Hong Kong cabbies decry sky-significant premiums for their taxis

Chen lamented that this kind of a superior high quality was “unreasonable”.

Taxi insurance plan prices in Hong Kong rose by a lot more than 20% in a span of a year – from an typical of HK$28,050 in 2019 to HK$33,902 in 2020.

In response, the taxi business is lobbying for authorization from the government to both put into action an HK$6 insurance policies surcharge or to enable them to raise fares by in excess of 20%.

In the meantime, insurers say the skyrocketing premiums ended up triggered by higher incident premiums among the taxis, as properly as raising damages sought by claimants associated in accidents.

According to the report, insurers servicing Hong Kong taxis have been strike by large underwriting losses about the earlier couple of yrs. Information from the Insurance policies Authority confirmed that the taxi insurance policy segment recorded whole underwriting losses of HK$323 million for 10 of the 15 yrs foremost up to 2019. 

The number of mishaps was on the increase, with 3,916 in 2018 and 4,198 in 2019. Incidents ended up much less at 3,408 in 2020, because of to the movement restrictions and decline of tourism all through the COVID-19 outbreak. Most of the contributing factors to mishaps ended up driver-linked, this kind of as tailgating, losing handle of the car or truck, and distracted driving.

On the other hand, taxi agency house owners blamed rampant insurance plan fraud, these types of as staged accidents and exaggerated claims, for the insurers’ losses.

According to Nathaniel Ngai Shu-tak, a senior guide for Concentrate on Insurance policy, which holds above 60% of the taxi insurance coverage phase, lots of insurers have withdrawn from the enterprise because of to the losses. He additional that insurers have questioned the taxi businesses to set up dash cams on their models.

In the meantime, Chau Kwok-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and General public Gentle Bus Association, countered that over 60% of Hong Kong taxis have now put in dashcams, still there was no decrease in premiums. So, Chau believes that an insurance policy surcharge or enhanced fares are the only feasible remedies to the problem.