It is a litany we have heard many times. “This motorcycle just hit my car/bumper/wing mirror and shot off. I got everything on the dash cam, shall I make a report?”
“Aiya, no point one, report also useless, police won’t take action,” is the usual reply. A point of fact is, in the congested traffic conditions of Malaysia, unfortunate encounters between cars and motorcycles will take place, leaving aside the issue of careless, inattentive and less than responsible drivers and riders.
The issue of insurance claims against motorcycle riders in Malaysia seems to follow a specific trend, to wit, it is next to impossible to claim against a motorcyclist’s insurance. In some cases, after the report is made, the insurance company is less than enthusiastic about pursuing a claim.
This leaves the driver with a busted car and looking at the loss of the No Claims Discount (NCD). Considering the parts replacement cost of many components in modern cars – have you priced a wing mirror for a new Proton lately? – most drivers don’t have the wherewithal to effect repairs out of pocket.
But why is this so? In researching this topic, we approached those in the insurance industry and certain workshops specialising in insurance claims, both two- and four-wheel, as well as speaking to our police Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) contact.
“The fact of the matter is, police only assign the cause and responsibility, plus damage, in event of an accident. We do not determine who files an insurance claim against the other party, nor do we determine the compensation involved. That is a matter for the insurance company and the courts,” said our JSPT contact.
“Of course, when there is injury or death, things immediately become more serious and the investigative work more involved,” he added. “As for why insurance companies don’t pursue claims against motorcyclists, that is something you will have to ask them,” he said.
Approaching a contact in the insurance industry who insisted on speaking on condition of anonymity, he said, “bro, it’s not that we don’t want to claim, the process is almost impossible.” Citing several cases he dealt with, paultan.org was informed it was quite normal for the insurance company to find out the person or address cannot be traced for the claim to be served.
“Additionally, there is the issue of riders without licence or road tax, which immediately makes the rider’s policy null and void, or not even having insurance in the first place,” said our insurance contact. Asked what a claimant can do in such an instance, he said there is the option of filing a civil suit but reminded us the wheels of justice are slow to turn.
“Of course, you can file a claim but that means you have to spend money retaining a lawyer, then time for court appearances and such,” he explained. “Then you start having the issue of tracking the person down, etc., appearing before court and so on before obtaining judgement, then you still have the issue of getting your money back,” he added.
“Bro, you know the first rule of legal cases, right? Don’t sue poor people,” he continues with a laugh. He added that in most cases, the insurance company will advise the claimant to claim against the policy, though with the penalty of losing the NCD.
Furthermore, another anonymous source in the insurance industry said police and the courts tend to look favourably upon motorcyclists in accident cases, considered to be coming from a disadvantaged segment of society. We cannot confirm this and think it best left at the level of anecdote but based on previous experience, we can say there might possibly be something in it.
At the end of it, it appears the best way out of the situation involving a car and motorcycle, assuming the rider is at fault, is to take the path of least resistance, that of claiming against your own insurance.
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Thanks author for covering this, it’s insightful to get the thought of someone from inside the industry.
IMHO, this just seems like such a BS thing. Insurance exists for a reason and things have to go by the book, not these unspoken “rules” or vague expectations.
Better wrap both your side-mirror
Rempits, Grab riders suka tendang
Then I hope those errant 2 wheelers crash and burn. Make my ncd worthwhile
Ya, semoga diperludahkan urusan mereka.
Very very unfair for the drivers. So the best conclusion is to abolish motorcycles in Malaysia and improve public transport, buy more EV buses and make more bus routes. No money to buy car then you should stick to public transport only. No motor on road equals to peace of mind for the drivers.
Totally agreed! My car’s rear lamp and bumper was smashed by a mat rempit many years ago while I was still a freshman at work. I had no choice but to claim my own insurance and lost my NCD. I went through the hassle of fright, police report, took public transport to work for more than one month, all because of this country stupid law to protect some stupid people?
Are u crazy, if bikes are ban just imagine how bad the traffic jam will be if all those riding bikes have to drive a car instead.
To put it in perspective for your stupid mind…..just imagine 20 bikes on the road how does the road look like ….and now then replace it with 20 cars…now how does the road look like you idiot!?
Think again be4 u talk….I’m always thankful for those who rides instead of drive to work
motorcyclists as always making everything worse for everyone
always going against the traffic while also expecting everyone to expect them
haha… motor is king… motor can zoom in out any lanes, motor can exit junction without stop, motor can pack anywhere.. apa you boleh buat?
only post story from the user? i thought paultan can have suggestion how to do it.
