Motor Insurance Singapore

MSIG car insurance became popular years ago while they were still offering their one and only “any-workshop” plan to motorists in Singapore. In recent years, their motor insurance product evolved. Now we are able to choose between the authorized-workshop plan or their any-workshop plan. With this, their product range became as complete as the rest of the car insurers.

MSIG MotorMax car insurance includes the standard third party coverage that is legally required for any vehicle in Singapore. This plan offers unlimited compensation for (3rd party) death and injury. And in case you damage any property, MSIG insurance will pay the owner up to 5 million dollars to fix those damages.

Apart from third party liabilities, MotorMax also covers liabilities such as personal accident and medical expenses.

When accidents happen, people are often injured and may need a sum of money to tide through difficult times. As such, MSIG provides a personal accident (PA) benefit up to $20,000 for you, the insured. This coverage even extends to your passengers or whoever you allow to use your car. Their coverage is up to $10,000 each.

Injuries, however minor they may be, require some medical attention. And such costs are not cheap. Therefore MSIG insurance pays up to $1,000 to cover these expenses. This applies to you, your authorized driver and your passengers.

One of the most important features of your comprehensive motor insurance plan is to protect your car from damages. Under the MotorMax plan, you can send your car to any of MSIG’s authorized workshops for accident repair.

For a list of MSIG authorized workshops, please refer to:
http://www.gia.org.sg/pdfs/Industry/Motor/ARCs/MSIG%20Insurance.pdf

Under the MotorMax plan, there is no Loss of Use Benefit (a.k.a. car replacement nor transport allowance). So while your car is being repaired, you have to find your own transport. Nevertheless you can arrange with the workshop to repair your car during a most convenient period.

For total loss cases, MSIG will pay out the market value of your car at the time of loss. This is pretty standard across all insurers. Some insurers offer to replace a new car if it is totally damaged, provided it is under 1 year old. Needless to say, you have to pay a little more for this. MSIG offers such benefit too, under the MotorMax Plus plan.

As an added service, you may replace your windscreen at the appointed MSIG appointed workshops if it is broken . While there is no reinstatement fee, you will be required to pay $100 + GST for the replacement.

Finally, MSIG has a 24-hour automobile and medical assistance service. Through their hotline, you can ask for help regarding roadside assistance, emergency towing and vehicle repatriation, locksmith referral, et cetera.

On top of this, if you face any trouble while driving your car in Malaysia, you have access to emergency evacuation and repatriation.

With the above features in mind, you will be able to decide whether or not this product suits you. Should you need more features, you can also consider MSIG’s MotorMax Plus car insurance plan. This package will give you a little more benefits as you invest a little more in premium.

Prior to making an NTUC car insurance claim, you will have gone through a series of events beginning with a road collision. This is usually a traumatic experience for many. Therefore it is advisable to go through a few standard steps in your mind as you read this, in case you or a family member (or a friend you know) gets into such situation.

If you’re involved in an accident, remember:

1.    Pull yourself together, remain calm and recognise there is something you can do in this situation, however ugly it may seem.

2.    If possible, take some photographs of the damaged vehicles. Include the background so the road and surroundings can be seen in the photo. Take some close-up photos of all damaged vehicles too.

3.    Drive your car to somewhere safe. (Like the side of the road). But if the accident involves injuries, let the cars remain where they are. Then call the police (and if necessary, the ambulance) immediately.

4.    Note down the car plate numbers of all vehicles involved. Then collect the names, NRIC number, address and contact number of all drivers. If there is any witness, take down his contact too. If you can, get the name of insurance company the other car is insured with.

5.    If the accident involves only small damages, aim to conclude the incident with a private settlement agreement.

6.    You must make a police report within 24 hours if the collision involves: (i) Pedestrians or cyclists, (ii) Foreign vehicles, (iii) Government vehicles or property, & (iv) A hit-and-run party.

Note: Avoid talking about responsibilities or liabilities with anyone (or their representatives) involved in the accident. Let your insurance company settle everything. You’ll have a better chance of solving the issue.

To make an NTUC car insurance claim, you have to first file an accident report at the IDAC (reporting centre) or ARC (NTUC Authorised Workshops for accident reporting). Then you may submit your claims at any of the 5 NTUC branches below:

(i)    Ang Mo Kio Branch
53 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, #03-18/19/20/21 AMK HUB Singapore 569933

(ii)    Bras Basah Branch
75 Bras Basah Road, NTUC Income Centre Singapore 189557

(iii)    Jurong Branch
Blk 134 Jurong Gateway Road #03-309B/C/D Singapore 600134

(iv)    Tampines Point Branch
2 Tampines Central 6 #01-01 NTUC Income Tampines Point Singapore 529483

(v)    Woodlands Branch
900 Woodlands Drive #05-06 Woodlands Civic Centre Singapore 730900

The opening hours for each NTUC branch are as follows:

•    Monday-Friday: 10.00 am – 6.30 pm
•    Saturday: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
•    Sunday & Public Holiday: Closed (except for Ang Mo Kio Branch which opens from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm)

These NTUC branches are distributed across the island for easy accessibility. Also, you don’t have to worry about any technicalities. The customer service officer will help you fill the claim form.

In doubt? Call NTUC Income’s 24-hr hotline at 6788 6616 to inquire about claim details. You can also arrange for free towing service (within Singapore) via this contact number too.

Note 1: For your convenience, you can now MMS your accident-related pictures to 9877 9113 as part of your accident report. If you do so, please indicate your vehicle number and date of accident using this format: <vehicle number>, <ddmmyy>.

