What you Should do in the event of Accident or Loss

1. Take notes of the accident – If you are involved in a motor accident, take notes of the accident, i.e. the names and addresses of all drivers and passengers involved, vehicle registration numbers, make and model of each vehicle involved, the drivers’ license numbers and insurance identification as well as the names and addresses of as many witnesses as possible.

2. Make a police report – You are required by law to lodge a police report within 24 hours of a road accident.

3. Notify your insurance company – You must notify your insurance company in writing with full details as soon as possible. Depending on the type of claim you intend to make, you may have to notify other insurance companies (please refer to ‘Making a claim against an insurance company’ for details). If you fail to report the accident, you will be liable for your own loss as well as any third party claim against you.

4. Select the workshop – You must send your damaged vehicle to a workshop approved by your insurance company. If the accident occurs during office hours, you may call the hotline/ emergency assistance numbers provided by your insurance company. Otherwise, you may call your insurance company for the nearest approved workshop. Should the accident occur outside office hours and you are making a claim against your policy, i.e. an own damage claim, you should ensure that your vehicle is towed to a workshop approved under the Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia Approved Repairers Scheme [called a PIAM Approved Repairers Scheme (PARS)]. If you are making a third party claim, it is advisable to also send your vehicle to a PARS workshop.

Making a Claim Against an Insurance Company

Own Damage

This refers to making a claim against your own policy regardless if you are the party at fault or not in the accident subject to if your policy coverage is a comprehensive policy. However, you will lose your NCD entitlement for your next renewal.

Procedures/Documents

• Notify your own insurance company/fill up the claim form.
• Send your damaged vehicle to our panel repairer and inform the insurance company of the name of the repairer.
• Submit all the related documents to the repairer, i.e. duly completed claim form, policy schedule/cover note, copy of I/C, driving license, police report, summons/compound notice (if any), registration card and/or any other documents upon required.
• Upon completion of repairs, you will be informed by the repairer to sign the discharge voucher and collect your vehicle.

Third Party Property Claim

If you are not the party at fault in the accident, you may opt for either filling a third party claim against the following options:-

Option 1 - Third Party Property Claim against Third Party Insurer. You will not lose your NCD entitlement.

Procedures/Documents

• You are required to notify the third party insurer of your intention to file the third party claim. A notification to your own insurer must also be made.
• You may send your damaged vehicle to the workshop of your choice. The workshop or the third party insurer may advise you on the documentations/procedure.
• You are eligible to claim from the third party insurance company for compensation for actual repair time (CART) and bodily injury. For the actual repair time of your vehicle, the number of days will be based on the adjuster's recommendation required for your car to be repaired. Insurance companies, at their own discretion, may allow an additional seven working daysfor any unforeseen or unavoidable delay. A standard scale of daily CART has been specified by the PIAM as follows:-

Option 2 - Third Party Property Claim against Own Insurer/OD KFK Revised (Provided always that such Third Party vehicle used for carriage of passengers for hire and reward (for example taxis, hire cars, public buses, stage buses, school buses and factory buses for hire), not a vehicle insured by non-Malaysia insurers and there is no personal claim involved. You will not lose your NCD entitlement. This claim is similar to making an Own Damage Claim subject to you are not the party at fault in the accident and your policy coverage is a comprehensive policy.

Procedures/Documents

• Same as the Own Damage Claim together with additional documents/details of the party at fault i.e. name of his/her insurance company, his/her police report and Police Investigation Result and signed Declaration Form.
• You are not eligible to claim any other compensation other than repair to your vehicle (you still ahve to file any other compensation against the third party insurer for uninsured losses like, Compensation for Actual Repair time, loss of excess (if any), under-insurance (if any).

Theft Claims

After submission of the claim form, you must cooperate fully with your insurance company or its representative during the course of investigation of the theft claim.

In view that the police and your insurance company will require time to investigate your claim, you will receive the offer of settlement from you r insurance company within six months from the theft notification or upon completion of police investigations, whichever is earlier.

Basis of settlement will be in cash amount based on the market value of your vehicle at the time of loss or the sum insured whichever is lower. Alternatively, we have the rights under the policy to reinstate or replace same make, model and age of your vehicle at the time of loss.

Windscreen Claim

You may submit your windscreen claim together with the followingn documents to your insurer subject to your policy is extended to cover windscreen (additional cover).

Procedures/Documents

Fill up the Claim Form and submit together with the documents, i/e/ bill, receipt, copy of Registration Card, police report or photographs of the windscreen before and after repair, copy of I/C and driving license.

Principle of Indemnity

The principle of indemnity is crucial in insurance.  Based on this principle, the insurance cover will compensate your loss by putting you back to the same position you were in immediately before the loss. As you will be compensated only for the loss suffered, you cannot 'profit' from a motor insurance claim. Therefore, if your vehicle is more than five years old, betterment will apply.

Betterment occurs when in the course of repairing an accident-damaged vehicle, an old part is replaced with a new franchise part. In line with the principle of indemnity, you will have to bear the difference in costs as you are in a better position after the accident with the new franchise part. However, the application of betterment is at the discretion of your insurance company. Should your insurance company apply betterment, it will be in accordance with the standard scale of betterment adopted by the industry as follows:

Some of the information displayed are extracts from www.insuranceinfo.com.my. A consumer education program by Bank Negara Malaysia, LIAM, Malaysian Takaful Association, PIAM.