Event Description

You will not want your phone to go off Journey to the Sentosa Island while you are driving as this can leave an undesirable impression and may even mean you can fail your driving examination. Limited space means the government need to control may be cars on the road or else the roads will end up packed. This is why Singapore gets the highest cost of car ownership on the globe.

The public transport system is very developed, with the MRT (metro) and public buses reaching almost everywhere on the island. Consequently, some residents only rent a car whether it is necessary, like a family hike to several places on a single day, or a day-trip to neighbouring Malaysia.

Singapore car rental can be cheap and affordable. A normal sedan like Toyota Altis, Toyota Vios, Honda City or Mitsubishi Lancer can go for as low as $68/day, same applies to hatchbacks like Honda In shape or Jazz. A MPV like Mazda Premacy or even Hyundai Trajet can go for as low as $78/day, compared to the typical range of $100-$120/day.

For any past 10 years, there are lots of errant car rental companies who rent out cars not belonging to the company, but belonging to confidential car owners who could not afford to keep up with their car financial loan installments. "So what? ", you may ask. There lies a major hidden danger.

A correct car rental company owns its fleet of vehicles, and the fleet is usually insured by an insurance company which does cover "hire and reward". A normal private auto insurance will not cover "hire and reward", which exposes you to unlimited liability.

What does this mean? Case:

You have rented your car from an errant car rental company where you are not properly covered with regard to "hire and reward" inside insurance policy and then you definately met with a traffic accident that you had caused injuries for a pedestrian. The pedestrian sues people for $100, 000 damages, but the insurance company refuse anyone with pay due to breach of contract. The judge later ruled that you really were, say, 70% responsible for the victim's injuries, along with the claim amount (quantum) is adjusted to $70, 000 rather than the original $100, 000. This means you have to compensate $49, 000 (70% involving $70, 000) on the victim, failing which you will be made a bankrupt. Additionally, you might be prosecuted for driving without a valid insurance, which attracts a fine just $1, 000 or jail just 3 months, or either.

This can be a very big risk! Why would you want risk being made a bankrupt for just renting a car? What's much more, errant car rental companies might not necessarily charge lower premiums than properly insured agencies!

How to inform whether the car is properly insured for "hire together with reward"? The simplest way is to look at the road tax disc in the vehicle. A vehicle authorised with LTA (Stretch of land Transport Authority, Singapore) for hire purposes with valid rental insurance coverage will bear the word "MOTORCAR" below the date of expiry, instead associated with "PASSENGER(PRIVATE)" and "PASSENGER(CO)". You can dial 1800-CALL-LTA to examine.

Generally, proper car hire insurance probably would not cover "P Plates" (drivers with as few as one year of driving experience).