AXA insurance offers different type of car insurance plans you can use to protect your vehicle. Here, you can discover which plan is most suitable for you. Also, you will learn about different options that can help you customize your car insurance policy to suit your needs.

Like most other insurers, AXA insurance offers 3 types of car insurance policy – Comprehensive coverage, Third Party Fire & Theft as well as Third Party Only insurance.

Among these, comprehensive coverage is the most well-liked. This is because apart from the standard legal liability (Third Party Only) coverage, AXA insurance also pays for accidental damages to your car.

For Third Party Only (TPO) insurance, AXA compensates for the death or bodily injury to others. Also any loss or damage to other people’s property will be compensated. On top of this, if you require a lawyer to fend for you, your legal costs and expenses may be taken care of.

AXA’s Third Party Fire & Theft (TPFT) covers a little more than this. Adding onto the Third Party Only scope of coverage, AXA will pay you the market value of your vehicle in case you lose your vehicle accidentally or it gets destroyed by fire. Also, if it is stolen, AXA insurance will write you a cheque for the value of your vehicle.

As an added bonus, AXA can also replace your vehicle accessories and spare parts. And in case you need towing service, AXA insurance will cover this as well. However these are on the condition that the loss is due to fire or theft.

AXA Comprehensive Car Insurance is one of the most popular motor insurance plans in Singapore. It covers a comprehensive array of benefits that car owners need. In summary, here is what AXA insurance offers to car owners who are considering an authorized workshop package:

Own Damage

-    Repair or replacement of any part of your car or its accessories
-    Free towing of vehicle to an authorized workshop for accident repair
-    Compensation at full market value if car is destroyed or is beyond economical repair
-    Free windscreen coverage with zero-dollar excess and free unlimited reinstatement
-    AXA pays you $50 per day when your car being repaired beyond 4 days, up to a maximum or $250 per accident

Third Party

-    AXA pays off your liabilities for death or bodily injuries to other people
-    AXA compensates for any property damages resulting from a car accident
-    Covers any legal costs necessary to defend your case

Personal Accident and Medical Expenses

-    AXA insurance pays up to $30,000 under its personal accident coverage for the insured. This benefit (of up to $20,000 each) can be extended to your passengers at an additional premium of $30 + GST
-    For medical reimbursement, AXA insurance pays up to $500f or both you and your passengers

Other than these benefits, you can also sign up for an NCD protector for an extra 10% premium. This option is only available to 50% NCD holders and it can help keep your NCD at this level even after an accident claim.

AXA pays out the insurance benefits even for incidents like flood, hurricanes, volcanic, earthquake, typhoon, and other acts of nature. On top of these, strike, riot and civil commotion are also covered.

In addition, AXA also waives off the excess (for you and your named drivers) up to a certain limit. If you are a 50% NCD holder, your basic excess will be totally waived off. If your NCD is 40% or below, the excess is waived off by half. Also, this waiver is not just limited to the first claim. As often as you need to make claims, this waiver of excess benefit remains.

Like other major car insurers, AXA insurance accepts many forms of payments such as Cash, Cheque or Credit Card. A 6-month or 12-month installment is also available for DBS, POSB, OCBC or UOB cardholders.

Being an international insurance company, AXA may consider your overseas NCD if you present a written confirmation from your previous (overseas) insurer.

If you want to sign up for an AXA car insurance policy that allows you to go to any workshop for repair, the premium is estimated to be about 15% more.

With the above in mind, you can decide if AXA car insurance is right for you.

A private settlement form is useful for handling minor car accidents where no bodily injuries are involved. Many incidents result in damages that cost no more than $1,000+. As such, it may not be wise to make a car insurance claim.

Here is what you should do:

1.    Decide with the other driver(s) on the spot that the damages are minor
2.    Get all parties to sign on the private settlement form

If you don’t already have a private settlement form in your car, click on the link below then download and print out at least 6 copies:

http://www.motorinsurancesingapore.com/signaturepad/upload/files/archive/PrivateSettlement.pdf

Nevertheless it may be a challenge to convince the other party to sign on the agreement if they see an ugly dent on their bumper. After all cars are expensive in Singapore and it’s painful to see their precious in this state.

What both of you should do is drive to the nearest workshop and determine the damage (in dollars and cents). After the other party is convinced the repair cost is not worth claiming under his insurance (or yours), he’ll be more willing to sign on the private settlement form.

