When renewing your auto insurance, you’ve probably been offered several add-ons that you can include in your policy before payment. One of the more commons ones is flood coverage or special perils, which, in light of the recent floods that struck several states in Malaysia (and future such incidents), is proving to be more and more important.
Looking at images of submerged cars on social media, it’s clear that the risk of floods shouldn’t be overlooked as it can have a serious impact on your financial wellbeing. You could live in an area that isn’t prone to flooding, but if you’re heading out and a heavy downpour occurs, things can change quickly and you could find you and your vehicle caught in an undesirable situation.
Should your policy not include special perils coverage, there’s not much you can do to submit a claim in the event your vehicle is damaged by floods, and you’ll likely have to fork out a lot of money to pay a hefty repair bill.
Many insurance providers here provide special perils coverage for a certain fee, which is typically calculated by applying a rate onto the vehicle’s agreed/insured value. It still won’t be pleasant to see the state of your car after it’s been affected by flood waters, but you’ll at least have some form of financial protection for respite.
With that in mind, we scoured the internet to find how much it would cost you to option special perils coverage from a few insurance providers. It wasn’t the easiest to find these figures, as some are readily available and shown on official websites, while for others, we had to call up hotlines to inquire. As a disclaimer, these rates are accurate at the time of publishing.
These rates are for the total insured sum, but with certain insurance providers, you can determine the amount of sum insured (lower if you want), which comes with different rates. Certain special perils coverage options can also be limited in that some only cover floods, while others have expanded coverage to include other acts of God (volcanoes, landslides, trees, lightning strikes etc.)
For example, Etiqa provides two options, with the basic flood coverage (floods and storms) having a rate of 0.25%, while the expanded flood coverage adds on landslides, hurricanes and other convulsions of nature for a rate of 0.5%. Here, we’re presenting a simplified overview showing the rates for full coverage, but it’s always best to check in with your respective insurance provider or agent for the finer details.
As you can see, the rates for special perils coverage for the insurance providers listed do not exceed 1%, with some being as low as 0.15% and some as high as 0.5%. As these rates are applied on the sum insured, the higher the amount being insured, the more you’ll need to pay.
For example, if you’re insuring for RM25,000, you’re paying as little as RM38 with MPI Generali, while other insurance providers like Allianz, AXA, MSIG and Tokio Marine offer the coverage for RM50. With higher rates like those provided by AIA, AIG, Etiqa, Kurnia, RHB and Takaful, the payable amount is between RM63 to RM125.
These amounts increase as the insured sum goes up, as seen with examples involving RM50,000, RM100,000 and RM200,000. Keep in mind that the payable amount of special perils coverage will be subject to 6% SST, and you could save should be there be any ongoing promotions or discounts. It should also be noted that some auto insurance policies do include flood coverage, although there are limited in terms of how much you can claim, be it a fixed amount or a certain percentage of the insured sum; some policies also provide flood inconvenience allowances.
For a small fee relative to your vehicle’s value, you could save yourself from having to drain your bank account to have your vehicle fixed due to flood damage. If you happen to be renewing your auto insurance, special perils coverage should be high on your priority list for that peace of mind. Nature is unpredictable, but ensuring you are protected shouldn’t have to be.
Standard special peril rate for all insurance company is 0.5%, but there’s also a limited special peril which cover flood, typhoon which is half of it or 0.25%
Sapott Allianz, AXA, MSIG and Tokio Marine!
Boycott AIA, AIG, Etiqa, Kurnia, RHB and Takaful!
Sejak bila sykt insuran masuk pilihanraya?
If you wish to pay more for special perils go ahead. I don’t.
Pay peanut got monkey la brader…
hahahahhahaaaa
High time flood insurance coverage is made compulsory.
The car is probably the second most expensive item apart from your house during your lifetime.
All banks mandate that your house under financing is covered by fire insurance.Better include landslip coverage due to landslides now.
Now,some workshops “may” jack up the repair costs for flooded vehicles,saying if you dont change “these parts”,it may not function optimally.They “chan for takeep”..rob you when there is a fire!!!
And by the way,most used car dealers will not accept flooded cars as trade in when you want to buy new cars.
should be covered since day 1, not as another add on. scam industry.
Not everybody is as rich as you, Malaysia has huge income inequality, and when you earn 900-1200RM a month saving 100-200 RM is a game changer, it allows you to feed chicken to your kids instead of white rice with sambal. So no, i don’t agree, it shouldn’t be forced, many don’t need it and shouldn’t pay for it.
no, i mean the insurance company should have included it as part of the insurance all the while. i wonder why do we have to pay so much for car insurance that covers almost nothing.
Then why not include coverage for earthquakes, volcanos, tornados, & impact from glaciers as well? Life is all about choices not compulsion.
Wow… good comparison! You left out asteroids though.
Dei wer gt volcano in malaysia la .
Why not cover Joe Mama from getting [email protected] tho
Kudos Paultan for consolidating. think many of us did not know how much was the addons.
When claiming under special perils, does it affect the NCD?
Its probably like windscreen. Since Its only add ons.
Claiming for Flood under Special Perils will NOT affect your NCD. Under Special Perils, you are covered for many natural disasters. Special Perils coverage amongst other coverage is a MUST.
Just claim your car is stolen instead of flood damage. Or you can throw the car into a river and claim insurance also. Maybe an arson related also can claim applicable to 3rd party fire theft coverage.
Suddenly the number of theft rose by 50%. And all came from flood affected areas.
Amphibious vehicles for peace of mind.
Hello Etiqa. Pls explain why for my car’s RM25K agreed value car, you charged me RM125 (at 0.5% rate) but only covered flood, hail and tempest, and not landslide, earthquake etc? I hope Bank Negara can look into unethical practice by some insurance companies. Special perils must be defined with anything with Act of God shall cover flood, landslide, hurricane, earthquake, lightning.
#BankNegara
Hello Etiqa. Pls explain why for my car’s RM25K agreed value car, you charged me RM125 (at 0.5% rate) but only covered flood, hail and tempest, and not landslide, earthquake etc? I hope Bank Negara can look into unethical practice by some insurance companies. Special perils must be defined with anything with Act of God shall cover flood, landslide, hurricane, earthquake, lightning.
#BankNegara
Can this coverage be added on post insurance renewal?
Great share Paul. We as consumers must educate yourself in these kind of things.
ask your agent. better get it online. Etiqa got basic flood and extended one.
Hello Etiqa. Pls explain why for my car’s RM25K agreed value car, you charged me RM125 (at 0.5% rate) but only covered flood, hail and tempest, and not landslide, earthquake etc? I hope Bank Negara can look into unethical practice by some insurance companies. Special perils must be defined with anything with Act of God shall cover flood, landslide, hurricane, earthquake, lightning.
#BankNegara