Genuine reason is Malaysia everything is possible, it’s utter non sense that motor have insurance but can’t claim insurance (only in Malaysia Maa) we never ever become civilized and not learn purposely from our johor neighbour, we c daily how grab n so on so forth driving on the road, one hand watching n WhatsApp reply other hand he hold handle (what u expect then)
Well as we already knew about Abang police telling us about the motorbike special status previously:
Abang, yes, I know, we see this and it is against the law, but how strict should we be? If we do 100% enforcement the public will say police are heartless and without compassion, if we let it go then people will say we are not doing our jobs.”
When the helmetless rider crash into your car..even tho he salah..u have to lose your NCD,send that dude to hospital,pay for his medical etc.
Thats why they behave as KING OF THE ROAD,they weave in and out of traffic,bang your boot if you obstruct them from using the fast lane,horn you like crazy,beat red traffic lights.
These are moronic riders with no remorse.
““bro, it’s not that we don’t want to claim, the process is almost impossible.” Citing several cases he dealt with, paultan.org was informed it was quite normal for the insurance company to find out the person or address cannot be traced for the claim to be served.”
Completely bulls**ting us. When someone bro you, you can forget he is being honest with you. What does he mean it is almost impossible. Almost impossible means 99.9% all motorcyclist out there are not properly insured. They don’t want to pay our cause motorbike insurance is too little for them to pay out a claim.
All compliance motorcyclist minimum cover 3rd party insurance claim, at all cost.
So it depends on the decision of police report.
If car at no fault by police report, insurance why need to let him to claim?
Which also means enforcement is totally zero, if not why are we having so many motorcyclist without license, insurance etc? The same analogy to bus and lorry drivers, once accident then only found the driver has multiple summons, drug addict, criminal record, etc.
Before the issue of whether or not a car driver can claim from a motorcycle insurance, the big issue here is whether or not a car driver can prove whose fault it is when there is an accident. Most of the cases, police will put the blame to the car drivers, which is so becoming a common understanding among us Malaysians.
The law favors motorcyclist & the lack on enforcement/punishment on them is mainly because majority of them belong to a certain group and this group is a major voting group to the political parties.
This then breeds the mentality ‘I’m better than all of you & you all should give way to me’.
Fix the loophole and stop lawlessness culture motorcyclist rides with no valid insurance no license no sense of responsibilty.
All I hear is insurance stops working the moment it’s time for them to get to work.
And thus they are more encouraged not ride safely.
Lack of enforcement is probably the underlying cause of this. Look at those m-cycles. Without road tax and/or insurance coverage. As the article mentioned, w/o road tax/insurance it makes almost impossible to claim. Waste of time and money. Unless the case if serious, there’s pretty much nothing can be done. Or at least, until the case goes viral. Then perhaps.
There is also a racial/religious dimension to why the government does not penalize/claim motorcyclist insurance. FYI. In fact, most government policies and practices align with this view.
Everything in last paragraph
Nothing has changed
What the?
why car driver should bear the cost of the mistake not make by them?
ah, the joy of riding a motorcycle knowing that you don’t have to compensate anyone.
Small accident ok but if major accident then you will compensate with your life
Basically it is inevitable, resistance is futile, you cannot change the law of the naturally poor.
Buy a truck and make sure they go under.
Poor is not an excuse usable in court judgement to clear illegitimate action
Logic goes.
Poor people are poor bcoz rich people keep them poor.
Poor people usually use bikes while rich people use cars.
So Polis & Judge must seek justice for poor people.
Dredd agrees.
Oh yeah, go take the bugger to court and sue! After five years and finally winning your case, you get awarded RM3k for the damage and repair to your car – after spending RM20k in legal costs and lost productivity (for the time you wasted pursuing the case).
Moral of the story? Stick to the first rule of legal cases – don’t sue poor people.
U r right
Illegitimate action? Like forcing population to get injected with toxic protein, in order to save the pharmaceutical industry market? Check the statistics, the raise of road accidents are not coming from motorcycle but an overall decrease of cognitive function of the treated population. Lost of memory, lost of reflex, headache, strokes, cancer and sudden death.
Riding mistakes on 2 wheels don’t generate the same consequences than on 4 wheels. Motorcyclists are much more aware of risks than female drivers or youngsters that just pass their license and watching instagram while driving.
Most motorcyclists are conscious of that, therefore their skills have to be much more higher than car drivers. But today? When 90% of the population has been injected with “experimental” genetically modified treatment that have been recognised as poison, causes of accident are emerging from both side. Sudden death and strokes on-road are most of the time causing collateral victims.
Malaysians mentality plus mass injections has created an overall toxic/hazardous environment, not only on roads but every where else.
The question is :
– Which inssurance gonna pay for all the disastrous side effects or deaths caused by the World Health Organisation international lobbying club decisions?
