A bill has been submitted to the National Assembly to make insurance mandatory for on-call chauffeur service providers as an increasing number of accidents occur while these services are taking place for drunk drivers.

About 23,000 car accidents involving on-call drivers were reported to insurance companies in 2010 and 22,000 cases last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service and the insurance industry.

These accidents fall under special contract categories for car insurance in which the chauffeur did not hit any other person or vehicles.

Only 0.7 percent of some 18.5 million car insurance policyholders in Korea, or 132,000 people, are insured for on-call driving services under such special contracts.

There are about 72,500 cases in which on-call driving service companies or individuals who provide the service signed up for insurance.

Since most on-call driving services are not covered by insurance, disputes are commonplace when accidents occur. Most of these drivers work only late at night and go in and out of work irregularly, often being unable to get compensation in car accidents.

Ten lawmakers including Rep. Kang Ki-yoon of the Saenuri Party recently laid out a bill that stipulates the standards for registration, the shutdown of on-call driving service firms and the qualifications of drivers, and obliges them to get insurance.

(sophie@heraldcorp.com)