SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Goh and Wang Ying Shuang, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP
the CCRP is not available to disputes under reinsur- ance contracts, but all other mediation avenues would be available to both consumer insurance contracts and reinsurance contracts. 9.8 Penalties for Late Payment of Claims There are no statutory penalties for the late payment of claims by insurers, nor is any penalty imposed by common law for the late payment of claims. There is therefore no penalty in late claims payment, unless the policy provides for it. Insurance policies sometimes An insurer’s right of subrogation is implied by law into an indemnity insurance contract ( Sompo Insurance Singapore Pte Ltd v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc [2021] SGHC 152). Based on this implied term, the insured promises to take specific steps or actions so that they will not be overcompensated, and the insurer’s interest in paying only for the insured’s actual loss is protected. (but seldom) provide for such penalties. 9.9 Insurers’ Rights of Subrogation Common law also implies a duty of utmost good faith (uberrima fides) in all insurance and reinsurance con- tracts. For marine insurance contracts, this duty is codified in the Marine Insurance Act 1906. The duty requires both parties to act in good faith and with regard to the interests of the other party. It is particu- larly relevant where the policy requires the insured to provide information and assistance to the insurer in certain circumstances (in particular, at the pre-con- tractual stage and before the placement of the policy). With strong government and regulatory support for the development of fintech, including insurtech, Sin- gapore continues to be a hotbed of insurtech activi- ties, with increasing collaboration between insurers and tech companies, and even between insurers, to develop innovative solutions and products. In 2019, Income Insurance announced its strategic partnership with ZA Tech (the technological export arm of Chinese internet insurer ZhongAn Online). The 10. Insurtech 10.1 Insurtech Developments
partnership will leverage ZhongAn’s technological expertise in digital insurance, while Income will con- tribute its leading position as a composite insurer in Singapore and present a testbed for local and regional innovations. Tapping into ZhongAn’s technology, in 2020 Income Insurance launched its first micro-insur- ance scheme, SNACK, which is a mobile application that embeds the purchase of micro-insurance into a customer’s lifestyle. Using the SNACK app, a user can link daily activities in their life to the purchase of micro- insurance products, including life, personal accident and critical illness insurance, while having the flexibil- ity to manage their own protection portfolio. In 2023, general insurer Zurich Insurance tied up with travel platform Klook to introduce Traveljoy, a revamped travel insurance offering that includes all- encompassing coverage for Klook’s customers. In addition to providing the traditional travel insurance cover for trip cancellations, medical emergencies and lost or stolen belongings, Traveljoy also offers telehealth services, enabling policyholders to consult medical professionals through virtual appointments, regardless of where they are located. Singapore-based insurtech Surer partnered with Etiqa to work on an integration that gives insurance intermediaries a fully digital process to obtain quotes instantly, and to present them to clients along with a straight-through payment process for motor insur- ance. This new collaboration seeks to solve the two top pain points of intermediaries: difficulty in obtaining quotes due to slow or non-replies, and difficulty in get- ting multiple quotes for clients due to the involvement of multiple systems. Allianz Partners and insurtech firm bolttech will be entering into a strategic partnership to provide embedded device and appliance insurance across Asia-Pacific and the United States of America. The collaboration aims to deliver embedded solutions for business partners such as retailers and e-tailers for electronic products and household devices, telecom- munication providers, banks, insurers and original equipment manufacturers. The objective is to make it easier and more convenient for customers to pur- chase protection at the point of need for a range of
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