[SINGAPORE] GrabInsure, the insurance arm of the Grab group, is gearing up to enter Singapore’s motor insurance market.
Some industry insiders said the move could deal a blow to the dominance of existing players like Income Insurance.
Grab joined the General Insurance Association (GIA) in May, after it obtained a general insurance licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in December 2024. The developments show that it is on track to launch its own motor insurance products.
The company began hiring staff for a motor insurance team in recent months.
One job advertisement showed it was looking for a lead in motor claims, a senior position that reports to the regional head of insurance operations.
The role, based at Grab’s one-north campus, will oversee the company’s motor claims strategy, profitability, and claims processes.
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According to the ad, the successful candidate will also work closely with Grab’s Operational Product Technology team to build a motor claims system from scratch.
GrabInsure is seeking someone with at least seven to 10 years of experience in motor claims or a related role, and with “in-depth knowledge of Singapore’s motor claims and recovery process, including regulatory requirements, best practices and emerging trends”.
Separately, the company is also said to be working with headhunters to recruit actuaries and underwriters for its motor insurance arm, with interviews already conducted, according to industry sources familiar with the matter.
When contacted, a Grab spokeswoman confirmed that the company is “in the early stages of exploring motor insurance products, alongside other propositions”.
She said these products are designed to meet the needs of its driver-partners, and added that Grab “will share further updates as plans develop”.
Grab made its first foray into the consumer insurance business in a tie-up with Chubb, offering travel insurance to its Singapore customers in 2020. It has since expanded its products to include personal accident coverage, underwritten by Chubb.
The GIA, which issued a memo on May 13 to inform its members of GrabInsure’s membership, declined comment, stating that “it does not comment on its members’ commercial decisions”.
Industry experts said Grab’s entry into the motor insurance segment is a strategic bet on its data, cost advantages and captive base of private-hire drivers.
Figures from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) show that there were 90,383 private-hire cars at the end of 2024.
According to GIA’s ranking of gross written premiums, Income Insurance occupies the top spot for motor insurance, with gross written premiums totalling $92.3 million in the first three months of 2025. This amounts to a market share of 25 per cent.
MS First Capital comes in second with premiums amounting to $36.8 million and a market share of 10 per cent. In third place is AIG, with written premiums of $34.3 million and a market share of 9.3 per cent.
Gross written premiums are the total premiums written by an insurer before deductions for reinsurance, commissions and administrative costs.
A veteran industry insider, who declined to be named, said Grab can use its leverage in detailed user data, sophisticated pricing models and its massive app-based reach to undercut competitors on pricing.
“The ability to have mass outreach via the Grab app to hundreds of thousands of consumers simultaneously trumps any marketing and distribution channels available to incumbents like Income,” said the industry veteran.
He added that Grab will not need to spend on commissions or marketing – known as “acquisition costs” – giving it a major cost advantage.
Alap Mehra, former principal at Boston Consulting Group’s insurance practice, said Grab’s move will give it several advantages. By becoming an insurer, the company will have full control over pricing and product development.
“You can expect a lot of innovative offers in the future, like usage-based car insurance for part-time drivers,” said Mehra, a consultant.
He pointed out that data from MAS and LTA showed gross motor insurance premiums in Singapore rose by about 11 per cent in 2024, despite only a 1 per cent increase in vehicle population.
Mehra said the surge was driven by inflation-linked price hikes, the growth of electric vehicles, which, having higher production costs, are more expensive to insure, and a 10 per cent rise in private-hire car numbers.
Despite Singapore’s saturated motor insurance market, he believes Grab has a viable entry point due to its data advantage, captive fleet, and potential to offer more tailored, usage-based insurance.
“Grab will have very granular mobility data and likely have accident data of their own fleet. With this they are in a position to offer usage-based insurance, particularly to part-time drivers, which can be priced more accurately than any traditional insurer may be able to,” said Mehra. THE STRAITS TIMES
