What to do on Road Traffic Accidents

At The Accident Site

If someone is dying or injured, call the police at 999 or an ambulance at 995.
Take down the registration numbers and insurance companies of all vehicles involved in the accident.
Take down the name(s), NRIC(s), address(es) and telephone number(s) of all parties present i.e. all drivers, passengers, injured pedestrians and/or witnesses.
Take photos of all the details of the accident, such as the position of the cars, the damage to vehicles and the injuries of all parties. These will be useful in the future if you need to prove who is at fault.

Reporting

All accidents should be reported to the insurance companies within 24 hours or by the next working day. Insurance companies have their own 24-hour hotlines. They may advise you to bring your vehicle to an approved reporting centre or workshop. You are also advised to call for a tow truck service if necessary. If you decide to resolve the matter with the other party independently without informing your insurance company, be aware that the insurance company may have the right to reject your claim or to claim from you if any third party subsequently claims against you.

You should make a police report when the accident involves a government vehicle, damage to government property, a foreign vehicle, a pedestrian or cyclist, a hit-and-run case, or an injury requiring hospitalisation or medical leave of 3 days or more. In any case, a police report can serve as an official written record of the accident and it is advisable to lodge one if you have been involved in a road traffic accident.

Claiming

For claiming of vehicle damages and/or repairs, each insurance company has its own process. If you wish to claim from your own insurance company, simply follow their instructions on where to assess the damage and repair the car.
To claim against another person’s insurance company, you have to contact the insurance company and let them inspect the car before sending it for repair. The third party’s insurer has 2 working days to inspect the damage after you have contacted them. They will have to compensate you for the loss of use of the vehicle over the pre-repair inspection period. Under the Motor Claims Framework, your own insurer will assist you in contacting the other person’s insurer and in the process of filing claims. Otherwise, you may have to hire your own lawyer.
If your claim is less than $3000, it will be directed to the FIDReC-NIMA Scheme.
In the case of a hit-and-run incident, you can claim from the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB).
You can obtain the other party’s insurance particulars from the Land Transport Authority. The enquiry number is 1800-553 5229.
The General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) is an association of insurance companies. They share a database of accident reports. You can apply for and buy a third-party motor accident report. However, this is only useful if the other party has lodged a GIA report.
For further information, refer to the following brochure of the framework for making motor claims: