Widow given more time by court to press S$406,000 claim against insurer after husband dies in bicycle fall

SINGAPORE: A widow who sought accidental death benefits from the company that insured her late husband was awarded more time by the court to press her claim on Thursday (Mar 14). 

Mr Teng Boon Thye, 58, had died after riding his bicycle into a drain in 2021.  

However, Chubb Insurance Singapore disputed the claims of about S$406,000 (US$305,000) from the two policies her late husband was insured under.

Madam Lee Hui Chin, 60, submitted claims to the insurer, but the company obtained a report listing causes of death that it used to reject the claims, saying the man had died from sickness, which was not covered under the policies.

Mdm Lee’s daughter, Ms Rachel Teng, consulted lawyers and later filed notices of arbitration with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) over the two polices.

But the insurer made further objections including that Ms Teng was not the policy holder and could not commence arbitration proceedings.

Mdm Lee, who holds the policies for her husband, applied to the High Court under the Arbitration Act to extend the time fixed to refer disputes to arbitration.

In a judgment issued on Thursday, Justice Chua Lee Ming allowed her application.

THE CASE

Mr Teng fell while riding his bicycle on Apr 2, 2021 and was found unconscious in an uncovered drain.

He was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and did not regain consciousness. He was removed from life support a week later and died.

According to his daughter, 25-year-old Ms Teng, the treating doctors at the hospital had said Mr Teng died as a consequence of the injuries sustained in the accident.

An MRI scan on Apr 4, 2021 showed a spinal cord injury and the MRI report also referenced changes in Mr Teng’s lungs, chest fractures and cardiac arrest.

In a death certificate issued on Apr 10, 2021, the forensic pathologist certified the cause of death as “coronary artery disease with pneumonia”.

The State Coroner also issued a certificate stating that it was unnecessary to hold an inquiry as the cause of death was due to natural causes. No autopsy was performed as a result.

Mdm Lee, who is represented by Mr Raj Singh Shergill and Desiree Koh Jia Min from Lee Shergill, held two insurance polices with Chubb Insurance Singapore insuring her husband.

The policies provided for accidental death benefits, payable in the event that death occurs as a result of an accidental injury, Justice Chua said in his grounds of decision.

The policies also provided that any dispute must be referred to arbitration, and that this must be commenced three months from the day parties were unable to settle the dispute.

THE CLAIMS

On Apr 20, 2021, Mdm Lee submitted claims to Chubb Insurance Singapore under the two policies.

The insurer is defended by lawyers Kevin Kwek Yiu Wing, Gina Tan Yiting and Sourish Sinha from Legal Solutions.

The insurer obtained a report from Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in which the attending physician stated that the primary cause of death was likely cervical spine injury leading to cardiac arrest.

The report also stated that while the coroner had reported coronary artery disease with pneumonia, there was no evidence of acute myocardial infarct – the medical term for a heart attack – on initial presentation.

On Aug 19, 2021, the insurer rejected Mdm Lee’s claims on the ground that the cause of Mr Teng’s death was due to sickness – coronary artery disease with pneumonia. This was not covered under the policies, the insurer said.

Ms Teng consulted lawyers and obtained a further medical report from a neurologist, who stated among other things that there was no evidence Mr Teng had died of coronary artery disease.

The neurologist noted that no autopsy had been performed.

Letters of administration were granted to Ms Teng to be the administrator of her father’s estate in July 2022.

On Aug 26, 2022, lawyers for Mr Teng’s estate wrote to the insurer enclosing a copy of the neurologist’s report.

The insurance company took time to review the claims and agreed to extend the time bar for commencement of arbitration until end-June 2023.

However, Chubb Insurance Singapore confirmed its previous position on Dec 30, 2022 that the claims were not covered by the two policies.

Ms Teng then filed two notices of arbitration with SIAC in February 2023. 

In the insurance company’s responses, it noted that Ms Teng could not commence arbitration proceedings against it as she was not the policy holder.

The insurer asked for a dismissal of the proceedings, and the arbitrator allowed it.

Mdm Lee then filed an application to the High Court in September 2023 asking for time to be extended for her to commence arbitration against Chubb Insurance Singapore.

Justice Chua granted her application, saying this was not a case where she had “sat idly by”.

“Arbitration was commenced well before the expiry of the extended time bar of Jun 30, 2023,” he said. “The problem was that the arbitration notices were issued in Ms Teng’s name instead of (Mdm Lee’s).”

He noted also that Mdm Lee had acted quickly in filing the application.

The amount involved was also significant, with the value of the claims under the policies amounting to S$406,000.

Arbitration is usually confidential in Singapore.