Car Insurance Singapore 2026: Income vs AIG vs Tiq vs FWD

One at-fault scrape in a Tampines car park takes a 50% no-claim discount down to 20% at your next renewal, and because you were paying half the base premium and will now pay 80% of it, the bill rises 60% before the insurer changes a single rate. That step-back is not an insurer's policy, it is the private-car ladder published by the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA), and it is the single most expensive line in Singapore car insurance that nobody mentions at the showroom.

This is a four-way on comprehensive car insurance from Income (its Drivo range), AIG (Auto ValuePlus, AutoPlus and AutoPlan), Tiq by Etiqa and FWD (Classic, Executive and Prestige), as published on each insurer's own pages in September 2026. We compare the things that are actually written down: workshop rules, excess, windscreen, courtesy car, EV cover, roadside help and NCD protection. We do not quote premiums, because none of the four publishes a rate card and any number we printed would be a guess. What we do instead is show you which plan design fits which driver, and what moves the premium that you can control.

How do Income, AIG, Tiq and FWD compare on paper as of September 2026?

Feature	Income Drivo	AIG Auto	Tiq by Etiqa	FWD
Comprehensive tiers	Classic, Advantage, Premium, Prestige (high-performance)	Auto ValuePlus, AutoPlus, AutoPlan	Comprehensive (plus TPFT and TPO)	Classic, Executive, Prestige (plus TPO, TPFT)
Workshop on base tier	Income-approved workshops (Classic)	AIG designated workshops (ValuePlus)	Etiqa authorised workshops	FWD premium workshops with workmanship guarantee until the car turns 10
Open workshop option	Drivo Premium: your preferred workshop, original parts option	AutoPlan: no restriction; AutoPlus: dealer or AIG workshop while car is 3 years or younger	My Workshop add-on (EV specialist workshops included)	Your Preferred Workshop add-on
Standard excess	S$600 (waivable with optional cover)	Not published on plan page	Adjustable up to S$2,500; +S$1,000 unnamed driver; +S$4,000 under-27, elderly or inexperienced	S$750; S$2,500 for drivers under 27
Windscreen	Unlimited cover, S$100 excess per claim (Prestige S$1,000)	Cover with automatic reinstatement, S$109 excess incl GST	Unlimited, S$100 per replacement, no excess for on-the-go repair	Included, S$100 excess per claim
NCD protection	Free once 50% held for 2 consecutive years; optional from 30%	Included at 50% on ValuePlus and AutoPlus; NCD Protector+ optional for 30% to 50%	Optional add-on; extra 5% discount at 30%+ NCD with no demerit points	Lifetime 50% NCD Guarantee on comprehensive plans (enrol at 50%, stay with FWD)
Courtesy car	Not specified on plan page	ValuePlus up to 10 days; AutoPlus unlimited during repair, delivered; AutoPlan optional	In Etiqa Package add-on; S$50 a day transport allowance (max 5 days) if repair exceeds 3 days	None on Classic; Executive and Prestige during repair and up to 3 months if written off
Personal accident (driver)	Up to S$50,000	S$50,000 (ValuePlus, AutoPlus); S$20,000 (AutoPlan)	Up to S$50,000	S$30,000 / S$50,000 / S$75,000 by tier
Medical expenses	Up to S$1,000	Not published on plan page	Up to S$1,000	S$1,000 / S$3,000 / S$5,000 by tier
New-for-old	Not specified	Cars under 3 years written off, ValuePlus and AutoPlus	Not specified	Not specified
Roadside and West Malaysia	Orange Force 24/7 accident response in Singapore; 24-hour hotline in West Malaysia	Free 24-hour roadside and towing (ValuePlus, AutoPlus)	Towing to S$200, or to S$500 a year in West Malaysia with Etiqa Package; towing to charger for EVs	24-hour roadside assistance; West Malaysia and parts of Thailand
EV cover	Named BYD among original-parts brands	Personal EV Charger Cover document published	Battery and electric components covered; EV specialist workshops via My Workshop	Not specified on public pages
Claims promise	Orange Force attends accident scene	Not specified	Own-damage claims under S$5,000 at authorised workshops approved in 30 minutes	Not specified

Sources: Income car insurance page, AIG Auto Plans page and Tiq Private Car Insurance page as published in September 2026; FWD plan structure from FWD's published policy contract and SingSaver's FWD review; NCD mechanics from GIA's motor guide.