Note 2: If you are late or fail to report the accident you’re involved in (whether or not you sign on the Private Settlement Agreement), your No Claim Discount (NCD) can be forfeited.

What Happens After You File A Claim?

IDAC/ARC will assess the damage on your vehicle. Then repairs will begin within 2 working days. If you are insured under an authorised workshop plan, your car will be repaired by one of NTUC’s authorised workshops. Otherwise you can move your car to any workshop of your choice.

With any NTUC’s authorised workshops, you can enjoy a 12 months warranty for your repair.

NTUC Income’s quality workshop will advise you on whether or not you should make a third party claim. If you are clearly not at fault, the workshop will help you file a third-party claim.

Otherwise you will be advised to make an own damage claim first, leaving NTUC Income to fight your case for you. This means you have to pay the policy excess when you collect your car from the workshop.

Note: If both parties are insured with NTUC Income, you will be encouraged to make an own damage claim. Then NTUC will assure you that your NCD will not be penalised if you are not at fault. Nevertheless complications may arise if you choose to renew your car insurance with another insurer in the coming year. This is due to your own damage claim record.

Accident in Malaysia – What To Do

For all types of accident involving any vehicle registered in Malaysia or Singapore, you must make a police report with the Malaysian Authorities within 24 hours. The authority may require the offending party to pay a fine of RM300.

While the reporting is underway, you may then call NTUC’s hotline (6788 6616) to arrange for a tow truck, if required. You can claim up to $200 for towing service if you wish to.

Upon returning to Singapore, you still have to file an accident report at any IDAC or ARC.

Why Am I Served A Writ of Summon?

Insurers will advise legal professionals to accept service on their client’s behalf. But some lawyers are pretty oblivious to this. Therefore a few writ of summons may eventually end of in your post box. What you should do it send it to NTUC Income immediately so they can appoint a lawyer to enter appearance on your behalf with the next 8 working days.

Why Does My Repair Take So Long?

Sometimes spare parts take a long time to arrive in Singapore. NTUC makes arrangement to ship in unavailable parts at their cost. But they do not use air freight. If this is necessary, additional costs may be paid by you. Nevertheless if you need to use your car urgently, you can always work on alternative arrangements with the insurer and with the workshop.

MSIG Insurance offers 2 types of car insurance – MotorMax and MotorMax Plus. We’ll look at what each product covers, their key differences and which product to choose for your car.

Both MSIG car insurance plans (which are comprehensive policies) protect your car against accidental damage. In case your vehicle is lost or is damaged beyond economical repair, MSIG will pay you the market value of your vehicle at the time of loss.

Since these are comprehensive policies, they will also cover liability to third parties. The third party compensation for death or bodily injury is unlimited. This is pretty standard for other insurers too. For property damage, MSIG pays up to $5,000,000.

Personal Accident

Under MotorMax, the Personal Accident Benefit is $20,000 for the policyholder and $10,000 each for authorized drivers and/or passengers. With MotorMax Plus, the policyholder is entitled to $100,000 coverage and the authorized driver and/or passengers are covered up to $50,000 each.

Transport Allowance

This applies only for MotorMax Plus. In case your repair takes more than 3 days, MSIG will pay you $50 per day, up to 10 days so you can arrange for an alternative means of transportation.

Medical Reimbursement

The medical benefit for both types of policies is the same – up to $1,000 for policyholder and up to $1,000 for each authorized driver and/or passenger.

Windscreen Repair

You have unlimited windscreen coverage with automatic reinstatement after each repair. Nevertheless an excess of $100 applies.

NCD Protector

Only 50% NCD holders are eligible for this. You can opt to get an insurance rider to maintain your NCD at 50% even after an accident. This costs 10% of your car insurance premium.

New-For-Old Replacement

This is yet another benefit that applies only to MotorMax Plus. In case your car is totally damaged or is lost, MSIG makes sure you are compensated to the point you can get a new car of the same model without paying any differences. Usually car insurance plan only pays you the market value of your car, which may not be enough to get a similar new car. Nevertheless there are conditions attached to this benefit: (i) Your vehicle must be less than 1 year old, and (ii) The loss must not be the result of a flood, theft or robbery.

Loan Protection Benefit

Only applies to MotorMax Plus. MSIG will pay off the outstanding car loan in case the policyholder passes away due to an accident in direct connection to the insured vehicle.

Choice of Workshop

This is the biggest difference that most people will first notice between MotorMax and MotorMax Plus: the choice of workshop. MotorMax requires you to use MSIG’s authorized workshops while MotorMax Plus allows you to go to any workshop of your choice for accident repairs.

Towing

Towing service is available at your request when you call up MSIG’s auto assistance hotline. You do not have to pay for this service. But the towing fees will be included into the overall claims amount.

Which Car Insurance Plan Should You Choose?

The price difference between MotorMax and MotorMax Plus is about 15%. If your car is still under the 3-year manufacturer’s warranty, it may be worth opting for MotorMax Plus so you can bring the car to the distributor workshop.

Also, if you own a continental car or own a model whose spare parts are difficult to get, the any-workshop plan will be suitable for you. This is because you can bring your car to a workshop that has the spares you need for accident repair. In this way, you don’t have to wait weeks on end for the next part shipment.

For the additional premium you pay, MotorMax Plus also covers you with additional Personal Accident benefit, new-for-old replacement as well as loan protection benefit.

Having said this, if your car insurance premium is in the $2,000+ range, the additional cost you fork out will be much more. So you may want to stick with MotorMax instead.

In conclusion, your situation is unique and you may want to get expert advice if you are not sure which MSIG car insurance coverage to get. A car insurance specialist will be glad to help.