Updated 23 September 2026 · By SingRank Singapore
A commercial vehicle NCD in Singapore tops out at 20%, not 50%. The General Insurance Association's common scale gives vans and lorries 10% after one claim-free year, 15% after two and 20% after three. One claim usually drops that to 0%. A late accident report or a fleet endorsement can also cut or cancel it before you renew (GIA motor FAQ).
So the renewal question is not only the premium. It is how much discount your vans have earned, and what could take it away. The answers below come from the GIA consumer guide, two published commercial wordings and the industry's Motor Claims Framework.
Key takeaways
- GIA's common method gives commercial vehicle policies 10%, 15% and then 20% for three or more claim-free years; private cars climb to 50% (GIA motor FAQ).
- Under the same GIA table, one claim takes a commercial NCD of 20%, 15% or 10% down to 0% at renewal (GIA buying guide).
- Reporting an accident late costs NCD on its own: in both the Sompo and Etiqa commercial wordings, 20% falls to 15%, 15% to 10% and 10% to 0% (Sompo wording; Etiqa wording).
- Both wordings carry a fleet endorsement that cancels the NCD clause. Fleet rating and NCD are an either-or, not a stack.
- GIA lists NCD protection as a private-car-only benefit, so for a company van the real protection is reporting discipline.
What is NCD on a commercial vehicle policy in Singapore?
Under a no claim discount commercial vehicle policy, your renewal premium is reduced for every period of insurance in which nobody claimed on the policy. Etiqa's commercial vehicle wording ties the discount to two things: no claim lodged by you, and no claim made against you by a third party (Etiqa wording). The second half matters, because a claim someone else makes against you counts too.
GIA explains that the rate depends on two things: the type of vehicle, private or commercial, and how long you have gone without a claim (GIA motor FAQ). That is why a van and a family car never share a scale.
Who owns the discount? GIA says that "in principle, your NCD applies to you and not to your vehicle" (GIA NCD guide).
In Etiqa's wording, "You" means the policyholder named in the schedule. For a van registered to your company, that is the company, not the driver who takes it out each morning. When a driver leaves, the record stays with the policyholder.
Is commercial vehicle NCD really capped at 20%?
Yes, on every source we could read. The line "20% for commercial, 50% for private" is repeated widely online, so we checked it against primary documents: the GIA motor FAQ and the Sompo wording and Etiqa wording we fetched on 23 September 2026. It holds for all three.
| Claim-free period before renewal | Private car (GIA common method) | Commercial vehicle (GIA common method) | Sompo commercial motor wording | Etiqa commercial vehicle wording |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| 2 years | 20% | 15% | 15% | 15% |
| 3 years | 30% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| 4 years | 40% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| 5 years or longer | 50% | 20% | 20% | 20% |
Sources: GIA motor FAQ; Sompo commercial motor wording, Nov 2024; Etiqa commercial vehicle wording, V2 2 October 2019.
Two cautions. First, GIA calls its table "a common method", not a rule, and Singapore has more than 25 motor insurers. We could not read the published wordings of LONPAC or Tokio Marine, the two insurers ABLINK represents, so we do not state their scales here. Ask for the figure in writing on your quote.
Second, a 20% ceiling means a clean record is worth much less on a lorry than on a car. That is why it is worth defending (GIA motor FAQ).
How does one claim change a van or lorry's NCD?
Under GIA's common method, one claim resets a commercial NCD to zero. Its table shows a current NCD of 20%, 15% or 10% falling to 0% after one claim (GIA buying guide). A private car at 50% falls only to 20% under the same guide. The commercial scale has no soft landing.
There are three qualifications, all from the same GIA page:
- A driver found wholly blameless in a collision with another vehicle may keep the NCD intact.
- More than one claim in a year reduces your NCD to 0% (GIA NCD guide)
- GIA also tells owners to check with their own insurer whether the NCD will be affected.
Some claims are carved out by endorsement. Sompo's commercial wording offers a windscreen and window glass extension for an additional premium. Under it, a glass claim is not treated as a claim for the NCD clause (Sompo wording).
