There are occasions when your NTUC car insurance may need to be cancelled before it is due. When this happens you can get back the remaining (unused) value of your policy. As such, a little knowledge on how to estimate your refund value and how to cancel your policy may be helpful.

Why Do People Cancel Their Car Insurance Policy?

The most common reason is because they have sold their car and bought a new one. In this case, the existing insurance policy will not be applicable for the new car. Therefore it has to be cancelled and a new motor insurance policy enforced.

Secondly, if the car is lost through fire or theft, or if it is damaged beyond economical repair, it has to be scrapped. When this happens, the car insurance policy will automatically lapse. The market value of your vehicle will be paid out to you and you may choose to purchase another vehicle using the compensation.

As a side note, NTUC Income will not refund any unused policy value if at least one claim was made within the policy term. (This is generally the same for other insurers too.)

Another reason why an NTUC car insurance could be cancelled is because the details provided on the application form is incorrect. As such, the policy will not be valid since it is based on erroneous information. Therefore it has to be cancelled and a new contract reinforced.

An amendment (known as an endorsement) can be passed to correct minor mistakes though. Nevertheless the premiums may not remain the same.

What’s the Procedure like?

NTUC Income may cancel a car insurance policy by giving seven days’ notice at your last known address and you must return your original Certificate of Insurance to them.

You may also initiate the cancellation by notifying them in writing or by teleconversation. You must return your original Certificate of Insurance thereafter. The cancellation will take effect from the date NTUC Income receives your original Certificate of Insurance.

How To Calculate the Premium Refund?

The formula for premium refund depends on whether you’ll take up another insurance policy with NTUC Income within the next 90 days:

(i)    If you take up another NTUC Income policy within 90 days:

Premium Refund = Premium * Unexpired Period of Insurance / Original Period of Insurance

(ii)    Otherwise:

Premium Refund = 85% of Premium * Unexpired Period of Insurance / Original Period of Insurance

If the remaining unused premium is less than the minimum sum of $25, no refund will be made.

In summary, to cancel an NTUC car insurance policy, this is what you have to do:

1.    Email or call up NTUC
2.    Send in your Certificate of Insurance
3.    Wait for the refund cheque in your mailbox

Understanding your car insurance (Singapore) premiums can be quite a baffling thing. Numerous drivers have questioned about their car insurance premiums and yet have little understanding on how it all works.

This post give readers an insight on how car insurance companies in Singapore price their premiums – a real insider’s guide to the inner mechanism of how it works.

Car insurance premium is derived based on a Points System that takes mainly the following 2 categories of factors into consideration:

Category #1: Characteristics of Driver (Insured)

a) Age of Driver. Here’s the age group that most companies use and how much it affects your premiums:

18 to 21 yrs old — $$$$
22 to 25 yrs old — $$$
26 to 30 yrs old — $$
31 to 65 yrs old — $

b) Gender & Marital Status. Generally cheaper for females as compared to males; cheaper for married compared to singles.

c) Driving Experience. Calculated from the time you got your driving license, not your actual driving experience:

0 to 1 yrs experience — $$$$
1 to 2 yrs experience — $$$
2 to 4 yrs experience — $$
> 4 yrs experience — $

d) Job Nature (Indoor/Outdoor). Self-Explanatory.

Indoor – $
Outdoor – $$

e) No Claims Discount (NCD) – aka No Claims Bonus (NCB). This is the premium discount you can enjoy if you have not made claims with your insurance company

You get 10% NCD each year if you don’t make any claims during your policy year. Your NCB can accumulate up to 50% max.

For example, if your auto insurance is $1,000 and your NCD is 20%, the actual premium you’ll have to pay is $800.

If a claim is made during a policy year while you are still enjoying NCD, the NCD will be reduced the next time you renew your motor insurance.

f) Certificate of Merit Discount. A 5% discount is awarded to you (after deduction of NCD, if any) if you have NO traffic offense / demerit point(s) in the past 3 years.

Category #2: Characteristics of Vehicle

g) Engine Capacity (cc) & Engine Type. The lower the engine capacity, the lower your premium. Engine type refers to Normal or Turbo engine – obviously the turbo engine is going to be charged more.

h) Year of Manufacture. This generally means the year which your car is made/register.

i) Body Type. This refers to the type of car, eg. saloon, MPV, SUV, etc. Company usually charge more for unusual types of vehicle.

j) Off Peak Car (OPC). Generally, insurers tend to offer a slight discount for OPC.

Most car insurance (Singapore) quotations are valid only for 14 days, some for 30 days. And the price of car insurance premium change frequently – some people believe that it changes every 6-12 months. Therefore while Company X may offer the best deal this year, Company Y may be more competitive the next year.

This implies that you may have to compare different insurers’ quotes each time you renew your car insurance. You should get a good deal after comparing at least 6-7 companies. Of course, if you want the cheapest of all you’ll have to look for quotes from all the 20++ motor insurance companies in Singapore – and not all of them are good, really. In fact only some are worth looking at.

To compare several quotes, you can take 3 mins to fill in the form at Motor Insurance Singapore.

Return from Car Insurance (Singapore) Premiums – The Insider’s Guide on How It’s Computed to Motor Insurance Singapore Home

Why is it important to know how you’re charged for your motor car insurance? Because by knowing how you’re charged, you can somewhat get the best premium not only by comparing quotes, but also by influencing the factors that determines your auto (car or motorcycle) insurance pricing.

Insurers charge different premiums according to the risk they have to undertake. Most insurers in Singapore set the car insurance premium according to a range of factors. In general, the following are major factors that insurers take into consideration:

- Make and Model of Vehicle, Engine Capacity & Age of vehicle
- Nature of Vehicle Usage (private/corporate/commercial use, etc.)
- Age, Sex and Occupation of Driver
- Driver’s experience (No. of Years)
- Claims History of Driver
- Type of Cover (Third Party, Comprehensive, etc.)

Insurers will give each risk factor a weighting based on a range of statistics and their (insurers’) past claims information.

What do these information mean to you? You certainly may not want to change your vehicle nor change the type of cover nor the nature of vehicle usage. But you can try getting 6-7 quotes from different insurers because even though their coverage may be the same, their premiums may differ – sometimes by a long shot!

Some drivers also opt to insure their cars under another driver in their family who is more senior and who has more driving experience. Why do they do this?

In the perception of motor insurers, according to their statistics, a female has less risk than a male; a married individual has less risk than a single; and a more senior person has less risk than a young lad. (well, at least this is how the insurers see it)

Click Here to go back to Motor Insurance Singapore Home

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