By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

EVERY month, about a dozen law firms bought just over 4,000 motor accident reports from the General Insurance Association (GIA).

Although the association has never resorted to calling them 'ambulance chasers', it believes there are some law firms here which do little else than pursue motor accident claims.

The GIA suspects these lawyers - tipped off by workshops carrying out repairs on damaged cars - buy the reports to get the details of potential clients.

To curb this 'data mining', the GIA decided last year to leave out some information, such as the contact details of motorists and the circumstances leading to the accident.

It had an immediate effect.

The number of reports purchased by the more than 200 law firms dropped from about 6,000 a month to about 2,500 a month.

The Law Society refutes the GIA's claims. 'We have clear rules against touting,' a spokesman said.

Asked directly if the Law Society was aware of 'ambulance chasing' lawyers here, he said: 'We don't know if there is or isn't.

'We don't have investigative powers. We can't act unless there is an official complaint. If the profession needs to censure a member, it needs to have evidence, good evidence.'

And apparently, it has not received a single complaint backed by hard evidence.

The spokesman noted that it was hardly cost-effective for lawyers to look for business through the GIA accident reports.

'I can't speak for all law firms, but it doesn't seem logical,' the spokesman said.

GIA president Mr Teo retorted: 'If it is not lucrative, why are they still buying the reports?'

It used to be that many claims were processed without going through lawyers and were settled between insurance companies.

These days, most third-party claims and practically all such injury claims are now filed through lawyers, said Mr Teo.

Their actions drive up the size of claims because the claimants need to cover their legal fees, said Mr Teo.

These claims make up an estimated 60 per cent of all motor claims.

Motor claims hit a record $741 million last year - almost double the sum for 1998.

By comparison, the vehicle population rose only 30 per cent in the same period.

But accidents do not have to increase proportionately with the number of cars, argued the Law Society spokesman.

'Because with more cars on the road, you tend to get into more accidents,' he said. People are also more aware of their rights today, he added.

Loss adjuster and private investigator Louis Amalorpavanathan said that some law firms find clients by handing out 'warrants to act' to workshops, which give them to motorists to sign.

This gives the lawyers the right to represent the insured party.

Mr Teo said: 'Often, the dazed motorist does not even know what he is signing...he is led to believe that he is just signing authorisation for the workshop to file claims against third parties.'

Mincing no words, he said: 'You spend so many years pursuing a law degree just to do this? It is such a waste.'

But does leaving one's namecard and authorisation document at workshops constitute touting, which is illegal?

The Law Society spokesman said: 'It is a fine line...If somebody thinks there is touting involved, give evidence. If we think there is touting, we will punish him.'

In any case, he said all parties must adhere to a Non-Injury Motor Accident protocol, which sets out strict guidelines on how claims for such accidents should be handled.

'There is a regime in place for settlement, with suggested costs, which has not been changed since 2002. It was put in place in consultation with various parties, including GIA.

'The whole idea is to encourage an amicable settlement within a fixed time frame,' said the Law Society spokesman.

And the majority of cases are settled before going to court, he pointed out.

But must a lawyer be involved at all when a policyholder makes a claim?

The Law Society replied: 'If you want to have your fair entitlement, then you should have legal advice.

'We feel this complaint about lawyers pushing up claims is a diversion by the insurance companies. They should be more transparent about how premiums are arrived at.

'If motor insurance is so unprofitable, why are the big players fighting so hard to win market share?'

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