Britain's MDU quits S'pore

Britain's MDU quits S'pore

SINGAPORE (AFP): Britain's top medical insurer Medical Defense
Union (MDU) will pull out of Singapore next month due to
escalating costs worldwide, a report said Monday.

The MDU provides insurance coverage for more than 3,000
doctors and dentists in Singapore, where it established a base
more than 30 years ago.

MDU's chief executive Michael Saunders was quoted by the
Straits Times daily as saying the withdrawal was because "the
number of claims is escalating and the costs of defending and
compensating patients is rising worldwide."

A Singapore agent for the MDU, one of the world's largest
medical indemnity providers, confirmed the insurer would withdraw
its services in Singapore from October 1.

According to the MDU, the numbers and costs of claims were
rising worldwide by 15 percent a year. It wanted to scale down
its global operations to focus on Britain and Ireland.