In Malaysia, a car insurance is a necessity and requirement by law when you purchase a vehicle. Accidents can happen anywhere and even to the most careful and best of drivers. Just because you are a defensive driver, it doesn’t mean that the guy next to you is. Here are some points to help you understand a little more about car insurance.
Coverage
Insurance plans are separated by three main types, Third-Party Cover, Third-Party Fire and Theft Cover, and Comprehensive Cover. Additional coverage for your car may include death or bodily injury due to a motor accident, liability against claims from the passengers in your vehicle, or even loss or damage arising from acts of nature, such as flood, storms and landslides. Most insurance policies will offer additional coverage options which you can select, if you often drive around certain areas in which your vehicle may be more susceptible to damage from Mother Nature.
Other additional options for coverage include windshield breakage, which will help you replace it in the case of damage.
Added Services
Certain insurance providers may provide some extra benefits, depending on the policy. They may also have extra servicing branches to help you out should you need to check with the offices for a claim or collect a form. When you’re purchasing insurance for your car, you may want to consider these services.
Premiums
Premiums are your payments to the insurance providers. The cost of every insurance policy is determined by a few factors. This includes the market value of the car, the size, capacity, coverage as well as the number of drivers per car. Now that insurance is heading to detarrification, premiums will be based on the risk behaviour of the consumers.
No Claim Discount
The No Claim Discount (NCD) is a discount provided to you when you do not make any insurance claims during a specified period. This means that you will have to be careful to avoid accidents caused by you. In Malaysia the percentage of this increases year-on-year on the condition that no claim has been made. For private cars after the fifth year onwards, the rate is 55%. One thing not many might know, but in the event that the accident was not your fault, you are able to claim your insurance without losing your NCD. Your NCD is only lost if there is someone claiming against you.
Claims
Should you decide to make a claim on your insurance for a major damage, the “Own Damage Claim”, and the “No-Fault Own Damage Claim”, is one that depends on the cause of the damage or accident.
As a standard procedure for making an “Own Damage Claim”, you should:
- Report to the police within 24 hours, as required by law.
- Send your vehicle to an authorised workshop for immediate attention. Certain insurance companies have a list of panel authorised workshop which will identify the cost and sort out the repairs.
- Collect the claim from your insurance company and sign accordingly, and submit the following documents:
- Original police report
- Repairer’s or workshop’s estimated cost of repairs
- Copies of your insurance policy, vehicle registration card, road tax disc, identity card and driving license of the vehicle owner and driver (if the driver is different), and hire purchase agreement (if applicable)
For “No-Fault Own Damage Claims”, you will need to add on copies of the following documents where applicable:
- Signed declaration letter (for No-fault accident)
- Third party’s police report
- Police compound/findings
Do note that the procedures above depend on your insurance provider.
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