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:
| Period Without Claims | NCD on Renewal |
| 1 year | 10% |
| 2 years | 20% |
| 3 years | 30% |
| 4 years | 40% |
| 5 years or more | 50% |
For Commercial Vehicles and Motorcycles:
| Period Without Claims | NCD on Renewal |
| 1 year | 10% |
| 2 years | 15% |
| 3 years or more | 20% |
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:
| Current NCD | NCD on Renewal |
| 50% | becomes 20% |
| 40% | becomes 10% |
| 30% or less | becomes 0% |
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.
