Difficult to buy car insurance for older cars in Singapore - CEO of Budget Direct Insurance

Buying insurance for older cars can still be difficult despite record numbers of COE renewals, according to Simon Birch, CEO of Budget Direct Insurance.

This is his view as an industry expert that the majority of insurance companies do not sell policies for older vehicles online. Instead many customers of cars older than 10 years are assessed on a case by case basis and have to endure lengthier quote processing times. 

Simon Birch, CEO of Budget Direct Insurance

Birch said: "Owners of older vehicles have sometimes struggled to buy insurance online. It has been particularly difficult to get Comprehensive cover. Insurers need to stay up to date with Singapore motoring trends and that includes catering more to those with older vehicles and making it easier for them to buy." 

Online car insurance quote in 30 seconds

Birch believes that Budget Direct Insurance is one of the few that is making it easier for this sector of the motoring community. He said: "At Budget Direct Insurance, motorists, including those who own older vehicles, can get a quick quote online within 30 seconds. We are one of the few insurers who is able to give an online quote, especially for older cars." 

Frustrated customers have been turning to Budget Direct Insurance for help.

One such motorist is Yap Boon Fong Yvonne. Her current insurer was unable to

Etiqa Insurance Launches Second Online Savings Plan With Up To 4.02% Return p.a. in Singapore

Etiqa Insurance Launches in Singapore Second Online Savings Plan With Up To 4.02% Return p.a. Following MAS Guidelines On Online and Direct Distribution Of Life Policies

Singapore - After premiering the first in market online savings plan earlier in April, Insurance arm of Maybank Group Etiqa Insurance launches a second insurance savings plan, eEASY savepro, featuring an attractive projected return of up to 4.02% per annum – the highest return for direct insurance solutions offered by the insurer till date.

The plan is part of the EASY save series, which is designed to specifically tailor to the customer’s appetite, savings horizon and aspirations. Customers can choose a participating or non-participating plan, premium size, premium term and policy term based on their preferences, as further elaborated in the appendix below.

“With the EASY save series, Etiqa is able to extend a more attractive projected return of up to 4.02% per annum at 100% capital guarantee upon maturity, to better meet our customers’ savings aspirations. This is only possible by adopting the direct and online business model which turns commission fees, a standard offline distribution cost, into better returns for customers,” said Ms. Shirley Tan, Head of Customer Experience & Propositions of Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd..

In addition to capital guarantee on premiums, customers who purchase any plan from the EASY save series can also benefit from complimentary Accidental Death Protection Booster, which provides extra accidental death protection at 100% of total premium paid. Etiqa believes that at the heart of every savings aspiration, personal protection against

With online life insurance quotes and purchases readily available, is the role of a financial advisor dead?

With plenty of top insurance startups and the advent of insurtech and fintech often making headlines in the media, it is not surprising that may insurance agents and financial advisors in the market may have concerns about the continued viability of an insurance sales career.

Hence, in this post, we will try to address, "With online life insurance quotes and purchases readily available, is the role of a financial advisor dead?".

The answer is: it depends.

According to Swiss Re Institute, regulatory changes are catalysing some of these shifts. For example, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission has urged insurers to go online, stressing that both traditional and online insurers should explore technology to reach more customers. It has also removed geographic restrictions on sales of certain life and property insurance products, allowing insurers to sell such products through their own digital sales channels. Similarly, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India issued guidelines in 2016 requiring all insurance policies in the country to be available in digital format. And since 2015, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has allowed insurers to offer direct-purchase insurance products online without advice.

Yet, online sales of insurance actually remain relatively small in many countries, both compared with other distribution channels and e-commerce penetration in other sectors.

So what gives? It could very much depend on culture.

The link between culture and online insurance penetration 

compareFIRST Review - Singapore's first industry-backed life insurance web aggregator

compareFIRST - Singapore's first industry-backed life insurance web aggregator has been "live" coming close to six months now. 

If you need a refresher on what it is: compareFIRST - What you need to know

You can check out the website here. 

compareFIRST

To test its user-friendliness, and usefulness, we got someone young and out of school not too long ago, who hasn't been working for too long, and does not know much about insurance to test the site and do a review.

And here's the feedback:

compareFIRST - What you need to know

compareFIRST - Singapore's first industry-backed life insurance web aggregator is live! 

It is a joint effort by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA), Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), and MoneySENSE.

It is one of the key initiatives under the Financial Advisory Industry Review (FAIR). You can read more about the background at: http://www.insuranceemart.com/search/label/FAIR

A very comprehensive FAQ is available on compareFIRST's website: http://comparefirst.sg/wap/faqEvent.action

It will be a waste of your time to read (and ours to write) if we were to repeat them here. So here are some key points to clear any confusion/questions that you may have. 


