3 days ago
Grab gears up to enter Singapore's motor insurance game
SINGAPORE. June 2 — GrabInsure, the insurance arm of the ride-hailing giant Grab, is preparing to roll out its own motor insurance offerings in Singapore, The Straits Times (ST) reported today.
According to ST, the company took a key step in May by joining the General Insurance Association (GIA), having secured a general insurance licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) late last year.
Since then, Grab has quietly been building up a motor insurance team, with recent job listings and recruitment activity pointing to an imminent market debut.
A job advertisement reviewed by ST showed GrabInsure is seeking a lead in motor claims to drive its claims strategy, profitability and systems development.
The role, based at the firm's one-north campus, will work with its Operational Product Technology team to build a motor claims system from scratch.
Grab is also reportedly working with headhunters to hire actuaries and underwriters, with interviews already under way.
When approached, a Grab spokesman confirmed that the company is 'in the early stages of exploring motor insurance products, alongside other propositions'.
She added that the offerings are being developed to meet the needs of its driver-partners, and that the company 'will share further updates as plans develop'.
Grab's entry into the motor insurance sector comes as no surprise to some in the industry, given its existing foothold in the insurance space.
The company launched its first consumer insurance product in 2020 through a partnership with Chubb, offering travel insurance via its app. It has since added personal accident coverage, also underwritten by Chubb.
Industry observers told ST the next step into motor insurance is a strategic one.
'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 one veteran insider, who declined to be named.
'Grab will not need to spend on commissions or marketing — known as 'acquisition costs' — giving it a major cost advantage.'
According to data from the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore had 90,383 private-hire cars at the end of 2024 — a potential captive market for GrabInsure's offerings.
Income Insurance currently leads the motor insurance segment with S$92.3 million (RM304.6 million) in gross written premiums in Q1 2025, capturing a 25 per cent market share.
