And usually, the medical reports accompanying the claims are 'merely statements' describing a person's alleged injuries and his account of the accident, with no findings from any medical examination.

This could be because it is very hard for doctors to prove minor injuries such as whiplash, as patients can easily fake them, said private practitioner and motoring columnist Dr Winston Lee.

Doctors in doubt should refer the patients to orthopaedic surgeons for more thorough tests, he said.

Asked for its comments, the Singapore Medical Council said that anyone suspecting a doctor of submitting an 'improper or untruthful' report should bring it to the council's attention.

Just what sort of medical evidence should be submitted to support a claim is among a slew of changes being lobbied for by the GIA.

Others include reducing the statutory limit for claims - currently three years for injury claims and six years for property damage claims - and revising guidelines for amounts awarded for claims.

But in the other corners, workshops, loss adjusters and lawyers argue that the insurance industry would do well to point a finger at itself.

Mr Louis Amalorpavanathan, an investigator with GLA Claims Adjusting & Investigation Services, said the insurance industry must come up with a claims settlement system 'that is more vigilant and transparent'.

Often, inflated claims are settled because no proper investigation is done by the insurer, he said.

He added: 'Insurers insist that motorists report accidents within 24 hours. How about them making the commitment to investigate the accidents promptly too?'

Surveyors should be despatched to the accident site or to inspect accident vehicles as soon as possible. And there must be proper inspection and re-inspection before and after repairs are done.

Mr Amalorpavanathan said motor surveyors are now not required to be licensed, which has led to sub-standard inspections and, therefore, incorrect settlements.

Often, the same surveyors act for the insurer and the workshop - clearly a conflict of interest.

Mr Amalorpavanathan recommends the industry 'set up a regulatory body staffed by experts, but not people in the circle today'.

The GIA concedes that the inspection process could do with more professionalism. 'Each of our member companies has to make sure his house is in order,' Mr Teo said.

Again, he recommended that policyholders speak up if they see 'wrongdoing' by insurance companies, either to the companies themselves or to the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), the Monetary Authority of Singapore or the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

And while the GIA head, Mr Teo, said the association is working with various agencies to tackle exaggerated claims, neither workshop operators nor the legal fraternity said they had been consulted.

Singapore Motor Workshop Association secretary Francis Lim said the GIA had 'refused to meet us', and had chosen instead to go public with its accusations.

Likewise, the Law Society said the GIA had not raised any case of lawyers acting unethically with it.

One agency which has been consulted, however, is the Traffic Police.

Mr Teo believes the police can play a big role in combating inflated claims, as unscrupulous motorists would not make false statements so readily to the police as they might to an insurer.

He has been trying to convince the police to handle accident reports.

Mr Amalorpavanathan agrees that the Traffic Police must enter the picture.

'Today, many injury claims are not even accompanied by police reports,' he said.

The GIA reiterated that it is not tarring all lawyers, workshops and doctors with the same brush. It acknowledged that premiums are also going up because motorists are becoming more litigious.

But Mr Teo continues to insist that if the 'free lunch' mentality of motorists does not change, 'claims will continue to rise, and so will premiums'.

In the meantime, it is working to set up a national database tracking the claims records of all drivers - even those who do not own vehicles.

This way, insurers can charge those with poorer records more and, hopefully, reduce the cost to the cohort of safer drivers.

Whatever the GIA decides to do, it is clear that what will not work are piecemeal solutions, said Singapore's consumer watchdog.

Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said: 'It is time for all insurers to do a thorough review of the car insurance system to find ways to help consumers to lower cost and not take the easy way out by increasing premiums.'

christan@sph.com.sg

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