How I Selected the Comprehensive Car Insurance for My SUV

Buying a car is not the end of spending for a car owner. It is the beginning of expenses. Maintenance, car wash, refueling, and even accessories like dashcam took a large chunk of my finances. Another big chunk of car expenses that I had to pay for annually is comprehensive car insurance.

I discovered how car insurance can empty my wallet when I renewed my insurance for this year. As someone who wants to save money, I researched car insurance providers and compared their offers.

My Car Insurance for the First Year

I got my car through a car loan with BPI. The car dealer offered a “free” comprehensive car insurance from AXA for one year. I had a good experience with AXA when I filed a self-accident claim.

AXA approved my claim about 1 month after I submitted all the required documents.

I Forgot to Renew the Car Insurance

My Toyota agent warned that I must start processing the renewal of my car insurance around a month before its expiration. I forgot about it and the car insurance just expired.

“No worries,” I said “It is still OK as long as I am careful and not be involved in any accident.” — well this is just pure ignorance as I later discovered that BPI can penalize me for not having comprehensive car insurance for my mortgaged car.

I panicked because not only do I have to spend money for insurance but now I have to pay bank penalties! I was fortunate that the bank “forgot” that my insurance had already expired.

I raced against time to search for affordable car insurance that has Act of Nature clause, which is required by BPI and is specified in my car loan contract.

Comprehensive Car Insurance Offerings

I researched insurance companies in the Philippines. I read reviews from social media pages, particularly Reddit and Facebook. After a comprehensive research and review, I narrowed my options to the following car insurance providers: BPI MS, BDO Insurance, Oona, FPG, Mercantile Insurance, Standard Insurance, and Axa.

BPI MS Motor Insurance Quotation

BPI MS car insurance quotation

The total premium for the proposed car insurance from BPI MS is 38,285.86 Pesos. The deductible or participation fee is 7,444 PHP.  BPI offered installment payment for the insurance premium through BPI Credit Card.

BPI MS offered the following benefits: 

1. Claims for own/self damage, theft, Acts of Nature = 1,488,800 PHP
2. VTPL - Bodily injury and property accident = 500,000 PHP
3. Unnamed passenger personal accident (UPPA) - 50,000 PHP/seat up to authorized seating capacity
4. Reimbursement of actual towing expense for accident-related incidents = maximum of 1,500 PHP
5. Reimbursement of actual ambulance charges - max of 5,000 PHP per occurrence
6. Free 24-hour emergency roadside assistance

BDO Insurance

BDO car insurance quotation

BDO provided proposals for Multi-year Insurance and the regular Annual Insurance. I just looked at the regular Annual Insurance, which had a total premium of 35,173.54 PHP. The Deductible or participation fee is 2,000 PHP for each and every loss.

BDO offered the following benefits:

1. Sum insured for Own/self-damage, theft, acts of nature, riot, strike, civil commotion, and political violence = 1,680,300 Php
2. Claims for self damage/auto personal accident = 500,000 PHP with 100,000 Php per passenger
3. Claims for excess bodily injury and third property damages = 500,000 Php

I thought about taking the multi-year insurance from BDO but I didn’t have enough money so I settled with the single-year car insurance.

OONA Insurance

Oona Car Insurance Quotation

OONA proposed three types of motor or car insurance: Auto Lite, Auto Premium, Auto Elite.

Auto Lite has a premium 17,522.41 Php because it doesn’t have Acts of Nature coverage. Auto Premium, on the other hand, has an insurance premium of 31,484.91 with repairs that can only be done in Oona Preferred Repairers. Lastly,  Auto Elite has a premium of 35,055.56 and repairs can be done in any workshop or auto repair shop.

The deductible or participation fee is 3,000 Php for any of the three types of Oona Car Insurance.

Online reviews have negative comments about Oona Preferred Repairers and the slow approval of claims. As for me, I considered Oona Auto Elite as it has Acts of Nature coverage and there is no restriction on car repair shops or “casa”.

Oona offered the following benefits for the Auto Elite Car Insurance, which I considered:

1. Claims for theft, roadside assistance, acts of nature, strikes and riots, standard accessories, and inter-island transit cover are included but the claimable amount was not specified by Ooona.
2. Claims for unnamed passenger personal accident and auto personal accident is up to 100,000 Php
3. Claims for VTPL-Bodily Injury and VTPL-Property Damage is up to 200,000 Php
4. Road Assist which provide clients with 24/7 emergency assistance in case of accident, mechanical or electrical breakdown

Oona not mentioning the amount that can be claimed for theft, Acts of Nature, and other incidents is a red flag for me. Insurance companies should be transparent with their offers so as to establish trust with their clients.

