Proposal to make errant motorists pay higher premiums

Star: PETALING JAYA: Hardcore traffic offenders, better think twice if you are still bent on ignoring the law.
You may soon find yourselves facing a hefty loading on your insurance policies for joining the ranks of the accident-prone.
And certain groups of repeat offenders may actually be denied coverage altogether.
The moves come under a proposal the Government is looking at to force motorists who chalk up summonses blithely or refuse to change their attitude even after being hauled to court to think about safety.
It is learnt that the proposal is targeted at those who commit serious offences such as speeding, beating traffic lights, queue cutting, reckless driving and overtaking on double lines.
Road Safety Department director-general Suret Singh, who confirmed that the Government was mulling over the proposal, said bad drivers must be penalised.
“Eventually, those who flout traffic rules will have to pay the price,” he said, adding that the Government was working with insurers and other relevant groups to implement the proposal as early as next year.
Certain insurance companies now impose loading of between 5% and 150% based on the age of vehicles and frequency of claims but not on the number of offences committed by the insured.
General Insurance Association of Malaysia executive director Lim Chia Fook said the proposal was one of a range of measures being looked at to increase road safety awareness and reduce accidents.
“The insurance industry will support the move as it is a reasonable underwriting procedure to distinguish between high-risk drivers and the safer ones,” he said.
He noted that in the United States, drivers in the high-risk group faced heavier loading if they were involved in accidents.
“Because it becomes expensive if they are reckless, people think about driving safely.”
Traffic offenders who refused to change, he added, must be taken off the road.
According to Lim, underwriters will look at the various types of information available, including the frequency of summonses, the number of compound fines paid and the gravity of the offences.
The proposal, he added, was viable and timely.
“So the various agencies need to sit down and come up with a fair and effective mechanism to implement it to promote a safe driving culture in the country,” he said.
Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general Datuk Emran Kadir said his department would gladly supply the names of serious traffic offenders to insurers.
“It is the right of insurance companies to impose loading or even deny serious offenders coverage as they are the ones who pay out when an accident happens,” he added.
The JPJ's online link with insurance companies under the e-insurance cover note system, he said, would allow easy exchange of information on offenders.
However, he added: “I will support this move, but a driver who has repented and stopped committing dangerous offences should not be continuously penalised by insurers.”