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Foreword From
Former GIA President
The Non-Injury Motor Accident Report Scheme is the result of numerous
discussions and fine-tuning between the General Insurance Association
of Singapore and the Traffic Police.
Working in collaboration with the Traffic Police, the GIA has come
up with an electronic system to replace the current manual system
for the storage and retrieval of motor accident reports. The electronic
system, operated by the GIA Records Management Centre, will enable
interested parties to access the details of the accident and get the
accident reports in a shorter period.
We are sure that this scheme will assist the public and look forward
to serving you at the GIA Records Management Centre.
Mr Albert Koh
Former President
General Insurance Association of Singapore
1 May 1999
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Foreword From Traffic
Police
The new system of reporting non-injury accident would not have been
possible without the efforts of GIA.
The scheme will benefit motorists who can look forward to receiving
their reports faster and more efficiently.
Traffic Police will closely monitor the scheme and assist GIA to fine-tune
the scheme where necessary.
I urge motorists to give support to the scheme to ensure its success.
Supt. Rajoo V. Gopal
Commander
Traffic Police, Singapore
1 May 1999
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History of General
Insurance Association of Singapore
The General Insurance Association (GIA) was formed in 1965 and commenced
operations on 1 January 1967, with the first Annual General Meeting
held on 28 March 1968. Working in both Malaysia and Singapore the
Association was very active in all field of insurance in both countries.
In 1972, the GIA was officially registered as the General Insurance
Association of Singapore and the Malaysian counterpart re-organised
themselves as the Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia (PIAM).
Starting on a small scale in 1972, the secretariat has grown to over
7 staff members with an Executive Director.
Membership
The Association comprises Ordinary Members and Associate Members.
Ordinary Members are insurers who have been registered under the provisions
of the Insurance Act in Singapore with the object of transacting direct
insurance business in Singapore.
Associate members are companies other than those entitled to apply
for Ordinary Membership of the Association. The Association has a
current membership base of 37 Ordinary Members and 9 Associate Members
and they come from over 12 countries, namely:
| Australia |
China |
France |
Germany |
| India |
Japan |
Malaysia |
Singapore |
| Sweden |
Switzerland |
United Kingdom |
United States of America |
Active as a Corporate Citizen, GIA has contributed more than S$850,000
over the last few years to organisations like the Community Chest, the
National Fire Prevention Council, the National Crime Prevention Council
and the Police Force.
GIA had also set up the Insurance Ombudsman Bureau in 1987 to help individual
and sole proprietors in arbitrating their claims up to S$100,000. Several
other schemes to help the public had also been started over the years
including the Minimum Requirements for General Insurance Agents scheme
which took effect from 1 October 1990.
Promoting the Insurance Industry regionally and internationally, GIA
has organised trade missions overseas, like the Study and Trade tour
of 1994 to China.
GIA is currently on the internet with its website located at http://www.gia.org.sg
- What Is The Non-Injury
Motor Accident Report Scheme ?
The present system as envisaged by most of us is that every accident,
whether minor, major, with or without injury, should be reported to
the Police within 24 hours.
The truth of the matter is that the parties involved can either exchange
particulars or report the accident to the Police within 24 hours. Doing
one or the other will suffice.
The need has been and remains so that the accident must be reported
to the insurance companies involved in insuring the vehicles.
Effective from 1st May 1999, motorists need only lodge a police accident
report for 5 categories of motor accident cases:
- injury case;
- non-injury case involving a government vehicle or damage to government
property;
- non-injury case involving a foreign vehicle*;
- non-injury case involving a pedestrian or cyclist.
* Foreign vehicles are defined as all vehicles registered in
another country, all vehicles owned by visiting forces present in
Singapore, all vehicles with USN or USG prefixes, and as a general
rule, all vehicles insured by an insurance company not registered
to transact general insurance business in Singapore.
- non-injury "hit-and-run" case
Definition of Injury Accident
An injury accident is defined as one in which:
- at least one party involved in the accident was conveyed to hospital
from the accident scene by an ambulance; or
- if conveyance to hospital was done through other transport, the
party is subsequently hospitalised, or given outpatient medical
leave** of 3 days or more; or
- where no one was conveyed to hospital from the scene, latent injury
had subsequently developed which entailed hospitalisation, or outpatient
medical leave of 3 days or more.
Should your accident not fall under any of the above definitions, then
it is termed a non-injury motor accident, and you will need to submit
your details to your insurance company.
The insurance company will process the form and submit it to the GIA
Records Management Centre.
** Medical leave must be granted by a medical practitioner who has
been duly registered under the Medical Registration Act, Chapter 174.