What actually moves the premium?

Since no rate card exists, the useful question is which of the levers you can pull are big and which are small.

NCD is the biggest lever and it is yours. At 50% you pay half the base; at 0% you pay all of it. Everything else on this page is a modifier on top of that halving. Protecting a 50% NCD is worth more than any workshop or windscreen choice.

Workshop tier is the second. The restricted panel is cheaper to insure because the insurer controls the repair invoice. Open-workshop cover, whether built in (Income Drivo Premium, AIG AutoPlan) or added (Tiq My Workshop, FWD Your Preferred Workshop), costs more and is only worth it when you have a reason to repair at a specific place: a car under manufacturer warranty, a Tesla or BYD that needs a certified high-voltage technician, or a Porsche that Income's Drivo Prestige is specifically written for.

Excess is the third, and it works in your favour. Tiq lets you set the standard excess up to S$2,500, and a higher voluntary excess lowers the premium because you are taking the small claims off the insurer. Pair a higher excess with a protected NCD and you have the cheapest structure for a careful driver who can absorb a S$1,000 to S$2,500 bill once in a bad year.

Driver profile is fourth and largely fixed. Under-27 excess loadings (S$4,000 extra at Tiq, S$2,500 total at FWD), unnamed-driver loadings (S$1,000 extra at Tiq), and Income's Drivo Prestige requirement of age 33 and three accident-free years all sit here. You cannot negotiate your age, but you can name the young driver and buy the named-driver excess waiver.

Car age and model sit fifth. AIG's dealer-workshop access on AutoPlus ends at three years, Income's original-parts option on Drivo Premium and Advantage ends at seven years for Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and BYD, and both signal where the insurers expect repair bills to climb.

What does not move the premium: the courtesy car, the windscreen limit and the roadside hotline. These are plan-design features that decide which insurer you pick, not how much you pay within that insurer.

How does the no-claim discount really work?

GIA's private-car ladder, as published in its motor guide, is 10% after one claim-free year, 20% after two, 30% after three, 40% after four and 50% after five or more. One at-fault claim in a policy year steps you back by three rungs: 50% to 20%, 40% to 10%, 30% or lower to 0%. A second claim in the same year takes anyone to 0%. The discount belongs to the policyholder, not the car or the insurer, so it moves with you to a new vehicle or a new insurer.

The protector is where the four differ most, and the GIA guide carries the detail that matters: a protected claim keeps your 50% on renewal with the same insurer, but a new insurer will apply the stepped-back figure. AIG states the same in its own words, that NCD protected under its protector is not transferable to any other insurer. So a protector is also a loyalty device. Income's design softens this by making protection free once you have held 50% for two consecutive years, Tiq sells it as an add-on, AIG includes it on ValuePlus and AutoPlus at 50% and sells NCD Protector+ for 30% to 50% drivers, and FWD's Lifetime 50% NCD Guarantee removes the one-claim limit entirely for drivers who enrol at 50% and keep renewing with FWD.

The Motor Claims Framework, also run by GIA, requires you to report any accident to your insurer within 24 hours or by the next working day, even if you do not intend to claim. Reporting on time is what keeps a non-fault incident from being treated as a claim against your NCD while the investigation runs.

What does each insurer actually include?