Even so, many people are quite ignorant about making car insurance claims. And they have no idea what’s going to happen to their renewal premium after each claim… If you are talking to someone like this, you have to educate him on why private settlement is the most ideal way to conclude the incident.

Why You Should Use Private Settlement For Minor Damages

Two things happen when you make a motor insurance claim:

(i) your NCD drops, and

(ii) your renewal premium increases because the insurer will impose a loading.

The net effect is you have to pay more in premiums for the next 3 years. What you claim from the insurance company will almost always be much lesser than what you have to pay back in the near future.

Suppose you suffer a damage of $1,500 and your excess is $600. In this case, what you can claim from the insurer is $900. Because of this claim, your NCD drops by 30%. This will add an average of $300+ to your annual premium. (The actual value depends on several factors.) Also, there’ll be a loading imposed. This may amount to another $100+ more. In the next 3 years, you’ll easily pay more than your original damage ($900).

Having said this, it does not mean you shouldn’t make an insurance claim. This is because the purpose of motor insurance is to protect you from huge financial loss. For this reason, if the damage is large enough, by all means make a claim.

How to Use the Private Settlement Letter

The private settlement letter must state the following details:

a.    Location of incident
b.    Date and Time of incident
c.    Terms of Agreement
d.    Particulars of all drivers involved
e.    Signature of a witness

Fill up each field of the form with as much detail as you can. On top of this (if you can), take photos of any damages to your car and the other party’s car.

After signing the private settlement letter, both of you are bound to the agreements stated. As such, you (or the other party) will not be able to make claims against each other. This means you will not experience any complications when you renew your car insurance.

You do not need to make a police report since there is no bodily injury. Yet under the Motor Claims Framework (MCF), you MUST report the incident to your insurer within 24 hours and send them a copy of your private settlement form. In case the other party tries to make a claim against you, his effort will be futile.

Note: In case you are involved in a chain collision, the party in front of you and behind you must sign on the private agreement as well. This is why you must at keep at least 6 copies of private settlement form in your car – 2 for the car in front, 2 for the car at the back and 2 extra copies for contingency.

A No-Claim Discount (NCD) entitles you to a lower car insurance premium. The maximum NCD you can have is 50% and the lowest is 0%. Thus the discount you get depends on how high your NCD is. This is one of the ways you are rewarded for being a safe driver.

If you have not made any insurance claim in the past 1 year, your NCD will increase by 10%. The 2 tables below illustrate this:

For Private Cars:

For Commercial Vehicles and Motorcycles:

With the above in mind, it does not necessarily mean you will lose your NCD if you make an insurance claim.

In Singapore, insurers depend on a benchmark known as the Barometer of Liability Agreement (BOLA) to determine what your responsibility is for each accident you get into. As long as it is less than 20%, your NCD will not be affected.

Otherwise your NCD may drop by 30%, as illustrated in the table below:

There is a common misunderstanding about No-Claims Discount you must know about. People are often confused whether their NCD applies to them or their vehicle.

Technically, your NCD applies to you. This means whether you switch to another insurer or buy another vehicle, your NCD remains with you. Nevertheless if you own a second car, the NCD for that vehicle will have to start from 0%.

In other words, your NCD can be transferred from one insurer to another and from one car to another. But it cannot be transferred from one person to another.

(NCD also cannot be transferred from one vehicle class to another. For example, you cannot transfer your Motorcycle’s 20% NCD to your Car or vice versa.)

If you are concerned about losing your NCD in case of an accident, you can buy an NCD protector.  Most insurers only allow you to buy this rider if your NCD is at 50%. With this, even if you make an insurance claim, your NCD will not drop.

However you have to bear in mind that your NCD protector cannot be transferred from one insurer to another. This means if you want to retain your NCD at 50% after an accident, you have to renew with your existing insurer.

Finally, if you don’t own a car (or vehicle) for more than 12 months, you will lose your NCD. For example, if you sold off your car and went overseas, then bought a car again after more than 12 months, your NCD will start from 0% again.

If your car insurance renewal is near, you may find a great insurer by getting car insurance quotes from as many as 12 different car insurers. Simply take 2 minutes to fill up the form at www.motorinsurancesingapore.com and the best 3 quotes will be sent to you.