If your vans lose windscreens to site debris or expressway stones, ask about that extension. Check the version on your own schedule, not ours.
Our judgement: with the commercial vehicle NCD capped at 20%, a small claim that resets a lorry to 0% costs you up to three years of rebuilding. For a scratch or dent, weigh the repair bill against the discount you would give up over those years. For anything involving a third party or injury, do not weigh it at all. Report it (GIA buying guide).
What does reporting an accident late cost your NCD?
Late reporting is punished separately from claiming. Many owners do not know that. The industry's Motor Claims Framework asks you to bring the vehicle in and tell your insurer about any accident inside a one-day window (24 hours, or the next working day), "no matter how trivial", even when nothing looks damaged (GIA Motor Claims Framework). Miss that window and the brochure warns that your NCD will be docked at renewal, and your insurer may cancel or decline to renew the policy.
Both commercial wordings put a number on it. Under the Sompo wording, failing to report costs part or all of the NCD on top of any claim penalty. Etiqa's wording uses the same table (Etiqa wording):
| NCD at the time | NCD on renewal after non-reporting (Sompo and Etiqa commercial wordings) |
|---|---|
| 20% | 15% |
| 15% | 10% |
| 10% | 0% |
| 0% | 0% |
Sompo's wording also sets the order. In plain terms: if the accident also becomes a claim, the claim penalty comes first and the reporting penalty follows.
Owners are tempted to skip reporting. One motorist told The Straits Times: "Now that I know this is the case, I might just not report any accident to my insurer in future even if I'm at fault, since people can get away with it." GIA's chief executive, Ho Kai Weng, answered in the same article that reporting does not automatically cost the discount, and that "in cases of late or no reports, the insured motorist scores an own goal" (The Straits Times, 10 January 2022).
For a fleet, this is a process problem: every driver must know the 24-hour rule and who to call.
Can you protect the NCD on a company van?
Not in the way car owners can. GIA's guide lists NCD protection as an optional benefit for private cars only, and its protected-NCD table carries the same limit (GIA NCD guide). If an insurer does offer something similar on a commercial policy, GIA also warns that a protected NCD may not transfer to another insurer.
So what protects a van or lorry's discount in practice?
- Reporting on time, every time. Non-reporting costs NCD even when no claim is paid.
- Not-at-fault evidence. Dashcam footage and photos support a not-at-fault finding, which GIA says may leave your NCD untouched.
- The right endorsements. A glass extension like Sompo's keeps windscreen claims out of the NCD count.
- A deliberate choice between NCD and fleet rating, covered next.
GIA's guide mentions one extra reward. Some insurers add a further 5% for a Traffic Police Certificate of Merit when a privately owned commercial vehicle policy already sits at 20% NCD. GIA's wording limits this to privately owned policies, so a company-registered lorry should not assume it applies. Ask (GIA NCD guide).
How does fleet rating change the NCD on your vans?
In both commercial wordings we read, a fleet endorsement replaces the NCD rather than adding to it. Some quote pages blur this by saying NCD also applies to fleet policies.
Sompo's commercial wording carries "Endorsement R – Fleet Discount – Cancellation of No Claim Discount", under which the NCD clause is cancelled and replaced by a fleet discount (Sompo wording). Etiqa's wording has the equivalent, Endorsement M18, which switches the NCD clause off for fleet-rated risks (Etiqa wording).
Without that endorsement, several vehicles on one policy still earn NCD one by one. Both wordings apply the NCD as if each vehicle had its own policy. One van's accident does not reset the others.
| Question | Several vehicles, NCD per vehicle | Fleet-rated (NCD cancelled by endorsement) |
|---|---|---|
| What rewards a clean record? | Each vehicle's own NCD, up to 20% in the Sompo and Etiqa wordings | A fleet discount set by the insurer; ask how it is reviewed |
| Does one van's claim hit the others? | No, each vehicle keeps its own record, as though it had its own policy | Ask the insurer how fleet claims experience affects the discount |
| What happens to NCD already earned? | It keeps building per vehicle | The NCD clause is cancelled while the endorsement applies |
| Admin | Separate records to track | One consolidated plan |
Our view: if you run two or three vans with years of clean records, price both options side by side before you accept a fleet structure. If your vehicles see frequent small claims, a fleet discount may be steadier than NCDs that keep resetting to 0% (GIA buying guide). Neither is automatically better. Make the choice on purpose, with both figures on the quote.