Income Drivo

Income's range as published in September 2026 is Drivo Classic (Income-approved workshops, no original-parts guarantee), Drivo Advantage (Drivo Advantage authorised workshops with the original-parts option for cars seven years old or younger from Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and BYD), Drivo Premium (your preferred workshop, original-parts option on the same brands and age limit) and Drivo Prestige for high-performance cars, named for Porsche models, with a driver age minimum of 33, three years accident-free and cover limited to declared drivers. Standard excess is S$600 and can be waived with an optional cover; windscreen cover is unlimited at S$100 per claim (S$1,000 on Prestige). Third-party property damage is covered to S$5,000,000, third-party injury is unlimited, medical expenses to S$1,000 and personal accident to S$50,000. The feature Income leans on is Orange Force, a 24/7 accident response team that comes to the scene in Singapore, plus a 24-hour road and medical assistance hotline for West Malaysia. NCD protection is free once you have held 50% for two consecutive years and optional from 30%.

AIG Auto

AIG publishes three plans. Auto ValuePlus uses AIG's designated workshops, includes a courtesy car for up to 10 days, free 24-hour roadside assistance and towing, new-for-old replacement if a car under three years old is written off, S$50,000 personal accident cover, a S$109 windscreen excess inclusive of GST, dent cover up to S$50 per dent twice a year, and NCD Protector included at 50%. AutoPlus adds dealer-workshop repairs while the car is three years old or younger, then AIG workshops after that, with an unlimited courtesy car delivered to you for as long as the repair takes. AutoPlan is the open plan with no workshop restriction, S$20,000 personal accident cover, no included roadside assistance and the courtesy car as an optional add-on. Across all three, third-party property is covered to S$5,000,000, passenger personal accident to S$10,000 per passenger, and flood and windstorm damage is included. AIG also publishes a separate Personal EV Charger Cover document.

Tiq by Etiqa

Tiq is Etiqa's direct online brand, and its Private Car Insurance page is the most explicit of the four on excess. The standard excess is adjustable up to S$2,500; an unnamed driver adds S$1,000; a driver below 27, elderly or inexperienced adds S$4,000. Windscreen replacement is unlimited at S$100 per replacement, and there is no excess for a windscreen repair done through its on-the-go service. Personal accident is up to S$50,000 and medical expenses up to S$1,000. Repairs default to Etiqa's authorised workshops, where own-damage claims under S$5,000 are approved within 30 minutes; the My Workshop add-on opens repairs to your preferred workshop, including EV specialists, and EV battery and electric components are covered for accident, fire, flood and theft, with towing to a charging station under the Etiqa Package add-on. That same package carries the courtesy car and West Malaysia towing to S$500 a year, against S$200 towing without it. A S$50 daily transport allowance for up to five days kicks in when a repair runs past three days. NCD protection is an add-on, and SingSaver's listing notes an extra 5% discount for drivers at 30% NCD or more with no demerit points.

FWD

FWD sells Third Party Only, Third Party Fire and Theft, and three comprehensive tiers: Classic, Executive and Prestige. The signature feature is the Lifetime 50% NCD Guarantee, which FWD's published terms grant to drivers who hold 50% NCD at enrolment and keep the policy continuously with FWD, with no limit on the number of claims. The standard excess is S$750, rising to S$2,500 for drivers under 27. By tier, medical expenses are S$1,000, S$3,000 and S$5,000; driver personal accident is S$30,000, S$50,000 and S$75,000; towing is S$300, S$400 and S$500. Windscreen is included with a S$100 excess per claim. Classic has no courtesy car; Executive and Prestige provide one during repairs and for up to three months if the car is written off. Repairs go to FWD's premium workshops with a workmanship guarantee until the car turns 10, unless you buy the Your Preferred Workshop add-on. Cover extends to West Malaysia and parts of Thailand with 24-hour roadside assistance.

Which plan fits which driver?

