WE REFER to the letter, 'Who pays for damage from fallen branch?' (ST, Jan 9), from Mr C. S. Mahadevan.

To ensure that the trees along roads and expressways under the charge of the National Parks Board (NParks) are healthy, our team of arborists inspect and prune them regularly.

However, there are elements of nature beyond our control and it is not possible to eliminate tree-related incidents altogether. Extraneous factors such as strong wind and heavy rain can cause branches of even healthy trees to fall.

Notwithstanding this, all claims for damage caused by fallen trees are assessed by our third-party insurer based on their facts and merits. In this case, our insurer has assessed that the incident was unforeseeable and was not caused by NParks' neglect, as the trees along the AYE where the incident occurred are healthy and had been maintained regularly.

In addition, there had been moderate to heavy rain and strong wind during the two days prior to the incident and on the day of the incident itself. Our insurer's assessment is that this combination of natural elements could have caused the branch to fall.

We would also like to clarify that our officer who met Mr Mahadevan after the incident had advised him to submit the relevant information to enable NParks to look into the matter. He did not give advice on whether Mr Mahadevan should repair his car or not.

Mr Mahadevan may contact NParks on 1800-4717300 or First Capital Insurance on 6854-3930 to discuss the matter further.

Tee Swee Ping
Assistant Director, Streetscape
National Parks Board

R. Athappan
Chief Executive
First Capital Insurance Ltd

WIND-AND-RAIN TOLL

It is not possible to eliminate such incidents entirely. Strong wind and heavy rain can cause branches of even healthy trees to fall.