Most minibuses could soon be forced off the streets of Hong Kong as the Bank of China Group says it will no longer offer third-party liability insurance for the vehicles. In a letter to several public minibus organisations yesterday, the bank said it would not be insuring public minibuses from next month because of poor insurance records and the recent spate of traffic accidents. A crash involving two minibuses and a taxi left two people dead and 18 hurt in North Point this month. The Bank of China now handles about 80 per cent of third-party liability insurance for the city's 1,600 minibuses. Insurance sector legislator Bernard Chan said other firms would step in to insure minibuses, although the prices might be higher. Under Hong Kong law, vehicles without third-party insurance cannot be driven on the city's roads. Meanwhile, three minibus passengers were injured when two minibuses collided at the junction of Waterloo Road and Rutland Quadrant in Kowloon Tong at about 2.30am. One minibus hit the back of one stopped at a red light. An investigation showed one of the two buses stopped at a red light on Waterloo Road and the other vehicle failed to brake in time, ramming into the back of the first minibus. Two men and a woman aged between 17 and 32, were injured and taken to hospital.