First-car buyer at 0% NCD on a six-year-old Honda

You have nothing to protect and the car is past dealer-warranty age, so pay for neither the NCD protector nor the open workshop. Income Drivo Classic, AIG Auto ValuePlus or Tiq's base comprehensive with a higher voluntary excess are the designs built for you. Report every incident within 24 hours under the Motor Claims Framework so a non-fault bump does not cost you the 10% you are about to earn.

Family in a 4-room HDB flat, seven-year-old Toyota, parent at 50% NCD, teenager just licensed

The 50% is the asset, and the teenager is the risk to it. Name the teenager on the policy, accept the under-27 loading, and lock the discount: Income gives free protection after two years at 50%, AIG includes it on ValuePlus and AutoPlus, FWD guarantees it for life. The Toyota at seven years is at the edge of Income's original-parts window, so Drivo Advantage still qualifies this year and will not next year.

Under-27 driver on their own policy

The loadings are the whole story: S$4,000 extra excess at Tiq, S$2,500 total at FWD. Choose the insurer whose published young-driver excess you could actually pay, and build NCD as fast as possible, because 10% a year compounds into a 50% halving by year five.

BYD or Tesla owner in a condo with a wall charger

EV repairs need certified high-voltage work. Tiq's My Workshop add-on explicitly includes EV specialist workshops and covers battery and electric components with towing to a charger; Income names BYD among its original-parts brands on Drivo Advantage and Premium; AIG publishes a Personal EV Charger Cover. Buy the open-workshop tier here; the panel workshop is the wrong place for a battery pack.

Porsche or AMG owner, 40s, clean record

Income wrote Drivo Prestige for you (age 33 plus, three accident-free years, declared drivers only, S$1,000 windscreen excess). AIG AutoPlan with no workshop restriction and FWD Prestige with Your Preferred Workshop are the alternatives. The NCD protector is worth more here than anywhere, because the base premium it halves is larger.

Verdict by buyer type

Long-time 50% NCD driver who never wants to lose it: FWD comprehensive for the Lifetime 50% NCD Guarantee, with Income Drivo as the runner-up for free protection after two years. Source: FWD policy terms and Income car insurance page, September 2026.

Nearly new car under warranty: AIG AutoPlus for dealer-workshop repairs to three years and new-for-old if written off, or Income Drivo Premium for your preferred workshop with original parts to seven years.

EV owner: Tiq with the My Workshop add-on, for the named EV specialist workshops and battery cover.

Price-first driver who can absorb a big excess: Tiq, for the adjustable excess to S$2,500 and the 5% clean-record discount at 30% NCD or more.

Driver who wants someone at the scene: Income, for Orange Force.

Frequent JB driver: Tiq with the Etiqa Package (West Malaysia towing to S$500 a year) or FWD (West Malaysia and parts of Thailand with 24-hour roadside).

Where cashback via ShopBack fits

Three of the four are ShopBack merchants in Singapore: Income Insurance, Etiqa for Tiq, and FWD. AIG is not, so it appears here on editorial terms only. The mechanism is the same as any other purchase: open ShopBack first, on the app or the Cashback Buddy browser extension, tap through to the insurer's page, and complete the quote and payment in that session so the tracking fires. Cashback shows as pending and confirms after the insurer's free-look and validation window, which for insurance is longer than for a retail order.

Two things to know. First, cashback is calculated on the premium you pay, so it is proportionally larger for the open-workshop tiers and for drivers without NCD, which is a small consolation for the first-car persona. Second, cashback via ShopBack is a separate layer from the insurer's own discounts; it does not change the NCD, the excess or the clean-record discount, and we make no claim that it stacks with any insurer loyalty programme. The rate on each insurer's ShopBack merchant page on the day is what applies.

FAQ

What is a no-claim discount and how does it step down after an accident in Singapore?

