Best Car Insurance in Singapore 2023

Best Car Insurance in Singapore Comparison 2023

What is Car Insurance?

Car insurance is a contract between you and your chosen insurance company. This contract protects you against financial losses in the unfortunate event of an accident or theft. 

How Does Car Insurance in SIngapore Work and What Does it Cover?

Car insurance in Singapore works in the same way as any other type of insurance does – you pay a premium to your insurance company for an assurance of compensation for a specified set of losses. Should anything unfortunate happen on the road, losses generally occur to one of four things: you, your car, a third party, and his/her car. Touch wood! 

To break this down further, motor insurance basically provides protection for:

1. Property: This would be any costs incurred from car repairs for a third party’s or your car as a result of accidents, fire, or theft
2. Your liability: When an accident occurs because of your actions, car insurance offers you financial protection from a third party should compensation be demanded of you
3. Medical costs: Importantly, car insurance can also help with medical expenses for you or a third party as a result of an accident on the road

Is Car Insurance Mandatory in Singapore?

Even if you consider yourself a safe driver, others may not be. Considering the constant threat of danger on the road, it is not surprising that car insurance is compulsory if you want to drive a car in Singapore. 

Take note! This applies to all types of vehicles. No matter what vehicle you operate, you are legally required to purchase motor insurance to utilise your vehicle on public roads.

As mandated by the government, your motor insurance must at least cover third-party related financial losses incurred from accidents. This includes damage or death of, or bodily injury to, any person arising out of the use of that vehicle on the road. This is the most basic coverage required. 

Moreover, a vehicle is a big-ticket expense that you want to protect, and that’s why we highly recommend that you get car insurance. It’s a necessity that can help pay for repairs to your vehicle after an accident, depending on what kind of coverage you select. Like other types of insurance, getting the cheapest car insurance should not be the only priority for car owners. You'll need to think about how easy claims can be processed and how much actual coverage you're getting for the amount you pay.

What Are The Different Types of Car Insurances?

What Is the Best Car Insurance For You?

There are a few major car insurance providers in Singapore. The more popular ones are:

Car Insurance Car Insurance Quotes for Premium: All You Need To Know

Now that you have internalised the basics, there is just one final segment to complete your car insurance 101 manual: car insurance premiums. 

How are premiums calculated?

Your quoted premium is calculated based on the concept of “risk”, that is, how likely you are to get into an accident. Insurers use numerous factors to determine your risk. Hence, the higher your risks, the higher the price of your car insurance premium and vice versa. 

These are the factors used to assess your risk profile, which ultimately determines your premium: 

How often do you pay premiums?

Car insurance premiums are generally paid annually or once every six months. 

What is car insurance ‘excess’?

Car Insurance excess refers to the amount you have to pay before your insurance provider forks out any money for you. For example, if the repair cost for your damaged vehicle is $1,000 and your excess to be paid is S$300, your insurer will then pay for the remaining S$700.

Car insurance excess is a way of affording some responsibility back to drivers to reduce the number of small claims. This is essentially an attempt to keep premiums lower. 

Car insurance policies are generally customisable in that you can lower your premiums by increasing your excess. Just remember, the higher your excess, the lower your premium. 

When do I Need to Pay Higher Excess?

There is a price to pay for our youth when it comes to car insurance excess. This is because you will be quoted higher excess. Drivers below 25 years old with less than two years of driving experience are deemed young and inexperienced in the eyes of insurers. Note that criteria may vary across insurers!

How Should I Decide?

While low premiums are incredibly attractive, you might want to be careful if you're opting to pay a very low premium because you might have to pay a large sum of excess in an accident. When deciding on excess, it is advisable to set it at an amount that you can afford to pay out of pocket in an accident.

What Is NCD and How Does NCD Work?

The No Claims Discount (NCD) is an initiative to incentivise safe driving. NCD is rewarded by your insurance provider if no claims have been made under your policy for a year or more with the current/existing insurer.

The longer you maintain your claim-free record, the higher your NCD, and the more discount you are eligible for.

Your NCD entitles you to get a discount on your premium the following year. The NCD discount is as follows:

No Claim Discount Rate for Private Cars:

Will making a claim affect my NCD?

This depends on whether you, the insured driver, were at fault.

