Motor claim by third party

A motorist wrote to complain in the newspaper. His insurer was not willing to contest a claim submitted by a third party through a lawyer. As his insurer has paid the claim, he will lose his no-claim discount. He was not at fault in the accident.

Due to the lax attitude towards setting third party claims, he expects that the insurers will have to be making losses and will increase their premium rates soon.

To solve this problem, we have to tackle the root cause. Here are the key points:

* it is difficult for the insurer to contest a third party claim
* it is one motorist's word against another motorist
* it is costly to investigate the cause of the accident

The solution is to require all motorists to make an immediate report and have the vehicle inspected at an Idac center. If this is not made compulsory, there will always be disputes of this kind.

A few years ago, the insurance companies agreed to implement this requirement. Some insurers dropped out later, for competitive reasons. Others followed.

We need discipline from all parties, for the root cause of the problem to be corrected.