Carpark inside High-Rise Condo

I read this article at my friend Peh SK's blog, and made the following comments, from an insurance practitioner's point of view:

There are perils associated with such arrangements. The car is a potential fire & explosion hazard because of the petrol in its tank. Cars have been known to catch fire due to short-circuiting.

I have a client who runs a motor workshop business. His business insurance provides coverage for vehicles parked within the premises but not outside. He is however reluctant to keep them parked within his workshop, as from his personal experience, a lorry, whilst awaiting repair at his workshop, caught fire due to a short-circuit. He would not risk his workshop, the lifeblood of his business, go up in smoke.

Another hazard faced by landed properties is impact by motor vehicles (this is one reason why houses at the end of a T-junction is unpopular). This is one of the standard perils covered in a home insurance policy.

Again, I am able to quote a real life example. A client lent his car to a friend who lost control of the car and collided into the walls of a landed property, whilst drink-driving! The driver was personally liable for the damages as the standard car insurance policies do not provide any coverage for drivers who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Although these risks may be remote, my personal opinion is that it is a bad idea. There have even been instances in Singapore of cars plunging down multi-storey car parks. I suspect these are cars with automatic gear transmission. Such cars will not 死火, unlike cars with manual transmission.


Although Samuel Johnson once said, "Prudence keeps life safe, but does not often make it happy", we should not throw caution to the wind.

"Caution is the eldest child of wisdom”
Victor Hugo


"Caution is not cowardly. Carelessness is not courage."
Unknown