MSIG Insurance offers 2 types of car insurance – MotorMax and MotorMax Plus. We’ll look at what each product covers, their key differences and which product to choose for your car.
Both MSIG car insurance plans (which are comprehensive policies) protect your car against accidental damage. In case your vehicle is lost or is damaged beyond economical repair, MSIG will pay you the market value of your vehicle at the time of loss.
Since these are comprehensive policies, they will also cover liability to third parties. The third party compensation for death or bodily injury is unlimited. This is pretty standard for other insurers too. For property damage, MSIG pays up to $5,000,000.
Personal Accident
Under MotorMax, the Personal Accident Benefit is $20,000 for the policyholder and $10,000 each for authorized drivers and/or passengers. With MotorMax Plus, the policyholder is entitled to $100,000 coverage and the authorized driver and/or passengers are covered up to $50,000 each.
Transport Allowance
This applies only for MotorMax Plus. In case your repair takes more than 3 days, MSIG will pay you $50 per day, up to 10 days so you can arrange for an alternative means of transportation.
Medical Reimbursement
The medical benefit for both types of policies is the same – up to $1,000 for policyholder and up to $1,000 for each authorized driver and/or passenger.
Windscreen Repair
You have unlimited windscreen coverage with automatic reinstatement after each repair. Nevertheless an excess of $100 applies.
NCD Protector
Only 50% NCD holders are eligible for this. You can opt to get an insurance rider to maintain your NCD at 50% even after an accident. This costs 10% of your car insurance premium.
New-For-Old Replacement
This is yet another benefit that applies only to MotorMax Plus. In case your car is totally damaged or is lost, MSIG makes sure you are compensated to the point you can get a new car of the same model without paying any differences. Usually car insurance plan only pays you the market value of your car, which may not be enough to get a similar new car. Nevertheless there are conditions attached to this benefit: (i) Your vehicle must be less than 1 year old, and (ii) The loss must not be the result of a flood, theft or robbery.
Loan Protection Benefit
Only applies to MotorMax Plus. MSIG will pay off the outstanding car loan in case the policyholder passes away due to an accident in direct connection to the insured vehicle.
Choice of Workshop
This is the biggest difference that most people will first notice between MotorMax and MotorMax Plus: the choice of workshop. MotorMax requires you to use MSIG’s authorized workshops while MotorMax Plus allows you to go to any workshop of your choice for accident repairs.
Towing
Towing service is available at your request when you call up MSIG’s auto assistance hotline. You do not have to pay for this service. But the towing fees will be included into the overall claims amount.
Which Car Insurance Plan Should You Choose?
The price difference between MotorMax and MotorMax Plus is about 15%. If your car is still under the 3-year manufacturer’s warranty, it may be worth opting for MotorMax Plus so you can bring the car to the distributor workshop.
Also, if you own a continental car or own a model whose spare parts are difficult to get, the any-workshop plan will be suitable for you. This is because you can bring your car to a workshop that has the spares you need for accident repair. In this way, you don’t have to wait weeks on end for the next part shipment.
For the additional premium you pay, MotorMax Plus also covers you with additional Personal Accident benefit, new-for-old replacement as well as loan protection benefit.
Having said this, if your car insurance premium is in the $2,000+ range, the additional cost you fork out will be much more. So you may want to stick with MotorMax instead.
In conclusion, your situation is unique and you may want to get expert advice if you are not sure which MSIG car insurance coverage to get. A car insurance specialist will be glad to help.