Insurance Claims for Local and Foreign Motorists for Accidents in Singapore

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Transport (a) for the last three years (i) what is the number of foreign vehicles entering Singapore; (ii) what is the number of accidents involving foreign vehicles in Singapore; and (b) whether the Ministry will liaise with the Malaysian government to work out a mutually beneficial regulatory framework to facilitate easier motor insurance claims for both Singaporean and Malaysian motorists involved in accidents in Singapore.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Our Motor Vehicle (Third Party Risks & Compensation) Act (MV Act) requires all vehicles used on Singapore roads to be insured against third party bodily injury and death. This is to ensure that victims who are injured or killed in motor accidents are not denied compensation. There are similar provisions in the Malaysian Road Traffic Act.

To facilitate the smooth flow of traffic between Singapore and Malaysia, since 1975, Malaysian insurers had entered into a Special Agreement with the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Singapore. This Agreement requires them to settle claims for their insureds who get into accidents in Singapore, in accordance with Singapore legislation. Singapore-based insurers have a similar agreement with West Malaysia's Motor Insurers' Bureau. Should accidents involving deaths or injuries occur in either country, these agreements facilitate third party claimants from both jurisdictions to file their claims with the insurers on the other side directly.

In the past three years, the average number of foreign vehicles entering Singapore is about 400,000 annually, the majority being Malaysian-registered vehicles. At the land checkpoints, the Land Transport Authority verifies that each foreign-registered vehicle has valid insurance before allowing it to be driven into Singapore. In this same three-year period, about 2800 accidents a year involving foreign vehicles had been reported.

In regard to insurance claim processes, the insurance companies in both jurisdictions have their established processes to assess each claim according to its validity and merit. Where there are disputes, the private insurance associations in the two countries, namely, the General Insurance Association of Singapore and their counterpart Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM), do facilitate claims settlement negotiations with the insurers concerned.

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