Car Insurance Jargon Buster

Motor insurance, just like any other financial product, has its fair share of arbitrary terms and oblique jargon that means nothing to people who don’t work in the industry every day.

Below will be some of the common jargons that will be good to understand.

Authorised Workshop – insurers will often prefer for any repair work to be done by workshop they know and trust: – these are known as Authorised Workshops.

Comprehensive – this is the most complete type of cover you can currently purchase. It covers own damge, third party claims, fire and theft. (See: Is Third Party insurance cover really the cheapest car insurance)

Fault/no-fault claim – a no fault claim refers to a case where you are not at fault, and as such your insurer can claim costs back from a third party. A fault claim is slightly different however, as a fault claim refers to any case where the company cannot claim expenses back – in the case of someone driving without insurance, for example.

Indemnity – refers to a payment made to the policyholder that ensures they are in the same financial situation after an incident as they were directly beforehand.

Loss adjuster – a loss adjuster is a person who investigates claims, ensuring that they are legitimate and that the company they work for are not paying over the odds on claims.

Material fact – failure to disclose material that could invalidate a policy, such as driving convictions.

Social & Pleasure – If you only plan on driving your car for non-work purposes, this is the sort of cover you need. If you drive a car to work and back, you will need to add commuting to that, and if your job involves driving you will have to include that as well.

Settlement – a settlement refers to a claim being paid and completed; quite often, the payment from your insurer is referred to as a settlement.

TPFT – Third party, fire and theft. This type of cover insures you against fire and theft to your own vehicle, and damage to third parties.

TPO – Third Party Only. This is the absolute minimum cover you should legally have while on the road. This covers you for damage to other people’s property as well as personal injury claims, and nothing else. (See: 

Underwriter – an underwriter works within an insurance company, and decides whether or not the insurer is willing to accept the risk a policy presents. If this is the case, the underwriter then decides how much to charge the policyholder for accepting this risk.

Under-insurance – insuring your car for less than it is worth is known as under-insuring. This is particularly important when it comes to making a claim, as even if your claim does not cover the total value of the car, insurers can refuse to pay the percentage difference between the insured amount and the actual value. For example, if your car was worth $100,000 and insured it for $80,000, your insurer may refuse to pay 20% of any claim.

ULR cover – uninsured loss recovery, more commonly known as legal expenses cover. Basically, this means that you can recover any money spent on legal expenses should your incident lead to court.

Uninsured losses – items not covered by your car insurance Singapore. These include things like hire charges and legal costs.