Insurance comes with lots of technical jargon and fine print, so before you pick one for your beloved car, make sure you read through the fine print!

Everybody likes money, but nobody likes to talk about money. However, when it comes to the huge financial commitment of purchasing a car, it’s important to know what you will be paying for. 

Whether you buy it new or preowned, a car is a long-term commitment that involves other miscellaneous costs apart from the price, such as road tax, registration, and especially insurance.

While calculating your road tax is a little more straightforward using a nifty calculator on the LTA website, insurance tends to be a little trickier to navigate. That’s why insurance agents and financial adviser representatives are there to help you sort through all the jargon and understand the factors that affect your premium, right?

As the thing that could potentially save you up to millions of dollars in a worst-case scenario, car insurance should be looked at with the same attention to detail as you would personal insurance. Instead of just going for the cheapest option, you want to go for the plan that offers you comprehensive coverage and better value. Saving money in the present might be tempting but it could cost you even more later down the line in the event of an accident.

And if you’re purchasing an electric vehicle, you’ll have an even smaller pool of providers to choose from. While most only cater to certain vehicle makes and models, Singlife covers most classes of EVs on sale in Singapore. 

But EV insurance is only one part of the picture. There are other plan limitations that you should take into account when selecting your car insurance.

Pre-approved workshops

Some providers have a list of pre-approved workshops, and may not be familiar with certain car make and models. If you have a preferred workshop you’d like to visit, check with your insurer how your claim payouts would work in that situation. You may also want to check with the workshops to see if they accept parallel-imported cars as well, should you be driving one. 

Age

An important factor that affects your premium is also your age and years of driving experience. Younger or less experienced drivers typically have to pay a higher premium and excess.

While most car insurance plans will have an additional excess for young and/or inexperienced drivers, Singlife’s Prestige plan for car owners has S$0 additional excess for drivers 24 years and younger, or with a valid driving license less than 2 years old, meaning no extra payment should you make a claim as a young and/or inexperienced driver.

No Claims Discount

The most important thing to consider in picking out your car insurance plan is likely the No Claims Discount, or NCD. NCD is ultimately a benefit for driving safely on the roads, and could save you money in the long run. If you do not make any claims on your car insurance for the year, a 10-percent discount off your premium will be applied. This discount can be accumulated year after year, for a maximum discount of 50-percent. 

If you do make one claim, this discount will be reduced by 30-percent with most providers. Singlife however only reduces it by 10-percent under Motor Standard and Motor Prestige Plan.

For the extra cautious drivers who have accumulated a certain amount of NCD, providers might also offer the option of insuring against the loss of your NCD, for a small extra amount. Your NCD protector and its features will differ from provider to provider as with all insurance options, so do make sure to clarify the details with your provider before purchasing the option.

While there are more fine details that go into your car insurance plan, the process of choosing your plan is just as important as choosing your car. The same way you’d want a car with features that suit your needs and keep you safe (to its best ability, anyway), the car insurance you pick should suit your needs and keep you and your family safe from financial difficulties in the event of an accident.

If you’re looking to switch insurers or to renew your car insurance, Singlife is offering up to 35-percent off along with S$50 eCapitavouchers when you sign up with them. Visit their website by clicking here for a quote.

This story is brought to you by Singlife.

Terms and conditions apply. This product is underwritten by Singapore Life Ltd. CarBuyer Singapore is not an insurance agent/intermediary and cannot solicit any insurance business, give advice, recommend any product or arrange any insurance contract. Please direct all enquiries to Singapore Life Ltd. This article is published for general information only. Protected up to specified limits by SDIC. Information is accurate as at April 2023.