Commercial motor insurance is the cover any vehicle needs once it works for a living: a delivery van, a company lorry, a fleet of prime movers, or a private-hire car you drive for Grab or Gojek. The line that catches people out is simple. The moment a vehicle is used to carry goods or passengers for payment, a private car policy stops paying. An insurer can void the claim and leave you with the full bill, even though you paid premiums for years. In 2026 a single commercial van runs roughly $1,200 to $3,000 a year for comprehensive cover, the No-Claim Discount tops out at just 20% instead of the 50% private drivers enjoy, and one at-fault claim wipes that discount to zero. This guide covers who is legally required to hold it, what each tier pays for, the real 2026 numbers by vehicle type, and the levers that actually move the price.
Commercial motor insurance covers a vehicle used for business rather than purely personal travel. The defining test is whether the vehicle carries goods or fare-paying passengers, or is otherwise used to generate income. If it does, it sits outside a private car policy and needs a commercial one.
Commercial vehicles make up roughly a fifth of all vehicles on Singapore roads, and the category is broader than most people assume. It runs from a sole trader's van to a logistics fleet of lorries and trailers, and it now also covers the private-hire cars driving for ride-hailing and food-delivery platforms. What links them is use, not the badge on the bonnet: the same Toyota can sit on a private policy as a family car or a commercial one as a Grab car, and the difference decides whether a claim is paid.
Getting the category wrong is the costliest mistake in motor cover. Drive for Grab on a private policy, or move boxes for a side business in a privately insured car, and the insurer can repudiate the claim outright the first time you crash. You are then personally liable for the third party's injury and damage, which is exactly the open-ended cost insurance exists to cap. Before you buy, decide honestly how the vehicle earns, and read it against the wider picture in our guide to insurance.
Yes, at the baseline. Under the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act, no vehicle may be used on a public road without at least third-party cover for death or bodily injury caused to other people. That law applies to commercial vehicles exactly as it does to private cars. There is no commercial exemption.
Driving a commercial vehicle uninsured carries the same penalties as any uninsured driving: a fine of up to $1,000, up to three months' jail, and disqualification from holding a licence for 12 months. For a business, the bigger exposure is the uncapped liability if an uninsured vehicle injures someone, plus the regulatory trouble of operating without valid cover.
Private-hire drivers face a second layer. The Land Transport Authority requires anyone offering point-to-point services for a fare to hold proper commercial motor cover and the relevant vehicle decal, on top of the legal minimum. Platforms enforce this before they let you accept a job, so a private policy is not just risky here, it locks you out of the work.
Commercial motor insurance uses the same three tiers as private car cover. The structure is identical; the pricing and the small print on business use are what differ.
Third-party only (TPO) is the legal floor. It pays for injury and death you cause to other people and damage to their property, and nothing toward your own vehicle. For an old, fully depreciated work van you could replace cheaply, TPO can be the rational choice, and some insurers will write TPO even for vehicles beyond 25 years old, subject to underwriting.
Third-party, fire and theft (TPFT) adds a payout if your own vehicle is stolen or destroyed by fire, but still nothing for accident damage to your vehicle. Comprehensive (COMP) is the full tier: it covers third-party liability plus damage to your own vehicle from a collision (even at fault), fire, theft, vandalism, storm and flood. For a newer or financed commercial vehicle, comprehensive is usually the only tier that makes business sense, because a written-off van you still owe money on is a cashflow emergency.
One commercial-specific point worth checking: goods in transit are normally excluded from the motor policy. If your cargo itself needs protection, that is a separate goods-in-transit or marine policy, not something a motor plan covers. Treat the excess the same way you would on any policy, and keep it inside your business emergency fund so a claim does not strain working capital.
| Cover | TPO | TPFT | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury or death to others | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Damage to others' property | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Your vehicle: theft | No | Yes | Yes |
| Your vehicle: fire | No | Yes | Yes |
| Your vehicle: accident damage | No | No | Yes |
| Goods or cargo carried | No | No | No (separate policy) |
| Legally required? | Yes (baseline) | No | No |
There is no published rate card for commercial cover the way there is for private cars, because insurers underwrite each vehicle and business individually. Premiums turn on the vehicle type, what it carries, how it is used, the driver profile and the claims history. The figures below are typical 2026 ranges to plan around, not quotes; pull live quotes from at least three insurers before you commit.
