By YS Chan
It is disturbing to note that the 22-year-old saleswoman involved in the Johor Bahru road accident that killed eight cyclists in February has turned to crowd-funding to foot her RM60,000 legal fees.
I had always assumed motor insurance companies would take charge of the defence for their insured drivers as they are liable to pay out compensations awarded by the court in a civil suit.
However, they would repudiate cover if the driver was without a valid licence or found to be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Also, there is no cover if the car is without valid road tax and insurance, or a private car used for carrying fare-paying passengers or rented out for a fee.
Hardly anyone reads through a motor insurance policy, which contains many terms and conditions to which drivers must adhere.
An excerpt would read as follows:
“You must not do any of the following:
- Admit any responsibility for any incident; or
- Negotiate or settle any claims made against you by a third party, unless we write and inform you that you can.
“We will decide whether to negotiate, defend or settle, in your name, your authorised driver’s name and/or on your behalf, any claims made against you or your authorised driver by a third party.”
As such, I found it alarming that the saleswoman is engaging lawyers to defend her case, as those injured and the families of those killed may not get any compensation from the insurance company should she be found negligent.
After the Feb 18 accident, there have been many differing reports regarding the driver, with crowd-funding being the latest. Perhaps more will unfold in due course and bring some sense to what is going on.
In any case, truth should prevail and hopefully, the public can come to her aid. She and her family have agonised enough already, apart from those who have lost their loved ones and the suffering of the injured victims, no matter how foolhardy they may have been.
YS Chan is an FMT reader.
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