Help desk on Motor Insurance For Private Cars

1.

How do I obtain an insurance policy?

There are several ways in which you can obtain or buy insurance. You can go directly to an office of an insurance company or some insurance companies may have staff or agents who arrange your insurance without you having to leave your home. Alternatively you can contact an agent or a broker (insurance intermediary) who can assist you to effect the necessary insurance.

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You can contact an insurance company or insurance intermediary for the insurance cover that you require. Depending on the insurance company’s procedure, a proposal form would usually be given to you for completion before a quotation is provided. If you are agreeable to the quotation for the insurance cover, you should indicate your decision after which the insurance cover will begin. Arrangement for payment of the premium should also be made. An insurance policy shall be issued to you shortly thereafter.

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There are many types of general insurance policies. Some of the more common types of policies that are available are motor insurance, marine insurance, fire insurance, theft insurance, household, buildings and/or contents insurance, travel insurance, money insurance, personal accident insurance, personal liability insurance, workmen’s compensation insurance etc. You may like to contact your insurance company or insurance intermediary if you have special or specific insurance needs.

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You may contact the underwriting, marketing or sales personnel at the insurance company. The insurance company may also refer you to their agents if it is more convenient for you to deal with them.

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You can certainly do so if you prefer using a broker.

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In the event of an incident which is covered under your policy, you should always contact your insurance company as soon as possible. You would be required to complete and return a claim form.

Sometimes, the insurance company might appoint an independent adjuster to look into the circumstances of the loss.

You should provide all information at your disposal to the questions that are raised by the insurance company as this would facilitate the claims department in processing your claim.

Upon the completion of the investigation, the insurance company would make an offer to settle the claim if it is an admissible claim. If you accept the offer, the claim would then be paid. You would need to sign a claims discharge form indicating the finality of the claim.

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If it is a claim on your own policy and you are not satisfied with the way your insurer has handled your claim, you may like to contact the Bank Negara.

Please note that you may need to meet certain requirements before the Bank Negara (BN) can consider your application.

Notwithstanding your consulting the BN, your right to take up legal action remains intact as the BN’s ruling is only binding upon the insurer.

The service of BN is free of charge.

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Help desk on Motor Insurance For Private Cars

1.

Why should I have a motor insurance policy and what are the advantages?

Under the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Risks & Compensation) Act (Cap 189), it is an offence to use a motor vehicle on a public road without a valid policy of insurance. It is also a statutory requirement that the driver must produce a valid certificate of insurance at any time required by the police.

With motor insurance, the insured will have the security of an insurance company to protect him in the event of a motor accident. The insurance cover provided can be as basic as the driver’s legal liability with regard to death or bodily injury to other people or loss or damage to the property of other people. The insurance cover can also be extended to cover loss or damage to the car or its accessories as well as provide personal accident benefits to the driver, upon payment of additional premium.

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You may approach any insurance company or insurance intermediary, if you know one.

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The General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) is a trade association looking after the interests of its members which are general insurance companies. As a trade association, the PIAM is not in a position to dictate on matters relating to motor insurance, although it can make recommendations and has done this from time to time on policy wordings and best practices.

All insurance companies and intermediaries are regulated by the Bank Negara of Malaysia. Insurance companies operating in Malaysia are financially sound and would be able to pay any legitimate claims.

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Malaysia is a free market with regard to insurance. Insurance companies are free to quote terms according to their individual underwriting guidelines. Likewise, members of the public are free to compare the rates, covers and claims services offered by the various insurance companies and decide for themselves which insurance company they would like to take up insurance with. However, for motor insurance, the premium is tariff rated, i.e. the rate of premium is government controlled.

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The law only requires you to insure against legal liability for injury to third parties. As such, a policy covering third party liability will meet your needs. However, it is common for motorists to take a wider cover to protect against accidental damage to their own cars and these are listed :-

Third Party cover
This policy provides cover for the driver’s legal liability for damage to property belonging to other persons such as cars; fences; street lighting etc as well as the driver’s legal liability for death of or bodily injury to passengers and third parties caused by his negligence.

Third Party Fire & Theft cover
In addition to the cover provided by the "Third Party" cover, the policy can be extended to accidental loss or damage by fire and/or theft of the vehicle and its accessories and spare parts.