FPG, Oona, and Mercantile Insurance through Zen Insure Philippines

I also checked car insurance offers from third party agents (a.k.a. middlemen). I inquired with Zen Insure Philippines and they provided auto insurance offers from FPG, Oona, and Mercantile Insurance.

Oona, FPG, and Mercantile Car Insurance Quotation from Zen Insure.

The total premium that Zen Insure offered for FPG is 28,662.30 Php. For Ooona Insurance they offered 28,731.25 Php. Finally for Mercantile Insurance they offered 28,639.31. The deductible or participation fee for FPG is 2,000 Php while Oona is 3,000 Php. Deductible for Mercantile Insurance is 2,000 Php for sedan and 3,000 Php for SUV.

Zen Insure offered the following insurance benefits applicable to FPG, Oona, and Mercantile:

1. Sum insured for own damage, theft, and Acts of Nature is up to 1,640,000 Php
2. Voluntary Third Party Liability (VTPL) for body and injury and property damage is up to 200,000 Php.
3. Auto-personal accident claims is up to 250,000 Php

Casa eligibility for FPG and Oona is up to 10 years for private cars while its 3 years for Mercantile Insurance.

Standard Insurance

Standard Insurance Car Insurance Quotation

Standard Insurance offered auto insurance for my car with a premium of 35,705.60 Php with deductible or participation fee of 3,000 Php. They also offered installment payment for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months with "absolutely zero percent (0%) interest" for credit card holders of BDO, BPI, HSBC, Metrobank, RCBC, and Unionbank.

Standard Insurance offered the following benefits:

1. Claims for own damage or theft and Acts of Nature is up to 1,867,000 Php
2. Claims for third party property damage and third party bodily injured is up to 500,000 Php
3. Claims for personal accident is up to 700,000 Php
4. Claims for Unnamed Passenger Personal Accident (UPPA) Insurance is up to 100,000 Php per person based on the insured vehicle's seating capacity
5. 24-hour emergency roadside assistance for specific areas only

Note that Acts of Nature Coverage only include typhoon, flood, earthquake, hurricane, volcanic eruption. Also, Standard Insurance will pay for casa repair of unit models up to 7 years old only.

AXA through Toyota Insure

I inquired about Axa’s auto insurance through a Toyota sales agent. The premium that Axa provided is 45,665.15. It can be paid in installment via post-dated checks for 6 months or BDO Credit Card for 3 or 6 months. Credit card installment is not “zero percent interest” for 6 months installments while it is “zero percent interest” for 3-month installment. Deductible or participation fee is 3,000 Php.

Axa Car Insurance Quotation

Axa offered the following car insurance benefits:

1. Claims for own damage, theft and Acts of Nature is up to 1,674,900 Php.
2. Claims for excess bodily injury and property damage is up to 200,000 Php
3. Claims for passenger auto personal accident is up to 175,000 Php
4. Assured’s 24/7 personal accident claims is up to 100,000 Php

I had my car insurance with Axa for the first year after I took out my SUV from Toyota. I had a good experience from Axa, particularly when I filed for self-damage claim.

Comparison of Car Insurance Proposals

I compared all of the car insurance offers that I received and here is the result:

Of the car insurance proposals that I received, the most expensive is Axa with a premium of 45,665.15 Php. However, claims for self-damage, theft, and Acts of Nature is 1,674,900 Php which is about 100,000+ less than the offering of Standard Insurance and at about the same amount as the smaller insurance companies such as Oona, Mercantile Insurance, and FPG. BPI, on the other hand, has the lowest claims for self-damage, theft, and Acts of Nature at 1,488,800  Php with the highest deductible or participation fee of 7,444 Php. Oona Insurance is the least transparent of the insurance companies because they did not mention the amount for claims for self-damage, theft, and Acts of Nature.

What Car Insurance Offer I Chose?

I chose BPI MS in the end through the help of my BPI Branch. The BPI Branch helped me in processing the car insurance application and assured me that they will ensure that I BPI will not penalized for the late car insurance application. They also helped me to make the payment of premium in installment through my BPI Credit Card.

If I have no problem with the late renewal or application of car insurance, I will definitely choose BDO since they offer a premium that is less than BPI MS with a lesser deductible amount and higher claims for self-damage, theft, and Acts of Nature.

.

Nasugbu Summer Escapade: Our 3D2N Stay in Canyon Cove Hotel and Resorts

My children did very well in their study during the recently concluded academic year. That’s why me and My Beloved Wife Lei decided to reward them with a 3 days and 2 nights stay in our “suking resort”: Canyon Cove Hotel Resort in Nasugbu, Batangas.