ABLINK's motor insurance page says businesses with multiple vehicles "enjoy special fleet insurance discounts" through its partnerships with LONPAC and Tokio Marine. It also offers to cover delivery vans, lorries and service vehicles under one consolidated plan.
When you request fleet insurance Singapore quotes, ask two things. First, whether that fleet discount replaces each vehicle's NCD. Second, what it becomes after a claim year.
Can you keep your NCD when you switch insurer?
Generally yes. GIA says your NCD can move with you when you switch insurer (GIA NCD guide). The new insurer rates you on your record, so declare it accurately. If your current insurer has protected an NCD after a claim, GIA's warning applies: that protected figure may not travel.
Timing matters more than most owners expect. LTA will not renew road tax unless the vehicle is insured for the whole road tax period (OneMotoring, LTA). For digital road tax renewal, LTA says the insurance must be bought at least 1 working day in advance.
A late switch can hold up a road tax renewal and put a working lorry off the road. Our van and lorry road tax guide covers the tax side.
Switching each year to chase the cheapest commercial vehicle insurance Singapore can offer is not wrong. The same goes for any commercial motor insurance Singapore policy, van or lorry. Just confirm three things first: the NCD the new insurer will apply, whether a fleet endorsement is involved, and that cover starts before the old policy ends. ABLINK's page invites owners to renew or switch LONPAC or Tokio Marine policies through it.
What happens to the NCD when you change or sell the vehicle?
The discount can follow you to a replacement vehicle, but not to two vehicles at once. GIA says NCD can move to another vehicle you own, but only one vehicle can use it at a time, and each vehicle earns its own NCD (GIA NCD guide). Replacing an old 10ft lorry with a new lorry can carry the record over. Adding a second lorry means that one starts from scratch.
Gaps are allowed, within limits. GIA notes that most insurers let you keep your NCD through a break in ownership of up to 24 months, while some set the limit at 12 months (GIA NCD guide). If you sell a van and plan to buy later, check your insurer's window before you let the policy lapse.
When a vehicle is sold, the buyer does not inherit your clean years. Sompo's and Etiqa's commercial wordings both cover this. If the insurer agrees to a transfer of interest, the seller's claim-free period does not pass to the buyer (Sompo wording; Etiqa wording).
If you are selling or scrapping a commercial vehicle, ask your insurer to confirm your NCD in writing before the policy ends. If you are trading in a van or lorry, time the new policy so the break stays short.
A change of use or a modification is a separate trigger. LTA asks owners to tell their insurer about any change of scheme, change of purpose or modification. Leaving that out can put a later claim at risk, and with it the NCD.
The same goes for drivers. A licence class that does not match the vehicle is a classic claim problem, explained in our Class 3 vs Class 4 licence guide.
Does a higher NCD guarantee a cheaper renewal?
No, and GIA says so directly. A quote built on a higher NCD is not necessarily lower than another insurer's quote built on a lower one (GIA motor FAQ).
Premiums can also rise without a claim. GIA confirms this can happen. Claims across the whole pool, repair costs and other risk factors all feed the price.
That is why the commercial vehicle insurance Singapore price on your quote cannot be read off the NCD alone. The discount is one line on the quote. The excess, the named or authorised drivers, the permitted use and any fleet endorsement often matter more.
The practical point: protect the NCD, but compare full quotes rather than NCD headlines. Our commercial vehicle insurance guide for Singapore SMEs walks through the other terms.
An 8-step NCD check before you renew a company van or lorry
Run this a month before each renewal, for one van or a small fleet.
- List each vehicle's current NCD. Take it from the renewal notice or ask the insurer for an NCD confirmation per vehicle.
