3rd party insurance claim

[dietcoke]

Hi all, seriously need some advice from u all.

recently, i was driving my car. then at a traffic light junction ( red light in our favour), i stopped. suddenly, a car bang into mine from behind. then, i proceed to file 3rd party claim from that person (B).

then, B introduce me to his workshop. they assess the damage to my vehicle was around 4-5k. so, i proceed to make a report at the workshop office. the report include drawings and a short story telling of how the accident happened.

however, things started to turn complicated when they said that they will send me a lawyer's letter. this letter is for me to give authorization to the lawyer to claim 3rd party claims from B.

when i asked the workshop is the lawyer letter needed, they say this is a new protocol of LTA.

the thing i want to ask is, is the lawyer letter sensible/needed? some of the facts i will list below:

1. my insurance is ntuc, B is AIG.
2. B banged my car at the red light. B also said he will let me claim his insurance.
3. i and B will be doing our car at the same workshop.
4. the workshop people say that the lawyer's authorization is for him(the lawyer) to claim insurance from B.

i am unsure of the lawyer letter, as i had ask my friends, all of them said they never heard anything regarding the lawyer letter.

pls advise.. thanks alot:(:(

 

[Yip Hon]

.



when are you so worried ???


it should be "B" to worry about getting lawyer letter


can you type out the gist of the law letter you received ?


i can refer you to my lawyer

 

[hotbot]

bro ip,you are back! yups, as long as diet coke take pictures of his car's damaged back, no need to worry even if they want to snook you.
i think!~~

.



when are you so worried ???


it should be "B" to worry about getting lawyer letter


can you type out the gist of the law letter you received ?


i can refer you to my lawyer

 

[Yip Hon]

.


dont worry bro , just type it lah ...

 

[dietcoke]

the workshop says that the lawyer will be sending it to my house, so cannot type it out. btw, anyone encounter this prob before? as in involvement in accident, lawyer letters are given out?

workshop people say i don't need to worry, as it is only an authorization for me to allow their lawyer to file 3rd party claims against B.

this sounds logical, but my friends kena accident last time, there is no need for lawyer representation to file claims.

so, which is the correct procedure?

 

[NoNewsGood]

pls advise.. thanks alot:(:(

The easiest thing to do is to call your own insurance hotline and ask for advice.

 

[Yip Hon]

the workshop says that the lawyer will be sending it to my house, so cannot type it out. btw, anyone encounter this prob before? as in involvement in accident, lawyer letters are given out?

workshop people say i don't need to worry, as it is only an authorization for me to allow their lawyer to file 3rd party claims against B.

this sounds logical, but my friends kena accident last time, there is no need for lawyer representation to file claims.

so, which is the correct procedure?

bro sorry to say you are very anxious for nothing ...

for your info normal to take 2 to 3 years to finish

this mess you are in so please relax ...


when you got the law letter then write to me again ...

good luck

 

[dietcoke]

hi YH, care to elaborate more on why it takes 2-3years? did u encounter this issue before?

i thought claiming of insurance for vehicles are relatively fast and easy, provided i and B do not forge statement and the workshop do not over inflate their prices..

 

[LonewolfAlfa]

i encountered a very similar situation as you.

Actually, u would need to pay the workshop first then YOU claim from the other party's insurance and u get your money back,

or

you claim from your insurance then your insurance will claim from the other party, but this is not advisable as it would affect your premium.

but sometimes in straight forward cases like this, the workshop will just proceed with the repairs, and they help you claim from the other party as they are confident that they can recover the costs plus profits. the workshop's appointed laywer will do the claim however they do need your authorisation to claim on your behalf.

so u need to sign the authorization letter from the lawyer in order for them to act on your behalf and once the claim has been settled, u will need to sign a release letter. U dont need to fork out a single cent.

 

[Frankiestine]

Did B give you anything in writing that he will bear the responsibility for the repairs? Have you informed your own insurance about this? Cos end of the day if they turn round and deny any part to all these and you want to make a claim, your own insurance might not honor because you did not report to them within the time frame.

 

[dietcoke]

to lone wolf: currently, what you have described fits my situation now. the workshop people and even B assured that i don't need to fork out a single cent. even the replacement vehicle ( from rental company) is free.

as i claiming insurance for the first time ( although i'm driving for years, kena accident also private settlement), i am not so sure about the lawyer representing me. moreover, i asked my friends, non of them said that they encounter the same situation like mine.



to frankinstein: B did not give me a written statement, however, all the procedures are done as i had already file the accident insurance report with the workshop. correct me if i'm wrong, cos i don't think they can deny cos:

1. i have taken photo of my car rear end and B's front.
2. i 'm not in fault cos the light was red and my was stationary, while he bang my car's rear.
3. i have witness ( not related to both me and B), as he came out to assist us after the accident.


to nogoodnews: hi, i had called ntuc, however, i was directed to a pinoy/indian. i couldn't understand what she is saying. neither did she understand me. in the end, she sounds frustrated and i hang up the phone.

 

[sgcrystalball]

Hi Dietcoke,

one thing that does not seem right to me:
quoted: "B introduced me to his workshop."

You are with NTUC. Your workshop is IDAC. You should make a report at IDAC.
Let IDAC handle the claiming against B. (Just show them the proof and pictures). NTUC will handle all the lawyer matters with AIG.

I got a sense B is trying to cheat on you.

 

[Echo_O]

If straightforward claim like yours i.e. hit from the rear, any workshop that has not been blacklisted by insurance companies can easily claim repair cost and loss of use for you from the insurers.

Why did you agree to go to the guy's workshop? there have been scams where accidents were staged and party involved was asked to go to a particular workshop. Best thing is to either go to your insurer's panel of workshops or the other party's panel of authorised workshop.

