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.

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