The number of accidents reported to insurance companies has risen by a third since new rules were introduced in June to cut down on exaggerated and phony claims.
In June and July, drivers made 33,100 accident reports, 35 per cent more than in the same two-month period last year, said the General Insurance Association(GIA).
The group represents all of Singapore's vehicle insurers.
In the new reporting system, motorists must report accidents,no matter how minor, to their insurance company within 24 hours.
They must also have their vehicles checked out at approved workshops.
If a policyholder fails to report an accident within 24 hours, he risks losing part of his no-claims discount.
The move is designed to help cut down on disputes and phony or exaggerated claims. Those have been fingered as the main causes of rising premiums and underwriting losses.
The GIA said the accident-reporting numbers indicated that the new system was 'understood and well-received by the motoring public'.
GIA president Derek Teo had said that he was confident the new effort would eventually help keep premiums down.
While the number of reports are on the rise, observers say the short window for inspections gives drivers less of an opportunity to inflate claims.
Some motorists are still missing the 24-hour deadline, however.
In June and July, over 5,300 accident reports were made after the one-day window. This was 62 per cent less than in the same time last year, though.
The system has met with resistance from vehicle workshops, some of whom are not among those approved by the GIA.
Mr Bernard Low, the president of the Singapore Motor Workshop Association, said the practice restricted consumers choice and may even be anti-competitive.
"If the GIA is suggesting that workshops outside the approved workshop scheme are responsible for inflating claims, we urge it to disclose credible statistics to substantiate the claim", Mr Low said.
"Motorists are also on the losing end because some insurers dictate the terms of repair and labour rates for their appointed workshops", he said.
The GIA said the resistance 'is to be expected'.
Suffice to say, we believe that workshops should cooperate with insurers to meet their survey and repair requirements and seek to be considered authorised workshops,a GIA spokesman said.
Mr Low said that attempts by his association to meet the GIA had failed.
"We've been waiting for a chance to sit down and talk, to see how we can help. But they have not got back to us," he said.
Meanwhile, if the rate of accident reports continues for the rest of the year, 2008's tally will break last year's record of 151,583.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on August 11, 2008.
