‘Like all the other Legislative Assembly deputies, I was insured, and like all the other deputies elected at the same time, I was insured through Surgutneftegas’s Yekaterinburg branch. When I was leaving office I found out that, according to my contract with the insurer, I should be compensated in case I get seriously ill. I have second-degree disability at the moment, so the company is supposed to pay me 70% of the insured sum. I informed the insurer about this, but they have been dragging on for ages,’ former deputy of Sverdlovsk Region Legislative Assembly Vladimir Kadochnikov said to UrBC.

‘The three weeks within which the insurer must take the decision will be over soon. We haven’t had a single insured event involving the deputies over the last year, while I have been told by some insurers I am familiar with that my case should definitely be categorized as an insured event. However, I haven’t heard from Surgutneftegas yet, even though the company did promise to answer my query before the end of this week,’ he added.

‘In case the insurance company refuses me the payment, I will probably go to court. I do believe, though, that a court hearing might do the insurer reputation damage as well as bring it on the unscrupulous contractors’ black list. This means no state body will ever insure their workers’ life and health with them,’ Mr. Kadochnikov observed.