| Azlan Othman |
BRUNEI will introduce the Motor Claims Guidelines (MCG) starting July 31 to expedite the process of dispersing motor accident cases and settlement of insurance claims.
“This will be implemented in stages and in the early phase, it will cover only minor accidents that do not involve any injuries, deaths and damage to government properties,” said the Deputy Director of Land Transport, Pengiran Mohammad Amirrizal bin Pengiran Haji Mahmud.
Speaking to the media yesterday, he said the initiative is a joint effort of the Land Transport Department (JPD) of the Ministry of Communications, the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) and the Brunei Insurance Takaful Association (BITA). MCG is based on international best practices, especially in Malaysia and Singapore, and tailored to the needs of the Sultanate, he added.
Exclusions from MCG at this early phase are: any public vehicle that is licensed for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward; accidents happening outside Brunei Darussalam like in Labuan, Sabah and Sarawak; accidents involving foreign-registered vehicle; and hit-and-run cases, he explained.
MCG gives a clear procedure to the public on what should be done including reporting a vehicle accident immediately.
“Those involved should contact their respective insurance agent or motor vehicle Takaful for further advice and exchange parti-culars such as name, identity card number, address, mobile phone number of driver and car owner, vehicle registration number, type of vehicle and information on insurance or motor vehicle Takaful,” the official said.
Other steps include taking pictures of cars involved in the accident and its surrounding and sending the car involved to the Accident Reporting Centre (ARC) appointed by the respective insurance and Takaful companies (either drive the vehicle himself/herself or seek for tow truck service appointed by the insurance or Takaful company within 24 hours, or the following working day), he added.
For further details on MCG, visit JPD’s website at www.mincom.gov.bn/ltd or log on to BITA website at www.bita.org.bn.
Before the full implementation of MCG, agencies involved will hold information dissemi-nation programmes nationwide to create awareness and understanding among the public on its implementation.
Pengiran Mohammad Amirrizal hoped that the implementation of MCG will reduce traffic congestion caused by accidents, and thereby lessen productivity loss to the nation.
“Due to traffic accidents, officers arrive late for work, and office counters will be opened late. Due to this, a procedure called Motor Claim Guideline is going to be introduced. It is also to support efforts towards ease of doing business by reducing traffic accident cases that are brought to the court and thus enhancing the capacity of the court to handle other cases.
“The implementation is also in line with the provision of reliable public bus service in the country. JPD wants to see reliable public bus service that arrives on schedule without being affected by traffic congestion caused by accidents,” he said.
Meanwhile, Haji Darryl bin Haji Maidin, Deputy General Manager cum Chief Corporate and Legal Compliance Officer of Takaful Brunei, said that the objective of introducing MCG is not just to provide an efficient and transparent claim process but also to enhance customer experience which is in line with international best practices.
“MCG is a new motor best practice undertaken by all motor insurers to provide clear and common procedures on what to do in the event of a motor accident. We provide the motorist with enhanced claim experience and at the same time help insurers deal with motor accidents a lot more efficiently. Motor claims can be made in a simple, efficient and speedy manner,” he added.
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