Motorists have to take their vehicles to a reporting centre or workshop authorised by the insurer. Many drivers are now choosing to settle the repairs on the spot, instead of going to their regular garages, say industry players.

The Singapore Motor Workshop Association (SMWA) said less than 10 per cent of the more than 1,000 workshops here are authorised.

'In other words, the rest of the non-authorised workshops lose their right to serve the industry and their regular customers,' SMWA president Bernard Low said in a letter to The Straits Times Forum on Wednesday.

The new rule, imposed by the General Insurance Association (GIA), was meant to help fight inflated motor claims, which it says contribute to millions of dollars of underwriting losses every year.

The GIA believes that getting motorists to report all accidents within 24 hours will make it less likely for unscrupulous workshops to get involved and jack up claims.

But non-authorised workshops say the move is anti-competitive and puts them at a disadvantage.

Since the rule kicked in last Sunday, they have noticed a dip in business.

Mr Chua Meng Hiang, supervisor of a Sin Ming workshop, said he lost at least three customers this week.

'They brought their cars to our workshop, but because we are not authorised by their insurers, we could not file a report for them,' he said.

The customers then moved their cars to authorised workshops so that the damage could be surveyed, but they did not return to Mr Chua's workshop.

'Drivers wouldn't want to tow their cars back and forth. If this goes on, all our business will be taken away,' said Mr Chua.

One workshop owner said he no longer receives calls from customers involved in accidents, while another said he has had zero repair jobs this week.

In response to workshops' concerns, the GIA said in a letter to The Straits Times Forum today that the new rule does not change how insurers work in terms of restricting repairs to certain workshops.

'Such restrictions on repairs, if any, are dependent on the type of motor insurance policy being purchased by the customers and this varies from insurer to insurer,' said GIA executive director Mark Lim.

However, GIA president Derek Teo said it is more convenient for motorists to get their repairs done at authorised workshops to avoid making a second trip elsewhere.

And it appears that most motorists agree. Only four out of 20 drivers told The Straits Times that they would stick with an unauthorised workshop.

But non-authorised workshops are not giving up yet. They are calling for the GIA to release a detailed breakdown of their payouts, showing the amounts paid out for injury and repair claims.

'They should be more transparent and show us that inflated repair claims are really a problem,' said one workshop owner.

ghimlay@sph.com.sg

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LIM HENG LIANG