Chartis AutoPlan car insurance differs from the Chartis AutoPlus scheme in a few major ways. Even though it is more expensive than AutoPlus, the AutoPlan car insurance offers you, the car owner, added flexibility and convenience.

In order to decide which plan to take up, you’ll have to look at the main differences between these plans. Then get a feel on which one suits your needs best.

Here, I’ve highlighted some differences you may consider important:

• Choice of Workshop

Both Chartis AutoPlan and Chartis AutoPlus insurance give you Comprehensive Coverage over your car. The key benefit of choosing AutoPlan allows you to visit any workshop for accident repair while AutoPlus does not.

This can be important for some drivers for 2 reasons.

First, you may want to visit your regular mechanic for both maintenance and repair. After all, it’s always good to know where to go and who to call when something happens. Nevertheless for car owners who are not as close to their mechanics, this may not be a significant benefit.

Secondly, your car may still be under warranty. If any hard-to-find car part is damaged, your distributor’s workshop may be able to find them faster. This is because they are likely to have a bigger inventory when compared to other workshops that do not specialize in any brands.

Fortunately, whether you opt for AutoPlus or AutoPlan, you can go back to your car agent’s affiliated workshop for repairs.

• Personal Accident Coverage

With Chartis AutoPlan, you are paid $20,000 on top of other personal accident or life insurance plans you have, in case of death or permanent disability due to an accident while traveling in your car. What this means is you will never be overpaying for your personal accident coverage. You can claim from your car insurance plan as well as any other personal accident plans you buy.

(Contrast this to Chartis AutoPlus that offers $50,000 personal accident coverage.)

When you buy Chartis car insurance, be it AutoPlus or AutoPlan, there are different benefits you can enjoy.

For example, they have a complementary New-for-Old Replacement benefit. In case your car is damaged (beyond economical repair) and has to be scraped, Chartis will pay you the full purchase price to buy a brand new car of the same model. This is provided your vehicle is less than 12 months old from the initial registration with LTA. In other words, you get a new car for free.

Also, Chartis provides up to S$800 insurance for your car key. In the event of theft, robbery or break-in, Chartis will compensate you for the cost of replacing your vehicle lock and car key. If you need to engage a locksmith or towing services company because you left your keys locked in your car, Chartis covers this too. The only cost you have to pay is $50 for excess.