SPEECH BY SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT
IN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ON 10.7.85
Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) (Amendment) Bill 1985
Sir,
I move the second reading of the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) (Amendment) Bill 1985.
The Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party
Risks) Ordinance was enacted in November 1951 to
provide for the protection of third parties against risks arising out of the use of motor vehicles. The present Bill has two main objectives. First, it increases the amount of deposit or security that must be lodged with the Director of Accounting Services
by an owner of a motor vehicle or a fleet of vehicles
as an alternative to obtaining a policy of motor insurance against third party risks. Second, it empowers the Governor in Council to provide by order that specified persons shall not be permitted to make a deposit instead of obtaining a policy of motor insurance.
Clause 2 of the Bill amends section 4 of the
principal Ordinance to increase the deposit limit from $400,000 to $2 million. The existing limit was prescribed in 1968 and the increase is to reflect inflation over the years. Similarly, the security limit
and undertaking limits as provided under section 7 are
also increased by clause 4 to take into account
inflation.
At the same time, clause 2 adds a provision to section 4 to prevent a specified person from opting for a deposit in lieu of obtaining a policy of motor insurance against third party risks. To tie in with this, clause 3 amends section 5 to provide for the return of
the deposit to the owner of a motor vehicle or a fleet of vehicles if he is a person as specified in clause 2.