A very important bonus question is right at the end. Read the last question before you even think about using compareFIRST. 

compareFIRST

What is compareFIRST?

compareFIRST is an informational portal on life insurance products.

You can compare Direct Purchase Insurance products, term life products, whole life products and endowment products sold by the various life insurers. 

Can I buy life insurance products through compareFIRST?

No. It is only an information portal. So you CAN’T buy products through this site. To purchase any of these products, you should approach your preferred insurer or financial advisor directly.

compareFIRST and Direct Purchase Insurance - Consumers Can Now Compare Life Insurance Products Online and Buy Them Without Commissions

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that from 7 April, consumers can compare life insurance products of different companies using a new web portal called compareFIRST (www.comparefirst.sg). 

compareFirst logo

On the same day, life insurance companies will start selling Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI), a class of simple life insurance products that is sold without commissions and financial advice.

Both compareFIRST and DPI are initiatives under the Financial Advisory Industry Review or FAIR. (read all about FAIR: http://www.insuranceemart.com/search/label/FAIR) 

compareFIRST

compareFIRST is an interactive web portal that allows consumers to quickly compare the premiums and features of similar life insurance products offered by different insurance companies. It will help consumers make

Insurance direct purchase and web aggregator set to launch early April

As revealed in "Buying Life Insurance Products Directly from Insurance Companies without Commissions", the launch of a direct purchase insurance products (DPI) or a insurance direct channel will not be launched in time in the first quarter of 2015. 

The good news: Mr Ong Chong Tee, Deputy Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has announced at a recent Life Insurance Association of Singapore luncheon that they will be ready by early April.

Here's what he said:

There are three key initiatives under FAIR (or Financial Advisory Industry Review) of particular relevance to the life insurance industry. These are the web aggregator, direct purchase insurance products and the balanced scorecard framework.

Web aggregator

First, the web aggregator. Life insurers offer a wide range of life insurance products to cater to the varied financial needs of consumers. However, it can often be a daunting task for consumers to be sufficiently informed of what’s available to meet his needs and to have some easy way to compare life insurance products.

I am pleased to note that a web aggregator will be launched in early April as a collaborative effort between MAS, CASE and the life insurance industry. This will provide a single information portal that will enable consumers to easily look up available life insurance products and compare indicative quotes based on specified parameters in a user-friendly and interactive manner.

Direct Purchase Insurance

Second, direct purchase insurance products, or DPI. This is a new class of life insurance products for basic needs that is “retail-access friendly”. 

What are the top 3 travel mishaps faced by travellers from Singapore?

ACE’s travel survey reveals top 3 travel mishaps

·      78% of the Singapore respondents have experienced a travel mishap

·      Nearly one in four Singapore respondents have regretted not buying travel insurance for their leisure travel

·      70% of younger consumers (aged below 30) buy their travel insurance online

In a travel survey conducted by ACE Insurance Limited (ACE) in the last quarter of 2014, a major finding revealed that 78% of the respondents had experienced a travel mishap during their holidays. The top three travel mishaps experienced are as follows:

1.      Flight delays (54%)

2.      Falling ill (39%)

3.      Loss of baggage (19%)

Top on the list of the biggest worries while on holiday included being injured in an accident (24%), falling ill (23%) and having valuables or travel documents stolen (15%). However, they were least concerned about political uncertainty and terrorism, with just nine per cent listing it as their most pressing concern.

Comprehensive Car Insurance Policy Promotion

Get a $108* FlashPay Card when you buy a new comprehensive car insurance policy with DirectAsia.com.

Offer ends 5 March 2015.

Some of the conditions:

The main driver of the car is aged 70 and below and has a valid driving licence of at least 2 years.

The car is not used for commercial purposes or for hire/reward.

No driver has had any class of licence suspended or cancelled in the last 5 years. 

The car is registered in Singapore and any modifications it may have are LTA compliant.

Privacy Statement Please note the policyholder must be the registered owner of the vehicle.For details and terms and conditions:https://secure.directasia.com/online-insurance/car/q-start.aspx Disclaimer

Buying Life Insurance Products Directly from Insurance Companies without Commissions

If you have been following the FAIR Review, or officially the Financial Advisory Industry Review, you may be wondering what is the status or development thus far. (Read about it at Monetary Authority of Singapore issues finalised FAIR initiatives to lift insurance industry standards.)  

The direct channel through which “basic insurance” products can be purchased with a nominal administration fee, had seem to be one of the easier initiatives to be implemented with expectation that it could be implemented in the first quarter of 2015.

