TWO weeks ago, Penang island and mainland were badly hit by storms and flooding, resulting in massive damage to property, cars and infrastructure. Insurance adjusters are now assessing the damage to property and cars belonging to policyholders who held policies which covered storms and floods. Claims processing is being fast tracked to bring financial relief to those affected by these terrible events.
But many car owners who hold private car comprehensive policies are now finding out that their policies exclude damage caused by storm, flood, earthquake, landslide, subsidence and other convulsions of nature. These are known as ‘special perils’ in insurance parlance. One would have thought that a comprehensive policy would have covered damage caused by these special perils. Sadly, you are only covered if you buy the extension which insurers now promote as an “add-on”. The premium charged for this is high and many policyholders shy away from getting the “add-on”.