The Straits Times - Motor insurance premiums likely to continue to rise as claims and costs surge

[kobayashiGT]

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/motor-insurance-premiums-likely-to-continue-to-rise-as-claims-and-costs-surge?_nei=fe0cf66f-e955-425f-b7d2-54187d4b1aaf

SINGAPORE – Motor insurance premiums are expected to continue rising as insurers grapple with mounting losses and rising claims, said industry experts.

Latest industry statistics from the General Insurance Association (GIA) seen by The Straits Times show that in the first three months of 2025, gross written premiums for motor insurance rose by 9.4 per cent to $368.2 million, compared with the same period in 2024. Underwriting losses were up by about 14 per cent from $11.6 million to $13.3 million.

For the full year of 2024, underwriting losses widened significantly to $33.8 million, from $7.7 million in 2023 and $21.6 million in 2022. This marked a sharp reversal from the underwriting profits of $49.7 million in 2021 and $104.5 million in 2020. Meanwhile, gross written premiums rose 11.3 per cent to $1.21 billion in 2024.

Several factors are driving this trend.

Insurers grappling with more accident claims and rising repair costs in a competitive market is one reason, said Ms Judy Ng, partner of financial services consulting at KPMG in Singapore.

Global inflation, which has pushed up the cost of vehicle parts, and the growing presence of electric vehicles (EVs) which are more expensive to repair are also contributing to mounting expenses.

“Insurers have incurred higher costs of motor claims due to their efforts to fulfil a rising number and cost of motor accidents amid market competition,” said Ms Ng.

“An increase in the number of electric vehicles is another factor, as it can be costlier to repair EVs.”

Even leading insurers are not immune to the pressures. 

GIA’s industry rankings for the first quarter of 2025 showed that Income Insurance retained its top spot with a 25 per cent market share. Its gross written premiums rose by $6 million, but its underwriting profit nearly halved, dropping from $9.4 million in the first three months of 2024 to $4.5 million in the same period in 2025.

Liberty Insurance stood out for posting the largest improvement in underwriting results, bouncing back from a $567,000 loss in the first quarter of 2024 to a $2.1 million profit in 2025.

Allianz Insurance Singapore, on the other hand, saw the sharpest contraction in gross written premiums, falling 18.6 per cent from $26.4 million to $21.5 million.

Mr Timothy Jude Fu-Tien Wimala, chief executive of insurance broker Anika, noted that among the six major motor insurers which collectively hold about 65 per cent of the market, AIG and Liberty stood out for achieving strong organic growth from strategic increases of premiums for existing policies being renewed.

He said: “AIG impresses with strong organic growth, leading to a gross written premium increase of more than 17 per cent, while keeping its market share flat. Essentially, AIG has found a way to increase its pricing while persuading its customers to stick around.

“Liberty, however, has beaten everyone in the Big Six by increasing its gross written premiums by more than 21 per cent and still keeping its customer base with market share essentially unchanged.”

The Big Six motor insurers in Singapore – ranked by gross written premiums, from highest to lowest for January to March 2025 – are Income, MS First Capital, AIG, India International Insurance, Allianz and Liberty.

Generally, insurers that failed to raise premiums lost ground, and even those with meaningful increases saw only marginal share gains.

“This illustrates how the costs of claims and operations are escalating premium growth and customers will carry the load of these increases,” said Mr Wimala.

“Unless insurers can better control claims and manage operating expenses, the only direction for motor premiums is up.”

On the consumer end, car owners are already feeling the pinch.

Car dealer Fed Wu said one of his customers, a luxury sedan driver with a clean claims record, experienced a 25 per cent hike in his insurance premium after four years with the same insurer – from $1,200 to $1,500. He eventually switched to another insurer, buying a new policy online for $1,101.

“With prices so high, many customers just pick the insurer that offers the lowest premium,” said Mr Wu.

While the current pricing pain may eventually ease, some volatility remains.

“Premiums could stabilise over time as insurers adjust to higher claims costs, and more accurately estimate and reflect these rising costs in their prices,” said Ms Ng of KPMG.

“However, some level of increase can still be anticipated in the future to cater for general claims inflation and other emerging factors.”

In the meantime, the message is clear: As long as claims stay high and repair costs keep climbing, insurers are likely to say they have little choice but to pass those costs on to consumers.

