Motor insurance system needs fixing
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jq75
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MOTOR INSURANCE CLAIMS
Raise penalties for not reporting accidents
THERE have been letters recently on the dilemma motorists face when the other party in an accident does not make a report to the insurer ("Governing body needed for motor insurance claims" by Mr Clement Foo Dun Jie, last Friday; and "Motor insurance system needs fixing" by Mr Su Guaning, last Saturday).
The Motor Claims Framework has been helpful to a large extent; requiring insurers to conduct pre-repair inspections has curbed inflated or fraudulent claims.
The next thing for insurers to do is to rein in errant drivers who deliberately fail to make accident reports.
These drivers hope the claimants will back down as the latter need to file costly civil suits, which also require time and energy to pursue.
Some drivers discharge their insurers of liability over the accident, leaving claimants with no other choice but to file civil suits if they wish to pursue their claims.
Currently, most insurers penalise drivers who do not report accidents by reducing their no-claim discount (NCD) by 10 per cent.
They should raise this penalty in direct proportion to the delay in making a report.
For example, if the report is made after 24 hours but within two weeks of the accident, the existing penalty of 10 per cent reduction on the NCD can stay.
But if the report is made between two weeks and four weeks after the accident, the penalty could be raised to a 15 per cent cut on the NCD.
And if there is still no report after four weeks, the penalty could go up to 20 per cent.
Not reporting an accident could also be made an offence, attracting demerit points or fines.
Insurers could even consider terminating the motor insurance contracts of drivers who repeatedly fail to report accidents, and bar them from taking up policies with other insurers for a certain period.
We should not let irresponsible motorists make a mockery of the compulsory motor insurance system for drivers in Singapore.
Su Kim Teck
Raise penalties for not reporting accidents
THERE have been letters recently on the dilemma motorists face when the other party in an accident does not make a report to the insurer ("Governing body needed for motor insurance claims" by Mr Clement Foo Dun Jie, last Friday; and "Motor insurance system needs fixing" by Mr Su Guaning, last Saturday).
The Motor Claims Framework has been helpful to a large extent; requiring insurers to conduct pre-repair inspections has curbed inflated or fraudulent claims.
The next thing for insurers to do is to rein in errant drivers who deliberately fail to make accident reports.
These drivers hope the claimants will back down as the latter need to file costly civil suits, which also require time and energy to pursue.
Some drivers discharge their insurers of liability over the accident, leaving claimants with no other choice but to file civil suits if they wish to pursue their claims.
Currently, most insurers penalise drivers who do not report accidents by reducing their no-claim discount (NCD) by 10 per cent.
They should raise this penalty in direct proportion to the delay in making a report.
For example, if the report is made after 24 hours but within two weeks of the accident, the existing penalty of 10 per cent reduction on the NCD can stay.
But if the report is made between two weeks and four weeks after the accident, the penalty could be raised to a 15 per cent cut on the NCD.
And if there is still no report after four weeks, the penalty could go up to 20 per cent.
Not reporting an accident could also be made an offence, attracting demerit points or fines.
Insurers could even consider terminating the motor insurance contracts of drivers who repeatedly fail to report accidents, and bar them from taking up policies with other insurers for a certain period.
We should not let irresponsible motorists make a mockery of the compulsory motor insurance system for drivers in Singapore.
Su Kim Teck
jq75
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Policyholders who don't make reports: AXA replies
Published on Nov 06, 2013
MR CLEMENT Foo Dun Jie ("Governing body needed for motor insurance claims"; last Friday) is correct in pointing out that insurers industry-wide are not able to settle third-party claims without an accident report from their policyholders.
Where a claim is received before an accident report is made, we will make efforts to contact our policyholder in writing to remind him to make a report.
If an accident report is not made despite our reminders, we will inform the Traffic Police, who will step in to remind the policyholder of the same thing.
We invite Mr Foo to contact us directly so we can get the necessary details to assist him with his case.
Cheryl Lim (Ms)
Published on Nov 06, 2013
MR CLEMENT Foo Dun Jie ("Governing body needed for motor insurance claims"; last Friday) is correct in pointing out that insurers industry-wide are not able to settle third-party claims without an accident report from their policyholders.
Where a claim is received before an accident report is made, we will make efforts to contact our policyholder in writing to remind him to make a report.
If an accident report is not made despite our reminders, we will inform the Traffic Police, who will step in to remind the policyholder of the same thing.
We invite Mr Foo to contact us directly so we can get the necessary details to assist him with his case.