The workshop may need your authorisation to use a lawyer for various reasons. They could either have a very bad record of inflated claims againts insurers or they could just be worried that the insurer's ignore their claims and thus need to send a lawyer's letter or perhaps both.
But in any case, a letter of authorisation from you for the workshop/lawyer to act on your behalf is quite common.

 

[LonewolfAlfa]

to lone wolf: currently, what you have described fits my situation now. the workshop people and even B assured that i don't need to fork out a single cent. even the replacement vehicle ( from rental company) is free.

as i claiming insurance for the first time ( although i'm driving for years, kena accident also private settlement), i am not so sure about the lawyer representing me. moreover, i asked my friends, non of them said that they encounter the same situation like mine.



to frankinstein: B did not give me a written statement, however, all the procedures are done as i had already file the accident insurance report with the workshop. correct me if i'm wrong, cos i don't think they can deny cos:

1. i have taken photo of my car rear end and B's front.
2. i 'm not in fault cos the light was red and my was stationary, while he bang my car's rear.
3. i have witness ( not related to both me and B), as he came out to assist us after the accident.


to nogoodnews: hi, i had called ntuc, however, i was directed to a pinoy/indian. i couldn't understand what she is saying. neither did she understand me. in the end, she sounds frustrated and i hang up the phone.

I was in a very similar accident as yours almost 3 years ago. a taxi bang my backside.

anyway this workshop appointed lawyer authorisation form is common. but most workshop they dont want to go this way because they want u to pay up first then u go claim insurance. its faster for them to get the money. thats why most of your friends havent heard of it.

 

[dietcoke]

hi sgcrystalball : i agreed to go to his workshop because at the point of accident, B wanted to private settlement with me, cos he said his insurance permium very high as recently, he was also involved in another accident. as we all know, each and every driver has their 'own' workshop. so he wanted me to go to his workshop.

as we reached the workshop, after surveying my damages, the quoted price was 4-5k by the workshop people. then the workshop people advised B it would be better to claim insurance as to repair both cars would easily cost 7-8k. it was then we convert from 'private settlement' to 'claim insurance'.

Hi echo_O: is there anyway to check whether a particular workshop has been blacklisted by insurance companies?

to lonewolfalfa: you did mentioned that most workshop will want me to pay up and claim insurance later. however, why do this workshop readily agreed to help me claim 3rd party insurance from B without me having to pay first? is there any possible loophole to this?

 

[Yoshitei]

Hi all, seriously need some advice from u all.

recently, i was driving my car. then at a traffic light junction ( red light in our favour), i stopped. suddenly, a car bang into mine from behind. then, i proceed to file 3rd party claim from that person (B).

then, B introduce me to his workshop. they assess the damage to my vehicle was around 4-5k. so, i proceed to make a report at the workshop office. the report include drawings and a short story telling of how the accident happened.

however, things started to turn complicated when they said that they will send me a lawyer's letter. this letter is for me to give authorization to the lawyer to claim 3rd party claims from B.

when i asked the workshop is the lawyer letter needed, they say this is a new protocol of LTA.

the thing i want to ask is, is the lawyer letter sensible/needed? some of the facts i will list below:

1. my insurance is ntuc, B is AIG.
2. B banged my car at the red light. B also said he will let me claim his insurance.
3. i and B will be doing our car at the same workshop.
4. the workshop people say that the lawyer's authorization is for him(the lawyer) to claim insurance from B.

i am unsure of the lawyer letter, as i had ask my friends, all of them said they never heard anything regarding the lawyer letter.

pls advise.. thanks alot:(:(

Here's the process.

1. Make a report at the insurer's appointed accident reporting center (http://www.income.com.sg/claims/motor/reportingcentres.asp).
2. Depending on the your policy and the age of your vehicle, you can either go back to the distributor for repairs or have to go to an approved workshop (http://www.income.com.sg/claims/motor/wshop-arc.asp).
3. Period.

There is no need to involve lawyers - don't be fooled here. Getting lawyers involved will only drive up the cost of premiums especially when your case is straight forward.

I strongly recommend against any workshop other then those approved by your insurance; for obvious reasons.

Lastly, the most important is...

1. Do you have photos of the accident scene?
2. Have you signed on any documents?

If unsure, refer to http://www.moneysense.gov.sg/resource/publications/guides_publications/GIA-WhatTodo-final.pdf.

Hope it helps.

 

[Yoshitei]

to lonewolfalfa: you did mentioned that most workshop will want me to pay up and claim insurance later. however, why do this workshop readily agreed to help me claim 3rd party insurance from B without me having to pay first? is there any possible loophole to this?

NTUC can be very difficult to work with at times, follow the process as dictated by them and you'll be fine.

Try to be nice and you'll find yourself eaten alive by workshop/lawyer partnerships.

Be warned.

By the way, you have 24 hours to inform your insurance else your NCB will be affected.

 

[dietcoke]

to yoshitei: wah! this time die liao!:( it's been more than 24hrs and i had signed on the documents already. cos at the time of reaching his workshop, i already made a claim on B's insurance.

 

[Yoshitei]

to yoshitei: wah! this time die liao!:( it's been more than 24hrs and i had signed on the documents already. cos at the time of reaching his workshop, i already made a claim on B's insurance.

What documents did you sign?

 

[middaydog]

some time ago a woman friend got hit from behind at AYE at night and she in turn hit the one in front of her so all three got down, the moment their feet touched the ground they were surrounded by well wishers who offered to arrange for tow truck, repair, insurance claim etc, being woman, she agreed to it while the guy in front refused so her car got towed to the workshop, however upon reaching home she was screw by the husband ( not screw in that sense ) and the husband went to the workshop the next morning and moved the car to her insurance's workshop