Forum: Need for holistic approach to tackling motor insurance fraud
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We thank Mr Teoh Woi Khon for his letter “ Stamp out collusion between motorists and repair workshops
The general insurance sector agrees with Mr Teoh and is against dishonest and fraudulent insurance claims.
The sector, through the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA), continues to implement measures to address the problem of fraudulent claims.
We have put in place relevant controls over the years such as the Motor Claims Framework, the Fraud Management System and the GIA Insurance Fraud Tip-Off Scheme to detect, deter, and have dishonest motorists prosecuted and convicted.
As a sector, reports by the public are valuable to us and could be indications of fraud. To build a case, objective and substantive evidence will need to be provided before the sector can work with law enforcement to prosecute fraudsters.
In allegations of motor insurance fraud received by the GIA, we have observed that more than 99 per cent were of one party’s words against another. These cases without evidence could not be taken further.
If we were to accept that insurance fraud in third-party claims is an issue for only insurers to resolve, there are limitations to what we will be able to achieve.
To tackle this issue effectively, there is a need for a holistic approach that includes law reform on compensation of third-party damage and injury.
To this end, we urge the authorities, such as the Ministry of Law, to work collaboratively with the general insurance sector to achieve a more effective solution.
Ho Kai Weng
Chief Executive
General Insurance Association of Singapore
