The claims system established under the Arrangement was designed to make sure the process was accessible and easy to understand for beneficiaries. The claims process had a number of stages.
Pre claims: Most claimants were contacted directly by the pre-claims team, working from a list of known survivors or family members of the deceased. During this call the pre-claims team booked an appointment for them to attend the office, explained the process and ensure they knew which documents would be required by the claims processing team when they arrived. A hot line was also available for those who wished to make an appointment themselves.
Submitting a claim: Claimants would arrive at the RPCA office and be assisted to fill in a claims form, and set up a bank account. For those who required a medical assessment this would normally be done on the same day at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed, based close to the Claims office.
Calculation: Once a claim was submitted and accepted, the information from the claims form and the medical assessment, where required, was checked by the claims processors and then entered into software, developed specifically for the Rana Plaza Arrangement, which would calculate the award using the agreed formula.
Award: Each award was then sent to the Commissioners for checking and then on to the Rana Plaza Coordination Committee for approval. Once the award was approved each of the beneficiaries of the claim was sent a notice of Award and the amount owed was transferred directly into their bank account.