{"id":10670,"date":"2020-10-15T23:54:58","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T15:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.carro.sg\/?p=10670"},"modified":"2025-11-05T17:06:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T09:06:47","slug":"how-is-usage-based-insurance-different-from-traditional-car-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/how-is-usage-based-insurance-different-from-traditional-car-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"How is Usage-Based Insurance Different from Traditional Car Insurance?"},"content":{"rendered":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Car insurance can be confusing, we know.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But when it comes to our cars, we all want the same simple thing; to be financially protected should something unfortunate happen.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">type<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of insurance should you get? <\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, there's actually no proper answer for this. Car insurance is dependent on so many different factors that even though one plan might be good for you, it won't necessarily be good for someone else. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, apart from the slew of different plans that are available through traditional car insurance, there are also a number of new kids on the block. These insurance programs offer a different way of calculating premiums and tend to adopt a 'usage-based' scheme like paying-as-you-drive or paying-how-well-you-drive. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The market is extremely saturated with a ton of products to choose from, so this can get really confusing and frustrating for any driver!<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But that's why we're here. Let us make that car insurance decision a little easier for you! In this article, we'll be illustrating the differences between Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) programs and your traditional car insurance, an overview of what's available and which will be better for you.<\/span>\r\n<h2><b>Usage-Based Insurance in Singapore<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usage-Based Insurance has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.channelnewsasia.com\/news\/singapore\/more-car-owners-asking-about-usage-based-insurance-amid-drop-in-12813660\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">growing traction within the driving community in Singapore<\/a> over the last few months due to the impact of COVID-19 on how much we travel and commute daily. It's seen as a more cost-effective way to own pay for car insurance as we are not travelling as much! But how long has UBI been a thing and when was it introduced here?<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first time the concept of UBI hit our shores was when MSIG insurance and Scope Technologies teamed up to develop and test the technology required for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/business\/drive-less-and-safely-pay-lower-premiums\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UMAX UBI policy<\/a> where the policy tracks and rewards good driving behaviour of the policyholder.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since then, there have been several insurance companies in Singapore that have introduced UBI in their policies. One example would be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesstimes.com.sg\/transport\/new-usage-based-motor-insurance-launched-for-private-hire-vehicle-drivers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AXA\u2019s PAYG scheme<\/a> targeted towards part-time private hire drivers. As this scheme only targeted private hire drivers, it only covers third party liabilities such as injury or death of a third party &amp; third party property damage.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This contrasts with Etiqa Insurance via their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancebusinessmag.com\/asia\/news\/breaking-news\/etiqa-insurance-releases-usagebased-car-policy-70907.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ePROTECT sMiles UBI<\/a> scheme which offers similar coverage as your regular comprehensive insurance but with the cost savings of only 'paying as you drive'.<\/span>\r\n<h2><b>How does UBI Differ from Traditional Car Insurance?<\/b><\/h2>\r\nIt's easy to identify the key difference between UBI and traditional car insurance. The answer is already in their names! However, there are other key differentiating factors between both programs.\r\n<h4><i>Technology<\/i><\/h4>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_10676\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10676\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10676\" src=\"https:\/\/carro.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_1604648995-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"vehicular telematics usage based insurance (UBI) singapore\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_1604648995-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_1604648995-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_1604648995-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_1604648995-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_1604648995-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_1604648995-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10676\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nOne of the biggest differences is technology. The technology behind UBI is called\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vehicular Telematics<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d where it will track your exact mileage and send that data to a backend server to calculate your specific insurance premium for the month. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only will this technology track how much you drive, but it can also collect data about <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you drive. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unsafe driving such as speeding or sudden-braking will also be caught by this technology. Usually, insurance companies will give you discounts to your premium if you demonstrate safer driving, which adds on to the non-fixed premium nature of UBIs.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Basically, you\u2019ll be rewarded with lower premiums for driving less and driving well. This is something that\u2019s not present in your normal car insurance plans, which adds to the allure of UBI programs.<\/span>\r\n<h4><i>Coverage, Requirements &amp; More<\/i><\/h4>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_10677\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10677\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10677\" src=\"https:\/\/carro.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_563153512-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"car insurance coverage usage based insurance UBI\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1649\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_563153512-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_563153512-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_563153512-1024x659.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_563153512-768x495.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_563153512-1536x989.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shutterstock_563153512-2048x1319.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10677\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to coverage and claims processes, many drivers might think that UBI programs are not as comprehensive. However, there is barely any difference between the two. The biggest difference would basically be for the distance driven as UBIs charge per-kilometre fees.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis also includes your No Claim Discount (NCD), general coverage options and even how you make a claim when you get into an accident! You'll basically get the same insurance coverage but pay for it differently and get the chance for more savings when you drive less or drive well.\r\n<h2><b>Singapore's First TRUE Usage-Based Insurance Plan<\/b><\/h2>\r\nIf you're looking for a Usage-Based Insurance plan in Singapore, CARRO - Southeast Asia's largest car marketplace - recently<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">launched<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vulcanpost.com\/682378\/carro-pay-as-you-drive-car-insurance\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Singapore\u2019s first-ever true \u201cPay As You Drive\u201d insurance plan in partnership with NTUC Income<\/a>. <\/span>\r\n\r\nFor now, you can only get this UBI plan exclusively through<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/carro.sg\/leap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CARRO LEAP,<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which happens to be Singapore's first car subscription service! <\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drivers on the CARRO Leap program will be charged based on how much they drive and the premium will be covered within the monthly fees itself, with a monthly cap of 1,500km.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your distance drove is less than 1,500 km in a month, you\u2019ll receive rebates based on the 'unused' mileage. So, if you drive less, you'll pay less and can save up to $800 a year on your insurance!<\/span>\r\n\r\nThese two programs are a perfect match as drivers can enjoy more financial flexibility through CARRO Leap's lower commitment nature and more savings with UBI.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Great isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s like you can keep getting cost savings from both the car subscription plan AND the UBI attached with it!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Car insurance can be confusing, we know.\u00a0But when it comes to our cars, we all want the same simple thing; to be financially protected should something unfortunate happen. So what type of insurance should you get? Well, there&#8217;s actually no proper answer for this. Car insurance is dependent on so many different factors that even &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[724],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-insurance-car-loans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10670"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16127,"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10670\/revisions\/16127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carro.co\/sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}