A standard commercial van or pickup for general business use commonly runs in the low-to-mid four figures a year for comprehensive cover. Truck and lorry insurance typically sits in the $1,200 to $3,000 a year range, moving with the vehicle's age, weight, tonnage and the cover tier. Heavier and specialised vehicles cost more because they cause more damage in a collision and cost more to repair or replace.
Usage is a large multiplier that catches businesses out. Vehicles used for rental and leasing average around 50% more in premium than the same vehicle in ordinary business use, because they are driven by many different, often unfamiliar drivers. Private-hire and ride-hailing cars also cost more than the private equivalent, simply because they spend far more hours on the road carrying passengers. Before you take on a vehicle, run its full running cost, premium included, through a car cost calculator so the insurance line does not blindside the business plan.
| Vehicle / use | Typical annual premium | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Van or pickup, general business | ~$1,200-$2,500 | Moves with age and excess chosen |
| Lorry / truck | ~$1,200-$3,000 | Heavier and higher-tonnage costs more |
| Private-hire car (Grab/Gojek) | Higher than the private rate | More road hours, passenger exposure |
| Rental / leasing vehicle | ~50% above standard business use | Many unfamiliar drivers |
| Fleet of 10+ vehicles | Per-vehicle rate, then group discount | Up to ~20% off at MSIG |
This is the single biggest difference from a private car policy, and the one that surprises new business owners. The No-Claim Discount on commercial vehicles is far less generous than the private scale. Where a private car driver reaches 50% off after five claim-free years, a commercial vehicle tops out at just 20%.
The General Insurance Association scale for commercial vehicles and motorcycles runs 10% after one claim-free year, 15% after two, and a maximum 20% after three or more. There is no climb to 50%. So the discount you can build on a hard-working van is capped low precisely on the vehicles that drive the most.
The step-down is also brutal. A single at-fault claim resets the entire discount straight to 0%, whatever level you had reached. There is none of the graduated step-down that softens the blow for private cars, where 50% only falls to 20%. For a commercial operator, one at-fault accident means paying the full premium again the following year, on top of the repair. That maths is why fleets invest heavily in driver training and telematics, and why an NCD protector add-on can pay for itself if your insurer offers one.
| Claim-free years | Commercial vehicle NCD | Private car NCD |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10% | 10% |
| 2 | 15% | 20% |
| 3 | 20% (max) | 30% |
| 4 | 20% | 40% |
| 5 or more | 20% | 50% |
| After one at-fault claim | Resets to 0% | Steps down (50% to 20%) |
Private-hire car cover is the commercial sub-category most ordinary drivers run into, and the rules are strict. The day you accept your first paid ride or paid delivery, your vehicle is in commercial use and a private policy will not respond to a claim. LTA rules require a proper commercial motor policy and a valid decal before you carry passengers for a fare, and platforms check this before they let you drive.
Cover here is structured to comply with both the LTA and the platforms. It protects you while the vehicle is engaged in ride-hailing, covers third-party liability for other road users and passengers, and can add passenger injury, roadside assistance and medical riders. Claims are routinely denied for driving on an expired or missing decal, for undeclared activity such as quietly running food delivery on a ride-hailing policy, or for an unlisted driver, so declare exactly how the car is used.
The market is moving in 2026. GrabInsure launched a dedicated PHV motor product on 19 March 2026 that prices premiums on a driver's actual platform track record rather than a flat rate, lets drivers pay through the Grab Driver Wallet with no credit card, and breaks the annual premium into instalments. If you drive part-time, also confirm whether you need full commercial cover or whether a rideshare extension on an existing policy is enough, because under-insuring to save money defeats the point. Weigh the premium against your takings the same way you would any business cost, and keep it inside a sensible monthly budget.
Once a business runs several vehicles, insuring each one separately becomes both expensive and a paperwork burden. Fleet insurance puts multiple vehicles, cars, vans, lorries and trucks, under a single policy with one renewal date. It is the standard answer for logistics firms, contractors and any business with a yard full of vehicles.
The pull is cost and administration. Insurers reward scale: MSIG, for example, applies a flat 20% discount for fleets of 10 or more vehicles, and a fleet's combined claims record sets the rate rather than each vehicle's individual NCD. You also review renewal terms once a year instead of juggling a dozen separate policies. Cover can usually extend to vehicles you own, lease or rent, which suits businesses that flex their fleet up and down.