Comprehensive cover
This is the widest type of cover in that it includes all the covers mentioned previously plus accidental damage to the insured’s own vehicle. The additional cover provides personal accident benefits for the driver and medical expenses arising from the motor accident. Although the term "comprehensive" is used, the standard cover does not include riot, strike and civil commotion, flood and windstorm and personal accident benefits to the passengers and legal liability of passengers for acts of negligence. However, these covers can be effected upon payment of an additional premium

The breakage of a windscreen or side windows is insured but the standard policy excess will apply and a claim paid will result in the loss of any No Claim Discount unless arrangements are made for a special cover.

You should compare the rates, covers and services offered by other insurance companies before making a decision.

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The PIAM does not govern rates and is thus unable to provide you with the average premium for motor insurance. Each insurance company has its own underwriting guidelines and may therefore provide different quotations for different combination of covers.

In addition, the premium charges can vary due to many factors such as the type of car, the driver’s characteristics, claims experience etc.

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The minimum cover required by law covers the driver’s legal liability for death of or bodily injury to passengers and third parties caused by his negligence. Such an insurance cover would not pay for damages to any vehicle, nor would it provide cover for the driver’s death or injuries and many other aspects of a motor accident. The driver is therefore encouraged to take up insurance for other aspects by paying additional premium.

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All general insurance companies offering motor insurance are members of the PIAM and you have a choice of 9 composit and 31 general companies in the Malaysia insurance market.

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1. In the event of an accident where you are claiming under your own policy for repairs to your own vehicle :-

• You should contact your insurance company as soon as possible. You would be required to complete and return a Motor Accident Report form.
• The insurance company may also require you to send your damaged vehicle to a specified workshop for repairs (this may be stated in your insurance policy).
• The insurance company would appoint an independent adjuster to assess the damages to your vehicle and negotiate the repair costs with the motor repairers. Once this is agreed, the insurance company would authorise repairs to proceed.
• After repairs have been completed, you should check that it is to your satisfaction before signing a satisfaction voucher and taking delivery of the vehicle.
• The motor repairers would require you to settle with them any Excess which you have to bear, before releasing the vehicle to you. The balance of the repair costs would be billed direct to the insurance company.
• Should you find any problems with the repairs done, it should be referred to the motor repairers without delay. Your insurance company should also be advised so that they may withhold payment of the repair bill until the problem is resolved.

2. For a third party motor insurance claim, that is, where you are making a claim against the other party :

• You must notify your insurance company that there has been an accident.
• You should then, of your own accord, contact the third party.
• The third party’s insurer ought to be informed by their insured on the matter and they are likely to require you to provide full details of the accident and may send a surveyor to assess the damage to your vehicle.
• Upon completion of its investigation, the insurance company would make an offer to settle the claim if it is a legitimate claim.
• If you accept, you would need to sign a claims discharge form indicating your acceptance.

You should provide, as soon as possible, all information at your disposal to the questions that are raised by the insurance company as this would facilitate the claims department in processing the claim.

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Where you are claiming under your own insurance policy, your claim is likely to be settled fairly quickly by your insurance company unless there are complications. Third party claims may take longer, depending on the complexity of each case, what is being claimed, how clear the issue of liability is on each driver and how reasonable are the parties in the negotiation.

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It is unlikely that an insurance company will be unscrupulous with its insureds nor is it likely that it would be unable to pay your claims. However, there may be cases where the claim takes a longer time to be settled due to complications and payment may therefore be delayed as a result.

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Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia (PIAM)
3rd Floor, Wisma PIAM
150 Jalan Tun Sambanthan
50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel No.: 0203-274 7399
Fax No.: 0203-274 5910

General Insurance Association of Singapore
103 Amoy Street Singapore 069923
Tel No : 65-6221 8788
Fax No.: 65-6227 2051

Each Association endeavours to provide clarifications and advice to motorists in their respective countries and to clear up any misunderstandings on the part of the motorists should these be apparent. PIAM and GIA will only assist after evidence of all necessary actions taken to pursue the matter is produced.

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With effect from 1 May 1999, if you are involved in a non-injury motor accident in Malaysia, you still need to make a police report but in cases where the accident is minor and no injuries, fatalities or damage is caused, these cases will not be investigated by the Police.

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