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Article5_Content
Reply to "Higher premiums? Let's have more transparency" by Patrick Tan Siong
Kuan (Straits Times 3 Jan 2005).
To The Editor
The Straits Times (Forum)
3 Jan 2005
I refer to the letter entitled "Higher premiums? Let's have more transparency"
by Patrick Tan Siong Kuan (Straits Times 3 Jan 2005).
NTUC Income insures over 40% of vehicles in Singapore. It is our practice to be
transparent and fair in our dealings with our customers.
I will invite Mr Patrick Tan to a special briefing to be held (tentatively) at 7
pm on 24 January at our office in Bras Basah Road. This invitation is also
extended to anyone who has an interest in this topic, including the media. If
you wish to attend, please call 6877 3366.
At the briefing, I will answer the issues raised by Mr Patrick Tan and
additional questions that are submitted in advance by other attendees. I will
also take questions from the floor.
Meanwhile, I wish to give the following facts.
The number of claims submitted by motorists has increased by 44% over the past
five years. As a percentage of insured vehicles, the claim rate increased from
13.2 in 1999 to 19.0 per 100 vehicles in 2003.
There are more disputes. The parties involved in the accident often provide
conflicting statements about the accident and put the blame on the other party.
They want our claim officer to pay their claim and allow them to keep their No
Claim Discount. The handling of these disputes is time consuming and costly,
especially if lawyers are involved
Third party claimants insist on their right to engage their own workshop to
repair their vehicle and to appoint a lawyer to submit their claim. The claims
tend to be inflated.
Although the car prices have reduced in recent years (due to lower COE and tax),
the repair costs have increased due to higher part prices. The premium rates
depend on the claims, and not on car prices
Mr Patrick Tan suggest that insurers are not doing enough to control the claim
costs. I disagree. I can sincerely say that we have tried our best to bring down
the costs and have taken many initiatives in recent years. We do what we can,
but it is not easy.
There is also strong competition among the 30 insurers in Singapore. Recently, a
large insurer announced a 10% reduction in their premium rate. We studied their
revised rates and found that our premium rates are still lower. We will continue
to keep our premium rates as low as possible
NTUC Income
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