Measuring the effect of personal accidental insurance on reduction of occupational accidents; a model recommendation for the construction industry

Occupational accidents cause significant socio-economic losses not only in developing countries but also in developed countries. In addition, the effective implementation of occupational health and safety measures by developing different methods and systems in countries with a high human development index has facilitated the adoption of safe working awareness by individuals and institutions, and has enabled a continuous decrease in deaths as a result of work accidents. It is known that some special measures are applied especially for risky sectors in developed countries. A similar accident insurance system, which was first applied in coal mining in Germany, has been partially implemented in the Turkish mining sector since the second half of 2015. The system, which was implemented under the name of Mining Employees Compulsory Personal Accident Insurance, provided immediate compensation to employees and their relatives who suffered a work accident in the covered business lines, while contributing to occupational health and safety studies and reducing the number of work accidents. The conclusion of this type of insurance contract and the continuation of the contract are dependent on the enterprises within the scope of having minimum conditions in terms of occupational health and safety. In this sense, it is thought that the risk examination studies carried out at regular intervals in mining enterprises by independent experts and experts who have the necessary accreditation contribute to the work of occupational health and safety. Within the scope of the thesis, a field study was conducted with 423 earth science engineers who worked and worked in mining enterprises. In the research, the effectiveness of risk examination studies carried out within the scope of Mining Employees Compulsory Personal Accident Insurance in mining enterprises operating in Turkey was examined; In addition, personal observations and evaluations of earth science engineers working in the enterprises were also taken into account. A large part of earth science engineers state that the risk examination studies carried out by the risk examination committees assigned by the Insurance Information and Surveillance Center have a positive contribution to the occupational health and safety studies in the enterprises. This study has two main aims. The first one is to examine whether the Mining Employees Compulsory Personal Accident Insurance has a positive effect on the number of work accidents occurred in the process by contributing to the occupational health and safety studies in the business lines covered, and the second one is to examine the frequency of personal accident insurance, work accidents and deaths as a result of work accidents and create a political model that can be applied in the construction sector where it is experienced. An important part of the deaths as a result of work accidents that occur every year in Turkey is experienced in the construction sector. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to reduce the occupational accidents in the construction sector, which has irregular and risky working environments, to the desired levels, with known occupational health and safety measures. The implementation of the Construction Employees Compulsory Personal Accident Insurance Model, designed within the scope of the thesis, in the construction sector will not only provide additional assurance to the employees, but also contribute to the reduction in the number of deaths as a result of work accidents in the sector.