I said that Canyon Cove is our “suki” because we visited this resort for the third time already.

Our first visit was in 2015 while our second visit is in 2023.

The reason why we keep on coming back to this resort is that it has swimming pools and access to the sea.

A view of the swimming pools in our room.

Canyon Cove’s swimming pool is big and can accommodate a large number of guests. The pool is divided into shallow sections for toddlers and kids. Then the biggest section of the swimming pool is for adults.

My kids had a blast swimming in those pools. We had a hard time pulling them out of the water because they really enjoy swimming a lot.

Unfortunately, the pool has no slide. I guess other resorts that we visited like Woodside Water Park and La Vista Pansol are better in this regard.

The beach is the highlight for me and my wife. Walking on the sand a swimming in the salty sea are better than swimming in the chlorinated pool.

The beach in Canyon Cove is not fine like the sands of Boracay but not as rough as those in Calayo Beach in Nasugbu, Batangas. The beach is well-maintained and clean of trash unlike the other beach that we visited in Batangas.

My kids also enjoyed the beach by building sand castles and digging the sand. In the afternoon, our family enjoyed watching the setting of the sun. The red ball of fire is great to behold as its sinks to the West Philippine Sea.

Many people stay at the beach at dusk just to watch a beautiful sunset. The ones that we saw while at Canyon Cove are indeed beautiful. My wife and I had good photos with the sunset at the background.

What I like with Canyon Cove is the large portion of sea grass in the sea fronting the resort. Colorful fishes can be seen in the sea due to these sea grass “forest” that serve as the home of sea creatures. This means that the ecosystem in the area is still healthy, which is a good thing for ecotourism. 

A sort of sea plant at the beach of Canyon Cove.

My Eldest Son complained that something was biting him while swimming in the sea. He said that jellyfish stung him. I did not believe my son but a long look in the sea revealed plenty of “baby” jellyfishes floating.

I immediately told the father swimming with his baby about the presence of the jellyfish. I was worried for the baby because many jellyfish have stings that are deadly to humans. My Only Daughter was so terrified of the jellies that she vowed that she will not swim in the sea again.

Baby jellies that we captured in Canyon Cove.

I actually enjoyed hunting jellyfishes I had no fear touching these sea critters and putting them in a bottle. I took them home with the intention of keeping them in an aquarium. I researched about the jellies that we captured and I was horrified when I discovered that the ones we caught could've killed me.

There is a possibility that the jellies that we caught is just a thimble jellyfish that can cause rashes but not fatal, or a box jellyfish that could kill a human. Well, the jellies died when we got home so we had no chance of putting them in an aquarium.

A tip for swimmers in Canyon Cove or in other spots in Nasugbu, please check the sea first if there are jellies before dipping in the water.

Our Room in Canyon Cove Hotel

We booked a family room during our latest stay in Canyon Cove. The room was located at the far end of the hotel so it was a pain going to the swimming pool or the beach as the only access is at the central part of the hotel. Canyon Cove should really consider providing access to the pool and beach from the far ends of the hotel.

Our room is very big as it has a living room and kitchen. The room is OK but has seen better days. The wooden panels in the bathing room were collapsing because of the termites. The room is also full of mosquitoes.

The bathroom sink with wooden parts breaking off.

The best part of the room is the view of the pool and the beach.

Our sunbed with a great view of the sea.

Despite our complaints we still had a good sleep during our stay in Canyon Cove.

Dining in Canyon Cove

Breakfast for two was included in our hotel stay. So we had to pay 350 pesos for breakfast for each of our two kids. Our youngest child eats free.

The breakfast is OK but nothing to gush about. They have the typical Filipino breakfast like dried fish, hotdog, tocino, eggs and rice.

Our family just went to Nasugbu for lunch and dinner despite Canyon Cove offering such a meal.

Guests dining at Canyon Cove at night might get a chance to watch a fire dance. Our family was lucky to see some fiery performances.

Canyon Cove has changed compared to our first visit in 2015. Canyon Cove then has a more high-end atmosphere and caters more to families. The hotel now expanded by catering to tour groups and corporate outings. The result is that the hotel is now more crowded and noisy. Well, it is understandable since Canyon Cove is still a business and their goal is to earn money.

Final Say about Canyon Cove

The main lobby of the hotel still gives the high-end atmosphere but the room that we had shows that the hotel had to renovate to please its original clientele.

Our family truly enjoyed our swim in the pools and the sea but it remains to be seen if our 25 thousand payment for 3 days and 2 nights stay will still be reasonable in our next family outing.

.