[ER-3682]

So many Careless/Reckless Drivers,Sabo the Good Drivers.

[ER-3682]

I think most MyCarForum's Members here are good & careful Drivers.😁

[Good_man]

On 6/9/2025 at 9:43 AM, ER-3682 said:

So many Careless/Reckless Drivers,Sabo the Good Drivers.

Should go after those bad drivers, raised their premium gao gao!

[Vid]

The reckless driver thread is 2f2f, everyday many many posts. If sg cars are the most expensive in the world, only right insurance also most expensive 😆 you people too much money anyway

[Throttle2]

On 6/9/2025 at 9:41 AM, kobayashiGT said:

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/motor-insurance-premiums-likely-to-continue-to-rise-as-claims-and-costs-surge?_nei=fe0cf66f-e955-425f-b7d2-54187d4b1aaf

SINGAPORE – Motor insurance premiums are expected to continue rising as insurers grapple with mounting losses and rising claims, said industry experts.

Latest industry statistics from the General Insurance Association (GIA) seen by The Straits Times show that in the first three months of 2025, gross written premiums for motor insurance rose by 9.4 per cent to $368.2 million, compared with the same period in 2024. Underwriting losses were up by about 14 per cent from $11.6 million to $13.3 million.

For the full year of 2024, underwriting losses widened significantly to $33.8 million, from $7.7 million in 2023 and $21.6 million in 2022. This marked a sharp reversal from the underwriting profits of $49.7 million in 2021 and $104.5 million in 2020. Meanwhile, gross written premiums rose 11.3 per cent to $1.21 billion in 2024.

Several factors are driving this trend.

Insurers grappling with more accident claims and rising repair costs in a competitive market is one reason, said Ms Judy Ng, partner of financial services consulting at KPMG in Singapore.

Global inflation, which has pushed up the cost of vehicle parts, and the growing presence of electric vehicles (EVs) which are more expensive to repair are also contributing to mounting expenses.

“Insurers have incurred higher costs of motor claims due to their efforts to fulfil a rising number and cost of motor accidents amid market competition,” said Ms Ng.

“An increase in the number of electric vehicles is another factor, as it can be costlier to repair EVs.”

Even leading insurers are not immune to the pressures. 

GIA’s industry rankings for the first quarter of 2025 showed that Income Insurance retained its top spot with a 25 per cent market share. Its gross written premiums rose by $6 million, but its underwriting profit nearly halved, dropping from $9.4 million in the first three months of 2024 to $4.5 million in the same period in 2025.

Liberty Insurance stood out for posting the largest improvement in underwriting results, bouncing back from a $567,000 loss in the first quarter of 2024 to a $2.1 million profit in 2025.

Allianz Insurance Singapore, on the other hand, saw the sharpest contraction in gross written premiums, falling 18.6 per cent from $26.4 million to $21.5 million.

Mr Timothy Jude Fu-Tien Wimala, chief executive of insurance broker Anika, noted that among the six major motor insurers which collectively hold about 65 per cent of the market, AIG and Liberty stood out for achieving strong organic growth from strategic increases of premiums for existing policies being renewed.

He said: “AIG impresses with strong organic growth, leading to a gross written premium increase of more than 17 per cent, while keeping its market share flat. Essentially, AIG has found a way to increase its pricing while persuading its customers to stick around.

“Liberty, however, has beaten everyone in the Big Six by increasing its gross written premiums by more than 21 per cent and still keeping its customer base with market share essentially unchanged.”

The Big Six motor insurers in Singapore – ranked by gross written premiums, from highest to lowest for January to March 2025 – are Income, MS First Capital, AIG, India International Insurance, Allianz and Liberty.

Generally, insurers that failed to raise premiums lost ground, and even those with meaningful increases saw only marginal share gains.

“This illustrates how the costs of claims and operations are escalating premium growth and customers will carry the load of these increases,” said Mr Wimala.

“Unless insurers can better control claims and manage operating expenses, the only direction for motor premiums is up.”

On the consumer end, car owners are already feeling the pinch.

Car dealer Fed Wu said one of his customers, a luxury sedan driver with a clean claims record, experienced a 25 per cent hike in his insurance premium after four years with the same insurer – from $1,200 to $1,500. He eventually switched to another insurer, buying a new policy online for $1,101.