The no-claim discount (NCD) is the percentage taken off your base premium for each claim-free year. The General Insurance Association of Singapore publishes the private-car ladder: 10% after one year, 20% after two, 30% after three, 40% after four and 50% after five or more. One at-fault claim in a policy year steps you back: 50% drops to 20%, 40% drops to 10%, and 30% or below drops to 0%. Two or more claims in a year reset you to 0% regardless of where you started. The NCD is yours, not the insurer's, and transfers with you when you switch.

How does an NCD protector work and is it transferable?

An NCD protector is an add-on, or in some plans an included benefit, that lets you make one at-fault claim in a policy year without the step-back. GIA's guide explains the catch: the protected 50% is honoured on renewal with the same insurer, but if you switch after a protected claim the new insurer sees the stepped-back figure, so your 50% becomes 20%. AIG says the same explicitly, that NCD protected under its protector is not transferable. Income includes protection free once you have held 50% for two consecutive years and sells it as an option from 30%. Tiq sells it as an add-on. FWD goes furthest with a Lifetime 50% NCD Guarantee on its comprehensive plans for drivers who enrol at 50% and stay with FWD.

What does the workshop rule change about the price and the repair?

Every one of the four sells at least two workshop tiers, and the tier is the biggest lever on both premium and repair quality. The restricted tier (Income Drivo Classic, AIG Auto ValuePlus, Tiq standard, FWD premium workshops) sends you to the insurer's panel, which is cheaper to insure because the insurer controls repair costs. The open tier (Income Drivo Premium, AIG AutoPlan with no workshop restriction, Tiq with the My Workshop add-on, FWD with Your Preferred Workshop) lets you use the dealer's service centre or your own mechanic, which matters for a car under manufacturer warranty or an EV that needs a brand-certified high-voltage technician. AIG's AutoPlus sits in between: dealer or AIG workshop for cars three years old or younger, AIG workshop only after that.

Is Tiq cheaper than Income for a driver at 50% NCD?

Neither insurer publishes a rate card, and premiums depend on the car, the driver's age and record, and the workshop tier, so we do not quote premiums here. What is published is the structure. Tiq advertises an extra 5% discount for drivers with NCD of 30% or more and no demerit points, which Income does not match, and Tiq's base plan uses authorised workshops with a S$100 windscreen excess. Income's Drivo Classic is also authorised-workshop with a S$100 windscreen excess and a S$600 standard excess, and it gives free NCD protection once you have held 50% for two years. The cheaper quote on the day is whichever insurer prices your specific car lower; the better value for a long-time 50% driver is often the one that protects the discount for free.

Is AIG cheaper than FWD for a car under three years old?

We do not quote premiums, but the plan design tells you where each is strong. AIG's AutoPlus and Auto ValuePlus both include new-for-old replacement if a car under three years old is written off, and AutoPlus lets you repair at the dealer while the car is three years old or younger. FWD's comprehensive tiers (Classic, Executive, Prestige) include the Lifetime 50% NCD Guarantee and a workmanship guarantee at FWD's premium workshops, with dealer repairs available only through the Your Preferred Workshop add-on. For a nearly new car on warranty the AIG design needs fewer add-ons; for a driver who already holds 50% NCD and wants it locked in for life, FWD's design is the one built for that.

When should I switch car insurer rather than renew?

Four to six weeks before the renewal date, which is also roughly when Income, AIG, Tiq and FWD send renewal notices. Switch when the quote from a rival is lower on the same workshop tier and excess, when your current insurer has stepped your NCD back after a claim you believe was non-fault, or when your car has aged past a plan's dealer-workshop cut-off (AIG AutoPlus at three years, Income Drivo Premium's original-parts option at seven years for Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and BYD). Do not switch in the year after a protected claim, because the protected 50% does not travel with you.

When does an NCD protector pay for itself?