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Assurances
On The Non-Injury Motor Accident Report Scheme
Assurance 1 : You Can Retrieve Your Records Faster !
You can now access the details of the accident and get the accident
reports in a shorter period than with the present system from the
Traffic Police. Previously you had to wait a minimum of several weeks
before you could get the reports from the Traffic Police. However
with the GIA Records Management Centre, you should be able to retrieve
the documents related to your accident, if available, within seven
working days of your request, subject to payment.
Assurance 2 : Lower Cost !
You can be assured that there will be no extra cost to you should
you wish to retrieve the documents - the amount charged by the GIA
Records Management Centre will be S$27 compared to S$30 previously.
Assurance 3 : No Effect On You No Claim Discount !
There is absolutely no change as far as No Claim Discount is concerned.
Assurance 4 : Faster Settlement Of Claims !
Under the old system, you needed to wait several weeks before you
could get your report and then they would be sent to the insurance
companies for processing, which means another round of waiting again.
Under this new system the reports are filed with the GIA- Records
Management Centre and the client can access the information within
7 working days if the reports are available. This will lead to a faster
processing of claims by all parties.
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Procedures
Of The Non-Injury Motor Accident Report Scheme
This scheme is a simple four-step procedure.
Step 1
Once you have determined that your accident is a non-injury motor
accident, you need to contact your insurance company immediately for
the Non-Injury Motor Accident Report Form.
Step 2
Fill in the form with the insurance company's guidance or simply do
it yourself, it is very easy.
Step 3
Send the completed form in to your insurance company and they will
do the rest.
Step 4
You will be informed of the outcome of the claim.
- Should further information be required in relation to the processing
of your claims, you will be informed.
- Should your non-injury accident be reclassified as an injury accident,
Traffic Police will initiate investigation and you may be contacted
for a police statement to be recorded.
- No penalties will be imposed on you should you proceed to file
a non-injury report without prior knowledge that the accident is or
has been classified as an injury case, or is one requiring a police
report.
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Commonly Asked Questions
and Answers On The Non-Injury Motor Accident Report Scheme
1. Why have you decided to introduce this new scheme?
The GIA and the Traffic Police have been discussing this scheme for
some time. Such a system will benefit the public, as the scheme will
be faster in the processing of claims and cost less to the public
than the existing system.
2. What benefits are there to the public with this scheme?
There are several benefits :-
(a) The process of settlement of insurance claims can be expedited
(b) It will now cost less for the public to retrieve a motor accident
report
(c) The public need not make duplicate reports to the police and their
insurance companies
3. Where does the public go for the reporting of accidents?
The public should make their reports at their insurance companies.
4. Do the insurance companies make any money out of this scheme?
This scheme will benefit the public as it allows for accident reports
to be retrieved much faster thereby shortening the time for processing
claims. The scheme is not intended to be profit driven.
5. Is there an impartial party deciding on the accidents?
This scheme is a report and retrieval system - it is merely a change
from a manual system to an electronic system. All other things remain
the same. The GIA Records Management Centre will not make any rulings
on accidents as liability for the accidents will be established between
the parties and their respective insurers. You continue to have the
right to take up legal action if you believe you have a case and in
that case, the court is the final authority.
6. Will my NCD be affected?
There is absolutely no change as far as the No Claim Discount is concerned.
7. Does my cost for insurance increase with this additional work
by the insurers?
Motor premium will not go up as a result of this scheme.
8. What sort of statistics can you give to convince us that this
scheme will benefit everyone?
Currently, most motorists report non-injury accidents to the Police
although there is actually no requirement to do if particulars have
been exchanged. Despite Police efforts to investigate non-injury accidents,
more than 90% of the reports are filed away with no action taken due
to inconclusive evidence. With the new scheme, the public can obtain
the motor accident reports, if these have been filed with the Records
Management Centre, within 7 working days of their application, as
compared to 6 weeks previously, hence speeding up the claims processing.
9. How do I go about applying for a motor accident report ?
You may go to the GIA Records Management Centre (GIARMC) which is
located at 112 Robinson Road #05-03 HB Robinson, Singapore 068902. The GIARMC operates from
9.00 am to 5.00 pm, Mondays to Fridays and 9.00 am to 12.00 noon on
Saturdays (Tel : 3247447/8, Fax : 2261280). The completed application
form can be submitted to the GIARMC or you could fax it through later.
The GIARMC will acknowledge your application and also inform you if
the requested motor accident report is in the database. If the motor
accident report is available, you can expect to receive it within
7 working days of payment of the charges.
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