“With prices so high, many customers just pick the insurer that offers the lowest premium,” said Mr Wu.

While the current pricing pain may eventually ease, some volatility remains.

“Premiums could stabilise over time as insurers adjust to higher claims costs, and more accurately estimate and reflect these rising costs in their prices,” said Ms Ng of KPMG.

“However, some level of increase can still be anticipated in the future to cater for general claims inflation and other emerging factors.”

In the meantime, the message is clear: As long as claims stay high and repair costs keep climbing, insurers are likely to say they have little choice but to pass those costs on to consumers.

KNNBCCB to all the bloody a**hole drivers, you know who you are.  

To Insurers who dont open your eyes to qualify the drivers you insure and raise prices across , KNNBCCB as well

 

[Gnahp]

I got one message from the article

EVs are more expensive to repair after an accident 

bumpers, body panels and paint made of special material I guess

 

[Throttle2]

On 6/9/2025 at 11:40 AM, Gnahp said:

I got one message from the article

EVs are more expensive to repair after an accident 

bumpers, body panels and paint made of special material I guess

 

yes cost of EV repairs definitely will account for the higher premiums on EV cars overall.

In other countries, if crash an EV just throw aways and buy another.

Here in SG, headache big big ....hee hee..

[waser_Ken]

On 6/9/2025 at 11:45 AM, Throttle2 said:

yes cost of EV repairs definitely will account for the higher premiums on EV cars overall.

In other countries, if crash an EV just throw aways and buy another.

Here in SG, headache big big ....hee hee..

Thats why guzzaline cars FTW!!

[Volvobrick]

On 6/9/2025 at 11:45 AM, Throttle2 said:

yes cost of EV repairs definitely will account for the higher premiums on EV cars overall.

In other countries, if crash an EV just throw aways and buy another.

Here in SG, headache big big ....hee hee..

Tks to the JLB dinos in LTA - Why not allowed to replace chasis/engine? If the lifespan is limited by COE validity, such restrictions only force insurers to write off or fund repairs that are more expensive than the OMV.  And then the COE/PARF rebate component need not be insured.

Pui pui to the JLB there causing us having to foot higher premium.

 

[ER-3682]

On 6/9/2025 at 11:40 AM, Gnahp said:

I got one message from the article

EVs are more expensive to repair after an accident 

bumpers, body panels and paint made of special material I guess

 

It is the Battery that costed the Most,imagine hit on the Side,Damaged the Battery...it is gone Case 

[Gnahp]

On 6/9/2025 at 11:45 AM, Throttle2 said:

yes cost of EV repairs definitely will account for the higher premiums on EV cars overall.

In other countries, if crash an EV just throw aways and buy another.

Here in SG, headache big big ....hee hee..

I  guess EVs need to get repaired at the dealer, no outside ah beng workshops at the moment

battery dent one corner, replace the entire battery

electric motor one connector snapped, replace the entire motor

 

[ER-3682]

On 6/9/2025 at 11:17 AM, Good_man said:

Should go after those bad drivers, raised their premium gao gao!

Agreed,increase the NCD to 75% for Accident Free Driver,put a huge Excess of $10,000 - $15,000 for own fault.

[Throttle2]

The basis of EVs and cars in general already doesnt work in Singapore simply becos of the price.

For example, imagine if washing machines had a $30k 10yr COE in Singapore, everything would be flipped versus rest of the world.

 

EV cars or even cars in general in Singapore cannot be treated or evaluated as per in another country becos we pay 4-5 times the price to drive it 10 yrs.  

good luck EVs in SG.  Yes it may be the future becos our legislation push for it.  But it will be bane for us. 

[Alfc]

It is the same for medical insurance. Always been the buffet style mentality which have not changed or been penalized for decades. Same old issues 

[Throttle2]

On 6/9/2025 at 12:30 PM, Alfc said:

It is the same for medical insurance. Always been the buffet style mentality which have not changed or been penalized for decades. Same old issues 

Yes just kick the can down the road.  GLSGL

[Jamesc]

Not surprised so many driving like idiots.

So many pricks die die drive right lane and swerve 3 lanes to turn left.

The solution is not to increase premiums for everyone. 

Just the mother f@#kers that die die drive like idiots.

Don't make us pay extra fir their crashes.

[Jamesc]

I die die must go first.

I will smash anybody that don't jam brake for me.