Hong Kong Insurers Unlikely to Lower Premiums for New Car Safety Technologies Says Kwiksure
(PRWEB) August 16, 2013 -- Claims Journal recently published an article about the new car-safety technologies available on the market, such as automatic braking, advanced cameras, and automatic lane-centering systems. Such devices would imaginably lead to fewer accidents and decreased premiums, especially in Hong Kong, where accidents are frequent. However, Kwiksure's Motor Insurance Manager, Ken Chung, expresses that many of these technologies are still unproven in Hong Kong, and that it's too early for HK insurers to start making changes.
Chung stated, “Whether insurance premiums will be adjusted lower is yet to be seen as few Hong Kong drivers have such systems installed, so there's not enough data to gauge the effectiveness of such systems in Hong Kong.”
Drivers might expect that the advanced safety features would help lower their premiums significantly, especially when some insurers have issued discounts in the past for vehicles with anti-theft systems. However, this does not take into account that many claims are for situations where another driver is at fault. There is a higher possibility of discounts on other components of the insurance, as Chung stated, “As a broker, we might be able to negotiate the sum paid for own damage excess, as he or she would be less likely to cause a crash.”
Of these new car-safety features, automatic braking technology is one of the most talked about, and it is now being offered by brands like Mercedes and Honda as an optional feature. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety analyzed the insurance claims of Mercedes cars that had the auto braking collision system and revealed a seven percent drop in crashes. Whether this data would translate to the Hong Kong road environment, however, has yet to be determined.
Chung further explained that these safety devices would have to be more widely adopted in Hong Kong to allow some HK-based statistics to form. Only then will HK insurers likely begin lowering their premiums.
For more information, please go to http://www.kwiksure.com/news/technology-means-fewer-crashes-and-claims/.
Neil Raymond, Pacific Prime, 31131331, [email protected]
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