Driving and owning a car in Singapore can be a costly undertaking. It is not only the car and its license that is expensive, but also the car insurance can weigh heavy on one’s finances. No matter how much money one has, there isn’t any chance that one can lower the government-imposed charges for the usage of the car. Therefore, it is even more important that one finds a beneficial deal for the car insurance.

1. Drive safely

If one met a car accident, the rate one has to pay for its car insurance monthly or yearly is instantly increased. However, If you are driving safely around Singapore over a long period of time, your car insurance will remain the same or even shrink slightly.

2. No Claim Discount (NCD)

Many car insurances offer a NCD which allows a 10% discount for every year in which you haven’t claimed anything. Let’s say you have only a minor dent in the car, you may want to consider not claiming it from your insurance, as you can possibly save more with the discount. The NCD can reach a maximum discount of 50%, with which one can safe potentially thousands of hard-earned dollars. Thus, It is important to think twice before making any claims.

3. Being a Safe Driver

This also means being a law-obeying driver. Fancy and fast cars are extremely attractive in Singapore, but even if you have one of those race cars, you are still subject to the speed limits. If you have a clean license over an extended period of time, you can earn a further discount instead of another ticket. After three years driving without committing a traffic offence, you can even get the Certificate of Merit (COM), which brings you a further 5% discount on top of NCD.

4. Get the right insurance policy

When you are arranging a new car insurance policy. Often, pay attention to what you actually commit. Many policies often include unnecessary points. Go through them and use your common sense. It can be that your car insurance also covers you for something that you are already covered for. Being covered twice for the same cause will not bring you double money and doesn’t mean you can claim it twice.

5. Young drivers and insure driver

Inexperienced drivers has the tendency to crash a car more often than older and more experienced drivers which thus, results in a higher insurance policy for younger drivers in general. Even if you’re driving perfectly, you are paying more by default.

However, one can insure the car on another person or include a driver with more experience into the policy. Mixing a high risk and a low risk profile will in most cases reduce the insurance. Therefore, one should check who is a low risk profile. Statistically older or female drivers will fall in this category. Listing such as the main driver in one’s car insurance policy, can save some money.

6. Car engine

Each car is categorized with a certain amount of insurance money that the owner has to pay. It is generally known that the bigger the engine of the car, the higher is this amount. The reasoning of the car insurance companies is the higher risk. Statistically cars with a higher engine are more likely to crash. For obvious reasons, insurances are all about statistics. So if you can beat the statistic, you will save some money.

7. Modified Car

Most people will not modify their car, however there are car enthusiasts that do. A simple engine tweak or any other car modification can quickly become very expensive. What seems like a body shop bargain, can become a killer within the insurance policy. Therefore, it is worthwhile to check with your car insurance whether an upgrade is necessary.

Of course one could say that the insurance company doesn’t have to know. This is however an extremely risky undertaking. In case you do have an accident with your modified car and you haven’t notified your insurance about it, you can lose your cover immediately. Even if you haven’t caused the accident, the insurance company can refuse to pay anything. Hence, one shouldn’t modify outside the regulations of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and definitely not keep it a secret. Handling your car insurance correctly doesn’t take too long and can award you with some extra cash.

By Peter Schimke

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