The maths is set by GIA's step-back, not by the insurer. At 50% NCD you pay half the base premium; after one at-fault claim you pay 80% of it, a 60% rise, and it takes three more claim-free years to climb back to 50% via 30% and 40%. So one claim costs you 30 points of discount in year one, 20 in year two and 10 in year three, which is 60 points of base premium across three renewals. If the protector add-on costs less than that on your own base premium, it pays for itself on the first claim. For most drivers at 40% or 50% it does; at 10% or 20% NCD there is little to protect.

Can I drive to Johor Bahru on a Singapore comprehensive policy?

All four cover West Malaysia on their comprehensive plans, with differences in the assistance layer. Income's Drivo plans give a 24-hour road and medical assistance hotline for West Malaysia. Tiq covers towing in West Malaysia up to S$500 a year with the Etiqa Package add-on and S$200 without it. FWD's comprehensive plans cover West Malaysia and parts of Thailand. AIG's plans include free 24-hour roadside assistance and towing on Auto ValuePlus and AutoPlus. Check your policy schedule for the territorial limit before a long drive north, because the cover is for West Malaysia, not East Malaysia or beyond Thailand's border zone.

Does my NCD transfer if I buy a new car or switch from Grab driving to private use?

Your NCD follows you as the policyholder, not the car, so it transfers to a replacement vehicle and to a new insurer, per GIA's guide. The exception is a protected claim, which only the original insurer honours. Private-hire driving is a different story: it is a commercial use that needs a ride-hailing extension or a dedicated private-hire policy, and NCD earned on a private-hire policy is usually tracked separately. If you are coming off a Grab or Gojek vehicle back to a private car, ask the insurer in writing which NCD figure they will apply before you pay.

What happens if a young or unnamed driver crashes my car?

The claim is paid, but a much higher excess applies and your NCD takes the step-back. Tiq publishes the clearest numbers: an additional S$1,000 excess for an unnamed driver and an additional S$4,000 for a driver below 27, elderly or inexperienced, on top of the standard excess that can be set up to S$2,500. FWD applies a S$2,500 excess for drivers under 27 against a S$750 standard excess. Income's standard excess is S$600 with a waivable option. The fix for a household with a young driver is to name them on the policy and buy the named-driver excess waiver where offered, and to accept that an at-fault claim by any driver steps the policyholder's NCD from 50% to 20%.

Key takeaways

• GIA's private-car NCD ladder runs 10% to 50% over five years; one at-fault claim drops 50% to 20%, which is a 60% rise in the premium you pay, and two claims in a year reset to 0%.
• A protected NCD is honoured only by the insurer that protected it; switching after a protected claim hands the new insurer the stepped-back figure.
• Income gives NCD protection free after two years at 50%; AIG includes it at 50% on ValuePlus and AutoPlus; Tiq sells it as an add-on; FWD guarantees 50% for life on comprehensive plans for drivers who enrol at 50%.
• Workshop tier is the second-biggest lever: panel workshops are cheaper to insure, open workshops matter for cars under warranty and for EVs.
• Published excesses as of September 2026: Income S$600 standard, FWD S$750 (S$2,500 under 27), Tiq adjustable to S$2,500 with S$1,000 unnamed-driver and S$4,000 young-driver loadings, AIG S$109 windscreen excess inclusive of GST.
• Cashback via ShopBack applies on Income, Etiqa (Tiq) and FWD purchases made through ShopBack; AIG is not a ShopBack merchant.

Earn cashback via ShopBack when you buy or renew Income car insurance online Takes 2 minutes to sign up. No promo codes needed.

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About this article

Plan features are as published on the Income car insurance page, the AIG Auto Plans page and the Tiq Private Car Insurance page in September 2026, and on FWD's published car insurance policy contract and SingSaver's FWD review for FWD's tier structure. No-claim discount mechanics are from the General Insurance Association of Singapore's motor guide. No premiums are quoted because none of the four insurers publishes a rate card. ShopBack receives a commission when readers complete a purchase through a cashback link. This commission does not vary by editorial coverage.

The views expressed are those of the author, for informational purposes only, and not professional advice.

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