In cases where you are found to be at fault, your NCD will be reduced and the amount of NCD penalised can vary from insurer to insurer. But generally, this would be how most companies structure their NCD: :

NCD Penalties

As you can see, usually, when you make an "at-fault" claim, your NCD usually drops by 30%. However, some insurance providers like AVIVA have lower NCD penalties and may only deduct your NCD by only 10%.

NCD Protector

Almost all insurance providers will allow you to purchase an add-on known as an NCD Protector, which protects your NCD, usually has to be NCD30 and above, from reducing in the event of a single claim.

How to Choose the Cheapest Car Insurance?

When choosing your car insurance, there are several important factors to consider. While they often differ depending on your needs and priorities, here are some factors to remember before purchasing a suitable and cheap car insurance: 

1. No Claim Discount
   Being a safe driver is rewarding! Use your NCD to help you achieve lower premiums.
2. Offense-free Discount
   As a testament to your safe driving, the Singapore Traffic Police will also issue safe drivers who have not had any bad records for the last 3 years a Certificate of Merit. This entitles you to a discount on your car insurance. Additionally, this discount can be applied on top of your NCD.
3. Off-peak Cars
   Car insurance plans usually offer lower premiums for cars that are less utilised.
4. Choose plans that permit repairs at Authorised Workshops only
   Usually, policies that allow you to use your preferred workshops have higher premiums than those that restrict you to a few authorised workshops only. If you are not particular about going to your favoured workshop, perhaps consider the plan that only covers visits to authorised workshops to save on your premium.
5. Look out for promotions from credit card or from the insurance providers themselves to help you save on costs, this can come in the form of extra complimentary coverage or discounts or waivers on your premiums!

Existing Car Insurance Promotions in Singapore for 2023

MSIG Motormax Plan Promo

Get S$100 e-vouchers and S$50 via Paynow. Valid till 30 June 2023 T&Cs apply

MSIG MotorMax Plus Plan

Get S$150 e-vouchers and S$70 via PayNow. Valid till 30 June 2023. T&Cs apply.

How Do I Apply For Car Insurance?

With almost everything available online, you can also get your car insurance sorted with a few clicks today. Here are the details you will usually need to get a quote for your car insurance: 

• Vehicle make and model
• Engine capacity of your car
• The year your car was registered
• Whether your car is under the Off-Peak Car Scheme
• Gender
• Marital status
• Date of Birth
• Other information: How many years have you been driving? Have you made a claim in the past? What is your No-claim Discount (NCD)? What is your coverage period?

Have burning questions? Head over to Seedly to share your questions or hear what our community of personal finance enthusiasts, experts, and experienced professionals have to say!

Car Insurance Guide

Understanding car insurance can feel like a tall order with so many components to consider. Here are several car insurance guides to help you grasp all you need to know about car insurance: 

• Cost of Cars in Singapore: COE Prices and Other Costs of Owning a Car
• Can I Afford Owning A Car? 
• Cheapest New Car to Buy in Singapore 2022
• What to Do When You Get Into a Car Accident
• Is It Worth Buying a Car For Social Status in Singapore?

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of insurance coverage is important to you?

There are three types of car insurance plans: Third Party Only (TPO), Third Party, Fire and Theft (TPFT), Comprehensive coverage. The type and extent of coverage you require is a personal decision that you need to make. TPO car insurance is the most basic car insurance that only covers damages done to a third party. On the other hand, comprehensive car insurance provides extensive coverage albeit at a higher premium. It is recommended to purchase an insurance plan that provides wider coverage, depending on your car's value, make, and age.

How to get the cheapest car insurance premiums?

Car insurance providers calculate your annual premiums based on considerations that estimate your risk or likelihood of making a claim. As some of these factors, such as age and gender, you cannot change, it may be good to get quotes from several insurance companies and choose the most affordable one for you. However, do note that cheap premiums may often mean higher excess. Also, the last thing you'd want to do is to compromise on coverage for cheap premiums!

Does choice of workshop matter?

Yes, the choice of the workshop for car repairs matters. Insurance companies generally prefer that you choose from their list of authorised workshops. However, most car insurance providers will allow you to top up an extra to service your car at the workshop of your choice.

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Seedly's Product Comparison Page Listing Guidelines
For Car Insurance Insurance products to be listed on Seedly's Product Comparison Page, they have to fulfil the following criteria:

• Policies protected under the Policy Owners’ Protection (PPF) Scheme which is administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC)
• Insured for Private Car Owners