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From Dec, All Bicycles or PMDs Must Have a Third-Party Insurance if They’re Used for Work

2020-10-10 , 10:29 am

As my mama always says before shoving some random Chinese herbs drink to me, “Prevention is better than cure.”

This theory also applies to businesses who employ riders using active mobility devices on public paths from 1 December onwards.

According to an industry circular issued by the LTA, it is required that riders are covered by third-party liability insurance against injury and death during their course of work.

For your info, AM means “Active Mobility”.

To put it in simpler terms, what this means is: Should any incident happen while on the road for the riders or pedestrians, the victim or victims will have access to compensation. The riders will also have protection from large claims.

To put it in my mama’s terms, it means: It is important to have insurance coverage to protect your safety. Now go finish your Chinese herbs drink.

Businesses to Ensure Riders are Covered by Third-Party Liability Insurance from 1 December

According to LTA, active mobility devices are governed under the Active Mobility Act (also known as AMA – nothing to do with Ask Me Anything).

The AMA consists of a set of rules and code of conduct to enable safer sharing of public paths among various users.

The active mobility devices under this act include:

Bicycles
Power-Assisted Bicycles (PAB)
Motorised and Non-motorised Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs): Kick-scooters, electric scooters, hoverboards, unicycles, etc.
Personal Mobility Aids (PMAs): Wheelchairs, motorised wheelchairs or mobility scooters which are designed to carry an individual who is unable to walk or has walking difficulties.

For this insurance to be approved by the authorities, it needs to fulfil the following requirements:

A sum insured of at least $200,000 per claim
An excess amount that does not exceed $500 per claim
Does not contain exclusions preventing the rider from:

(i) carrying loads or

(ii) using a device that is not registered in the name of the rider (applicable only to electric scooters and power-assisted bicycles)

These changes were first announced on 4 February 2020, as part of the amendments to the Active Mobility Act.

Excess is the amount that the rider would have to pay if there’s a claim – for example, if Rider A hit David Beckham due to Rider A’s recklessness, David Beckham can claim money for his medical expenses. Because it’s Rider A’s fault, he (or his company) would have to pay $500 to the insurance company even if the claim is $200,000.

Penalties Faced Should Companies not Adhere to Regulations

Companies will face penalties should they be found not to have covered their employees with third-party liability insurance.

The penalties include a fine of not more than $10,000, or jailed up to 12 months, or both.

In the event where the offender is not an individual, the penalty will be a fine of not more than $20,000.

Authorities Working with Insurance Industry

In his Facebook post on October 9, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, Mr Baey Yam Keng, shared that both LTA and the Active Mobility Advisory Panel (AMAP) have been engaging the insurance industry to work out suitable coverage for accident victims and riders if an incident occurs.

So the next time when we’re walking on the paths, our hearts will thump less wildly when we see a PMD approaches.

Reader Bao: PMD is almost non-existent now

Okay then, a bicycle.

Reader Bao: You like walking on the road meant for cars?

By the way, this is important as a PMD rider was sued for $445K – you can read about it here.

From Dec, All Bicycles or PMDs Must Have a Third-Party Insurance if They’re Used for Work

Businesses to Ensure Riders are Covered by Third-Party Liability Insurance from 1 December

Penalties Faced Should Companies not Adhere to Regulations

Authorities Working with Insurance Industry

Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:

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