New one-stop service will mean insurer does all paperwork and even gets tow truck for you

[Vodkeith]

March 27, 2008

In a car crash?

New one-stop service will mean insurer does all paperwork and even gets tow truck for you

By Christopher Tan

NO MORE forms to fill at the roadside. No more queueing at inspection centres. And no more hunting for workshops which are willing to make third-party claims for you.

All you need to do the next time you are in a motor accident is to call your insurer.

 

It will do the rest for you, including sending a surveyor and, if needed, a tow truck - plus supplying a replacement vehicle where feasible.

 

The General Insurance Association (GIA) said yesterday that its 29 member companies expect to launch the 'one-stop' service in May.

 

The move is being introduced in another bid by the association to control motor insurance losses, which hit a five-year high of $103.2 million last year - a big jump over the $625,000 in 2006.

 

Previous efforts included setting up independent damage assessment centres and requiring motorists to fill accident statements at the site of accidents.

 

GIA president Derek Teo said yesterday that the losses can be attributed partly to motorists sending their accident-damaged vehicles straight to workshops - a practice that has often made it difficult for insurers to survey the damage until much later.

 

This, said Mr Teo, has led to contentious claims and litigation which drive costs up unnecessarily.

 

To prevent this, motorists will be required to inform their insurers of an accident within 24 hours in order to enjoy the one-stop service.

 

'If they do not, they will be in breach of an agreement and risk not being covered,' Mr Teo said at the association's 41st annual general meeting luncheon.

 

He added that 'the new scheme is intended to be less painful for everyone'. He also said that insurers would have little or no reason to raise premiums if the scheme was successful in containing costs.

 

It gives motorists several incentives to comply with the 24-hour notification rule.

 

For starters, drivers need no longer struggle to complete the lengthy Singapore Accident Statement at the accident site.

 

The form was introduced in 2004 as an attempt to establish unbiased facts of an accident. However, many motorists find the four-page document unwieldy, and fewer than 10 per cent of those in crashes were found to have completed it.

 

Motorists also need not send their cars to an Independent Damage Assessment Centre (Idac), thus shortening the process of filing a claim and getting their cars repaired.

 

Although the GIA did not say so, the new initiative is likely to result in the dismantling of the six-year-old Idac scheme, and would remove another cost layer.

 

NTUC Income, Idac's strongest supporter - it once said it would carry on with the plan alone if it had to - could not be reached for comment yesterday.

 

The GIA also said yesterday that it would look into why the number of accident reports had risen to 151,583 last year - the highest in five years.

 

But it reckoned that the greater use of commercial vehicles on the back of the economic boom, a larger number of foreigners who are unfamiliar with Singapore roads and worsening traffic congestion were 'logical reasons' for the trend.

 

Motorists welcomed the one-stop move.

 

Housewife Beverly Wong, 38, said: 'It sounds pretty cool. It will save a lot of hassle. I remember going to Idac once and had to queue for a long time.'

 

Shouldn't extra loading be applied for the above two cases rather than across the board???

[Carcuter88]

Can someone point out to me what are the biggest changes to the current system?

 

For me, I still send to my claim workshop to help me settle. Will I still be able to do that in future?

[Gh05tss]

Will this lead to lower premium( significance diff ) ? if not then there's no point, cos I using NTUC is easy, go Idac for photo taking then go to my workshop to get fixing...less then 30mins spend in Idac. Only need to write a report...

[Furrynadz]

its basically rebadging IDAC

 

a flop which will lead to another flop

[Jayzee]

I think it is much convenient than before with the one-stop service..

[Cheekg98]

last time they implemented IDAC to cut insurance costs ... and now they said they want a new scheme

 

sounds like insurance premium is going to go up cos' of the premium service they provide

Edited March 30, 2008 by Cheekg98