Relieved to be insured

PETALING JAYA: A car owner is relieved as he had purchased special perils insurance coverage for his vehicle, which ended up getting damaged in the recent floods that hit the Klang Valley.

Kevin Lee, 30, said he was lucky as he opted for the add-on package for his vehicle insurance.

“My insurance agent encouraged me to top up a bit of money to get the special perils plan as there had been an increase in landslides and flash floods recently.

“I was reluctant initially when he tried to persuade me to get the extra protection.

“Although my car was not fully submerged in water, the engine was soaked in muddy water,” he said in an interview.

Lee, who lived in Shah Alam, said his insurance agent has promised to tow his car to a workshop to be repaired.

Leven Wong, who has been in the insurance industry for more than 10 years, said many motorists do not have adequate protection against flood damage to their vehicles.

“Most people buy motor insurance solely to renew their road tax.

“Not many people know about the special perils plan and they don’t really care as they think that accidents caused by natural disasters will not happen to them.

“We always encourage customers to get the special peril plans that cover damage to their vehicle due to flood, typhoon, storm, landslide, landslip, subsidence or sinking of soil or convulsion of nature,” he said in an interview.

Wong said there have been many enquiries on the special perils plan after some states were affected by the floods.

“Most of the customers decided to buy the special perils plan for extra protection for their vehicles.

“The special perils coverage is actually quite affordable as the add-on cost is only about 0.2% to 0.4% of the total insured sum,” he added.

He said repairing a flood-damaged car can be an expensive affair.

“However, with the special perils coverage, the insurance adjuster will evaluate the cost to get the vehicle fixed.

“If the cost exceeds 70% of the sum insured, the insurance company has the option to write off the car and offer to buy it over,” he said.

In a joint statement by the General Insurance Association of Malaysia and Malaysian Takaful Association, the public is advised to review their policy coverage to ensure their properties are insured against flood, as flood is an optional cover under the standard fire and motor policies certificates.

They advised policy or certificate holders who have not been affected by these unfortunate flood events to take the time to review their coverage to ensure their interests are adequately protected for natural calamities like flood, which is occurring on a more frequent basis due to the effects and fallout from the global climate crisis.