insurer goes to court over 'unlicensed' driver

today, there was an interesting motor insurance case which was highlighted in the straits times headlined:

"insurer goes to court over 'unlicensed' driver".

what happened?

it seems a young motorist by the name of tan yong ren who was driving his uncle's car collided with a lorry leaving one man dead and subsequently, there was a claim submitted.

what's the twist?

the insurer, direct asia investigated the claim and found that mr tan who is 21 years old allegedly held an international licence which is not valid in singapore.

direct asia has brought the case to court and claimed it was duped into including mr tan as a named driver in the motor insurance policy*. the insurer says it should not have to shoulder any compensation payouts to victims of the accident because it insured mr tan based on a misleading claim that his licence was a valid one. direct asia wants the high court to declare it is entitled to cancel the policy.

*the policy does not cover motorists aged under 25 or those with less than 2 years' experience on the road, unless they were offical named drivers.

the insurer is also seeking the high court's declaration that any compensation payouts are settled by the motor insurers bureau* where cases are dealt with when the policy is void and the bureau can then bill the driver.

*The Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) is an independent body that was set up by insurers in 1975 and is funded by all motor insurers in Singapore. Its main purpose is to compensate people injured in road accidents caused by negligent untraced or uninsured motorists. The MIB provides a safeguard for consumers who are victims in road accidents. The MIB’s registered office is at 180 Cecil Street, Bangkok Bank Building, #07-03, Singapore 069546.

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