talero.
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