Cheryl Lim (Ms)
jq75
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MOTOR INSURANCE CLAIMS
Serious consequences of not reporting accidents
WE REFER to the letters on the non-reporting of motor accidents to insurers ("Governing body needed for motor insurance claims" by Mr Clement Foo Dun Jie, last Friday; "Motor insurance system needs fixing" by Mr Su Guaning, last Saturday; and "Raise penalties for not reporting accidents" by Mr Su Kim Teck, Wednesday).
Under the General Insurance Association's Motor Claims Framework, motorists are required to file an accident report with their insurer even if there is a private settlement between the parties. This is to protect the insured against the other party later having a change of heart and then filing a claim.
There are serious consequences if drivers fail to file an accident report, because it constitutes a breach of the insurance policy condition. This means the insurer is entitled to repudiate liability, and the insured no longer gets protection under the policy.
Worse still, policyholders who ignore their insurer's request to file an accident report are violating the Road Traffic Act, and may face serious consequences like non-renewal of their motor insurance policies.
Since May 1, 2011, under the Non-injury Motor Accident pre-repair inspection protocol directed by the Subordinate Courts, motorists making property damage claims to their vehicles must give the "other motorist" or the insurer an opportunity to inspect the damage to the vehicle prior to the commencement of repairs. This is aimed at mitigating inflated and fraudulent claims.
The "other motorist's" insurer will have two working days to conduct a pre-repair inspection of the damaged vehicle. After the two working days have lapsed, the workshop is entitled to proceed with the proposed repairs.
For more information, readers may refer to the Consumer Guide at the Motor Insurance section of our website at General Insurance Association Of Singapore (GIA)
Derek Teo
Executive Director
General Insurance Association of Singapore
Serious consequences of not reporting accidents
WE REFER to the letters on the non-reporting of motor accidents to insurers ("Governing body needed for motor insurance claims" by Mr Clement Foo Dun Jie, last Friday; "Motor insurance system needs fixing" by Mr Su Guaning, last Saturday; and "Raise penalties for not reporting accidents" by Mr Su Kim Teck, Wednesday).
Under the General Insurance Association's Motor Claims Framework, motorists are required to file an accident report with their insurer even if there is a private settlement between the parties. This is to protect the insured against the other party later having a change of heart and then filing a claim.
There are serious consequences if drivers fail to file an accident report, because it constitutes a breach of the insurance policy condition. This means the insurer is entitled to repudiate liability, and the insured no longer gets protection under the policy.
Worse still, policyholders who ignore their insurer's request to file an accident report are violating the Road Traffic Act, and may face serious consequences like non-renewal of their motor insurance policies.
Since May 1, 2011, under the Non-injury Motor Accident pre-repair inspection protocol directed by the Subordinate Courts, motorists making property damage claims to their vehicles must give the "other motorist" or the insurer an opportunity to inspect the damage to the vehicle prior to the commencement of repairs. This is aimed at mitigating inflated and fraudulent claims.
The "other motorist's" insurer will have two working days to conduct a pre-repair inspection of the damaged vehicle. After the two working days have lapsed, the workshop is entitled to proceed with the proposed repairs.
For more information, readers may refer to the Consumer Guide at the Motor Insurance section of our website at General Insurance Association Of Singapore (GIA)
Derek Teo
Executive Director
General Insurance Association of Singapore
Z_Dash
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These insurance bodies are screwing with us.
First the ridiculous jack up prices from authorized workshop and later the raise in premium based on such prices.
The last time I had a private settlement but reported for records.......when I next renewed........most insurance companies replied me querying about the full details and a few even quoted higher premium despite private settlement.
When incident with foreign vehicles.......its a one way claim where msia vehicles can easily claim against us with our insurance company paying them promptly and later adjust our NCD and premiums promptly.
But when we need to file claim to msia insurance....its almost 0% chance to claim and even heard a few success stories which involve them paying "kopi money" of a few hundred RM to buy things through and still gotta wait for months.
First the ridiculous jack up prices from authorized workshop and later the raise in premium based on such prices.
The last time I had a private settlement but reported for records.......when I next renewed........most insurance companies replied me querying about the full details and a few even quoted higher premium despite private settlement.
When incident with foreign vehicles.......its a one way claim where msia vehicles can easily claim against us with our insurance company paying them promptly and later adjust our NCD and premiums promptly.
But when we need to file claim to msia insurance....its almost 0% chance to claim and even heard a few success stories which involve them paying "kopi money" of a few hundred RM to buy things through and still gotta wait for months.
Yo2020
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AXA is like pretending to b helpful. the writer has already said he reported to TP n TP can't or wouldn't help coz there was no injury.
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