In a press release then, Mr Lee Boon Ngiap, Assistant Managing Director for Capital Markets, MAS, had said, “When direct purchase products are introduced in early 2015….”

However, industry sources say, it will not be ready by the first quarter of 2015 and will likely be pushed to the second quarter at the earliest.

While awaiting its implementation, here’s a recap on what this initiative is about, the types of insurance products that will be sold through this channel, and the maximum sum assured that will be available.

Insurance price comparison website in Singapore

If you have been following Monetary Authority of Singapore's Financial Advisory Industry Review (FAIR) initiatives to lift insurance industry standards, you will know that one of the initiatives is a web aggregator to enhance comparability amongst life insurance products.

So I guess the question is, how effective will that be?

While it will be easier to compare products, it is not all positive.

For example, recently the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK has begun a thematic review into insurance price comparison websites (PCWs).

Selling term insurance via online platform in Singapore

Are financial advisers allowed to sell term life insurance to the general public via online platform and without providing advice to the customer?


Term life insurance may be made available online to individuals who wish to buy such insurance, without the need for advice. However, a customer should still seek advice from a financial adviser to supplement term life insurance coverage, or on more complicated insurance plans.

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) takes the view that financial advisers should provide customers with clear and relevant information about the product so as to enable the customer to make an informed decision. 

Online insurance buying increases

Individuals in developed markets are more likely to be insured than people in developing markets. In developed markets, consumers increasingly are purchasing insurance online rather than through an agent, the traditional channel.
This internet disintermediation is most pronounced in the UK. But the global trend is clear in BrandZ data, which shows that the number of consumers searching for information online more than doubled during the past six years, increasing to 12 percent in 2011, from 5 percent in 2006. The proportion of brands recommended by users increased over the same period, from 43 percent to 49 percent, according to BrandZ data.

The key question for insurers is whether to sell insurance direct or go through insurance agents, partners and intermediaries. With no single right answer, the insurers experimented with various approaches, attempting to improve the brand experience by simplifying purchasing.
They followed a linear logic. By winning in search, the brands expected to increase their share of online insurance quotes and convert the quotes into an increase in policies signed. As an added benefit, a shift to direct online insurance sales could reduce reliance on insurance agents and the size of commissions.

Purchase auto insurance online in Singapore

Get free automobile insurance quotes online, if you would like to compare the car insurance premiums and rates. Also know as car insurance or motor insurance.


Want to buy car insurance online in Singapore? Probably the most well-known websites for online auto insurance quotes are from Aviva, Direct Asia and CompareXpress.


Trying both Aviva and CompareXpress..


The main difference is that Aviva offers car insurance quotes from its own company while CompareXpress offers motor insurance quotes from a few insurance companies and banks including Etiqa Insurance, Liberty Insurance, China Taiping and CIMB Bank.


Having tried out both with the same information, Aviva's online insurance website to "Get Quick Quote" seems more user-friendly. It could also give me a quote straightaway while CompareXpress had "no matching online

Online car insurance in Singapore - Aviva

Aviva's online insurance model has made an impact in just 16 months since its launch. Aviva's share of the private car insurance market it has insured is at about 4%.In terms of premiums, Aviva's market share was 1.4% in 2010.


As Singapore's vehicle population recorded a high of 945,829 units at the end of 2010 with passenger cars at 597,746 units, the motor insurance industry reported $1.2 billion of earned gross premiums.


Aviva was the first insurer to go direct when it re-entered the general insurance market in Singapore. Two months later DirectAsia.com also started offering car insurance online. 

Can I get online insurance quotes for Singapore's life insurance policies?

Can I get online insurance quotes for Singapore's life insurance policies?


Have you tried to find insurance quotes online to compare insurance prices of Singapore's life insurance policies when you were thinking to buy insurance? If you have, you will would know that it is no easy feat.


Unfortunately in Singapore, we seem to be a long way off trying to get detailed information and online insurance quotes for life insurance plans. 


Visiting Singapore's different life insurance companies' websites, most will give only general information and a short summary of the products.
There may be sample tables where fixed examples of insurance prices or premiums are given for a sample age and policy term. However, you are not able to edit the information to see information relevant to you or get a sample insurance quote online. 


Even illustrations of insurance premiums for a fixed age and term is not on every insurer's websites. Of the websites visited, only NTUC Income, Great Eastern and HSBC provided a table to illustrate sample monthly premiums.
For the rest, Aviva, AXA, AIA, Manulife, Prudential, TM Asia Life sample illustrations were either missing or not easily located. 
To get details or insurance quotes, most will require you to contact them or make an appointment with a Financial Planner.


Free online insurance quotes in Singapore so far seems to be limited to General Insurance products only, such as Car Insurance and Travel Insurance.


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