- List every accident in the period, including ones where no claim was made. Confirm each one reached the insurer inside the one-day reporting window.
- Check any not-at-fault cases. Ask whether the insurer has closed them as not at fault, since that may leave the NCD intact.
- Read the endorsements on your schedule. Look for a fleet endorsement that cancels NCD and for a windscreen extension that keeps glass claims out of the count.
- Decide per-vehicle NCD or fleet rating on purpose. Ask for both figures if you run several vehicles.
- Confirm who the policyholder is. If vehicles moved between a sole proprietorship and a company, check how the insurer treats the record.
- Declare changes. Tell the insurer about new drivers, changed use or body modifications before renewal, as LTA advises.
- Buy early. For digital road tax renewal, LTA needs the insurance in place at least one working day ahead, covering the whole road tax period.
If you are building a delivery operation from scratch, our guide to starting a delivery business covers the vehicle and licensing side alongside insurance, and our delivery van guide for Shopee and Lazada work helps you pick the van.
How to renew or switch a van or lorry policy through ABLINK
ABLINK is an authorised agent for LONPAC Insurance and Tokio Marine Insurance. Both appear on LTA's list of motor insurance companies. Its motor insurance page covers cars, vans, lorries and commercial fleets, with official quotations and direct policy issuance. Its in-house team handles the process "from renewal reminders to claim submissions".
Take the checklist above to your next renewal, whether it is a van policy or the lorry insurance Singapore owners renew each year. Ask for a written quote that states three things: the NCD applied to each vehicle, whether a fleet endorsement replaces it, and what happens to the discount after one claim. Request it on ABLINK motor insurance for vans, lorries and fleets.
If you are replacing a vehicle at the same time, you can compare new commercial vehicles or browse listings on ABLINK's car marketplace. Line up the new policy so your NCD carries across without a gap.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum commercial vehicle NCD in Singapore?
Under GIA's common method, 20% after three or more claim-free years, against 50% for a private car (GIA motor FAQ). Sompo's commercial motor wording and Etiqa's commercial vehicle wording use the same 10%, 15% and 20% steps. Other insurers may differ. Ask for the scale in writing on your quote before you renew.
Does one claim wipe out my van's NCD?
Under GIA's common method, yes. A commercial NCD of 20%, 15% or 10% becomes 0% after one claim, and more than one claim in a year also means 0% (GIA buying guide). GIA adds that a driver found wholly blameless in a collision with another vehicle may keep the discount.
Can I transfer my NCD to a new insurer?
Generally yes. GIA says NCD can be transferred when you switch insurer, because it applies to the policyholder rather than the vehicle. Declare it accurately. A protected NCD may not transfer, and an NCD cancelled by a fleet endorsement is not running while that endorsement applies.
Does a company van's NCD belong to the driver or the company?
To the policyholder. GIA says NCD applies to you, not to the vehicle, and Etiqa's commercial wording defines "You" as the policyholder named in the schedule. For a company-registered van, that is the company, so the record stays when a driver leaves.
Do I lose NCD if I report an accident but do not claim?
Not automatically. GIA's chief executive told The Straits Times that reporting an accident does not automatically cost the discount. Not reporting is what costs you: both commercial wordings cut NCD on renewal for late or missing reports, even with no claim paid.
Is fleet insurance better than keeping NCD on each van?
It depends on your claims record. Sompo's and Etiqa's fleet endorsements cancel the NCD clause, and Sompo's replaces it with a fleet discount. Vans that have run claim-free for years may be worth more on per-vehicle NCD. Ask for both figures on one quote and compare.
Disclaimer: This guide is general information, not insurance, legal or financial advice. NCD scales, claim penalties and endorsements quoted here come from the GIA consumer guide and the published Sompo and Etiqa commercial wordings as fetched on 23 September 2026. Your own policy, including LONPAC and Tokio Marine policies arranged through ABLINK, is governed by its schedule and wording, which can differ. Premiums are set by the insurer; confirm your commercial vehicle NCD and terms on your written quote before you renew or switch.