The trade-off is that a fleet is priced on its overall loss experience, so a few bad drivers raise the premium for the whole group. That is why fleet operators lean on driver vetting, telematics and clear accident-reporting procedures, and why the cheapest fleet over time is a well-managed one, not just the lowest opening quote.
The base premium buys the core policy; the extras decide how painful a bad day actually is. For a commercial vehicle that is off the road during repairs, downtime is lost income, so the riders worth paying for are the ones that keep you working.
The practical add-ons are a transport or downtime allowance that pays a daily sum while the vehicle is in the workshop (some plans pay around $50 a day for up to ten days), an any-workshop option so you can repair where you trust rather than only the insurer's panel, 24/7 roadside assistance, and where offered an NCD protector, which matters far more here than on a private car given the hard 0% reset. Many comprehensive commercial policies include unlimited windscreen cover, so check before paying for it twice.
Excess is the lever in the other direction. A typical basic excess sits around $500 to $600, and raising your voluntary excess lowers the premium. Watch the loaded excesses: an extra excess, often in the thousands, applies to young or inexperienced drivers and very old drivers, and one insurer loads roughly $4,000 on own-damage claims for drivers under 27 or with under two years' experience. If your business uses young drivers, price that in before you assume the headline premium is the whole story. For context on how a deductible works against your premium, see our note on the deductible.
You cannot rewrite the harsher commercial NCD scale, but most of the bill is still in your control. The biggest savings come from how the business runs the vehicles, not from haggling at renewal.
Compare at least three quotes at the same cover tier before each renewal, because insurers price commercial risk differently and the spread is wide. Raise your voluntary excess as far as the business can absorb in one claim, limit and properly vet your named drivers, and keep your claims record clean, since one at-fault claim costs you the entire 20% discount plus the repair. If you run several vehicles, consolidate them into a fleet policy to capture the group discount and cut admin.
Declare usage accurately, even when it raises the price. A policy bought cheap on the wrong usage class is worthless the day you claim, and the saving evaporates against an uncapped third-party liability. Pay annually rather than in instalments where instalments carry a finance charge, and treat the premium as one line in the vehicle's total cost, alongside COE, road tax and fuel, rather than a number to minimise in isolation. If you are also weighing whether to keep an ageing vehicle on the road, our guide to the true cost of running a vehicle in Singapore puts the premium in proportion.
It is motor cover for any vehicle used for business rather than purely personal travel, including vans, lorries, trucks, fleets, and private-hire cars driven for Grab or Gojek. The defining test is whether the vehicle carries goods or fare-paying passengers, or otherwise earns income. Once it does, a private car policy will not respond to a claim, so a commercial policy is required.
Yes, at the minimum. Under the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act, no vehicle may be driven on a public road without at least third-party cover for injury or death caused to others, and that applies to commercial vehicles. Driving uninsured risks a fine up to $1,000, up to three months' jail, and a 12-month licence ban. Private-hire drivers must also hold a valid LTA decal.
There is no fixed rate card because each vehicle is underwritten individually, but typical 2026 comprehensive cover for a commercial van or truck runs roughly $1,200 to $3,000 a year, moving with the vehicle's age, weight, usage and the driver profile. Vehicles used for rental or leasing average about 50% more, and private-hire cars cost more than the private equivalent. Always pull at least three live quotes.
Commercial vehicles drive more and carry higher risk, so insurers cap their NCD far below the private scale. The GIA scale runs 10% after one claim-free year, 15% after two, and a maximum 20% after three or more, against 50% for private cars. A single at-fault claim resets a commercial NCD straight to 0% with no graduated step-down, which is why fleets invest so heavily in safe driving.
Yes. The moment you accept a paid ride or paid delivery, the car is in commercial use and a private policy will not pay a claim. LTA rules require a proper commercial private-hire motor policy and a valid decal before you carry passengers for a fare, and the platforms verify this before letting you drive. From March 2026, GrabInsure offers a dedicated PHV policy priced on your platform driving record.
No. If you carry goods or passengers for payment, even part-time, the vehicle is in commercial use and a private policy can be voided at claim time. The insurer can refuse the claim and leave you personally liable for the third party's injury and damage, which can be uncapped. Either buy commercial cover or add a recognised rideshare or business-use extension, and declare the usage honestly.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.