Understanding car insurance makes you a more informed buyer and could help you save on your premiums. Here’s a quick and easy guide to car insurance.

Car insurance is compulsory in Singapore. According to the Land Transport Authority’s OneMotoring website, it is illegal to use a car without valid insurance coverage in Singapore. At minimum, your car insurance must cover third-party liability for deaths and bodily injury.

 
Apart from being a legal requirement, car insurance is also worth buying simply because cars are expensive here. It makes sense to get comprehensive insurance to protect your property from car damage repair costs.

There are two main types of plans - comprehensive and third party.

1. Third party plans are cheaper, and the costs of other people. For example, when you damage their cars / other property in an accident, or their medical expenses.
2. Comprehensive plans are more expensive and cover third party costs and the cost of damage to your property (like your car).
   
   When buying comprehensive car insurance, look out for the following coverage areas:

• Third Party Liability: Covers damages to accident victims and is the bare minimum coverage required by law.

• Fire & Theft: Covers damage or loss arising from fire or theft. By default, Comprehensive plans cover these scenarios.

• Workshop Repairs: Covers repair costs from accidental damage. When at fault, you will need to pay a standard amount (known as “excess”) before the insurer tops up the rest. Check whether you can pick your own workshop or if you have to go to the insurer’s list of authorised repairers.

• Windscreen, Sunroof & Solar Film: These fragile parts of your car should be insured. The excess here is significantly lower than that of workshop repairs, because it's usually easier to fix / replace.

• Engine & Gearbox Warranty: Exclusive to Bubblegum, this optional add-on allows you to claim for car engine or transmission breakdowns, up to a limit of $5,000 (certain exclusions apply).

• Roadside Assistance: Some insurers offer roadside assistance services, including towing.

• Medical Expenses & Personal Accident: Car insurance can reimburse small medical bills resulting from a car accident or pay out in the event of disability or death.

Having car insurance doesn’t mean you can throw caution to the wind when driving. It still pays to be careful, and there are some mistakes that could render your car insurance coverage invalid!

 
Car insurance policies will NOT cover drivers without a licence or anyone driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Ditto on driving a vehicle after making illegal modifications to it.

If you like to go on road trips, be aware that there are geographical limits. Check your car insurance policy wording for that. For example, Bubblegum car insurance covers Singapore, West Malaysia and part of Thailand.

Most car insurance allows you to generate a quote by simply plugging your personal and car-related details. Have the following information handy for this quest:

• Vehicle details: The make, model, type and engine capacity of your car. You also need to know which year it was manufactured.
• Vehicle mileage: This indicates how used your car is. For Bubblegum, we just need you to specify if the current mileage is above or below 180,000 km.
• NCD (No Claims Discount): If you have had car insurance previously and didn’t make any claims, you’d be eligible for a discount of up to 50% off your premium.
• Past claims or accident records: Declare the number of at-fault accidents you’ve been in, and the amount you’ve previously claimed, in the past 3 years.
  
  While the auto-generated quote is useful for comparing premiums, the insurer has the final say as to how much to charge based on your particular profile, car and track record.

How do you choose the most suitable car insurance plan for your needs? We’ve whittled it down to 4 key features.

1. Cost: Who doesn’t love affordable car insurance premiums? Bubblegum has gone the extra mile to offer extraordinary value at low prices.
2. Excess: This is how much you need to pay out-of-pocket before the insurer pays the rest of your workshop bill. In Bubblegum’s case, it’s from as little as $600. Be sure the excess value is one you could cover at short notice.
3. Choice of workshop: Some insurers restrict you to only a small list of authorised workshops. Don’t sell yourself short — go for an insurer that allows repairs at “any workshop”! If your car is still under warranty, you’ll almost certainly need an “any workshop” plan so that you can go to your dealer’s workshop.
4. Coverage areas: Different drivers may want specific types of coverage. If you’re a newbie driver, consider an insurer known for roadside assistance. If you’re a careful driver, then you might like bonus coverage outside of accidents, such as Bubblegum’s Engine & Gearbox Warranty.

Car insurance plans are annual, and you should start thinking about renewal at around the 9-month mark (so, about 3 months before expiry).

It’s of course easiest to renew the same plan you’ve had all along, but some insurers raise prices for renewing customers. You could save some money by reviewing your current plan and checking out the competition around this time.
You can also take the option to switch your plan.

Remember that it’s an offence to drive without car insurance, and you can’t renew road tax if you’re not covered, so don’t leave it to the last minute!

Claims processes vary vastly among insurers. As of the time of writing, Bubblegum’s car insurance claim process just takes a simple phone call. Whether you’re in an emergency or are wanting to start a new claim, simply call our 24-hour hotline (+65 61001620) and our agents will help take care of the rest.