No shit Sherlock!
anyways, thank you for bringing this up.
many people muslim is young unlicensed in motorcycle because age 12-16 old year,poor police malaysia
Go to New villages and can see young chinese doing the same. Go to estates, can see young indians doing the same. Whats with this racist profiling, breaking the law does not matter the colour of skin.
pure racist statement. be more civilized please
This is why motorcyclists continue flouting traffic rules constantly and endanger the lives of everyone else. Somehow motorcyclists are the VVVVVIP protected class in Malaysia with zero responsibility and zero accountability, and they can do whatever they please without consequence. If the law is fair, just as how motorcyclists don’t need to be responsible for any accident and damage that they cause, likewise no car driver should be guilty or responsible if they hit a motorcyclist. Unfortunately our country elevates the bottom-feeders and leeches, and motorcyclists are always in the right, even if they ride against traffic and hit a car and the rider is injured or dead, it’s the car driver at fault. Therefore, we should not have any sympathy for motorcyclists who are dead or injured in accidents and should celebrate the ever-rising year-on-year motorcyclist road fatality figures. That’s a natural consequence of our stupid Malaysian laws. We should just say padan muka and walk on.
So certain cases n rider. I agreed with u
Right or wrong of the small percentage of a group, I think we shouldn’t lose our humanity by actively rooting for more deaths and injuries. I don’t think any person deserves to be hurt purposely. Educating these errands riders and promoting awareness is a better path for all involved.
Donkeykong is obviously a car driver. As a motorcyclist and car driver, I encounter bad behaviour on the road mainly from cars drivers, not motorcycle (except those very old people who are shacking on their small bike, with half helmet not even attached correctly on their head)
I swear that 90% of hazardous behaviour comes from car drivers, especially women…
When a car get a slight contact with a motorcycle, car gets scratches only, when motorcycle get slightly hit by cars, fatal or serious accidents appear.
More than 20 years driving and riding in Malaysia, I had close to no issues with motorcyclists. Period.
BTW, simply look at the amount of P drivers with their P stickers on the right side of their cars (left side corner up is the mandatory position) if they can’t even follow such a simple rule, imagine how much they DON’T GIVE A SHIT about elementary courtesy rules with others. The same pussies that pee in their pants when they are asked to get out of their little cars when explanations have to be given face to face.
You guys are liars, filthy hypocrites who have no consideration for other drivers.
How many time I see cars purposely sticking on the extreme left of the road, purposely blocking the way to motorcyclists! You Malaysian drivers suck! Always complaining about police, racism bla-bla-bla BUT ARE unable to look at yourself!
Ultra individualist selfish and greedy idiots that pretend to be humble in front of TV or news paper but behave like shit as soon as you enter your little car.
You Fuckin Donkey like to see motorcyclists accidents? You like that? Well, I’ll enjoy to see how the injection will make you suddenly kiss death… You, alone, suddenly lousing control because of a stroke.
The lack of side video recorders is the car’s main disadvantage. Half the time, despite what other party claims (for example, if another car kiss my backside but claims I suddenly braked), the moment you show traffic police sargeant your front and rear cam recordings, keputusan in your favour already. For motorcycle related accidents majority of cases where they rund into you is on the sides, where no recordings are made.
Very true. Many years back, hit by a bike from behind while stopped at red light. LUCKY for me, the biker fall down, front wheel bent so he isn’t going anywhere. DOUBLE LUCKY is the bike is brand new so the road tax, insurance and driver license is all valid. The only hassle is car dealer don’t do knock-for-knock claim on motorbike so had to pay first and claim at motorbike’s insurer myself later.
Few years later, did a insurance check on at same motorbike plate just for fun. Lo and behold, it only have 1 record, only insured for 1st year to obtain bank loan, that’s all.
This morning saw a motorbike honking a vehicle for changing lane at jam packed Jalan Kuching and that vehicle is an AMBULANCE with SIREN ON that I just gave way to. This solidify my view that whenever I saw any accident involving motorbike with cars on busy congested road, my pity goes to the CAR for being unlucky, not much for the motorbike.
accident with motorcycle just after paying toll at toll lane also being summons by police.. haish
lawyers and insurance etc the whole system is messed up. honestly sometimes I do wonder what is the purpose of motor insurance.
Think about the most likely or highest demographic of a motorcyclist. They are the most number of people that can be likely paid to sway their votes. Why do you think the government wanted to build race tracks for them? Or give them the highest subsidy and quota, the lowest penalties, etc..
I strongly suggest we all bring it to court to solve such accidents until one realized there is no such rules of getting away.
What if police came out with accident report results which clearly indicates the motorcycle at fault and issued a summon for the motorcyclist. In this case, even if we claim 1st party (own insurance) the insurance company shall not void the NCD as it’s not own damage. Has anyone went through this process successfully?
That is why in Malaysia bike riders are considered the most entitled, most stubborn group of road users because they seem untouchable whenever they commit offences. Going against traffic flow, running red lights, not stopping at a junction, making illegal u-turns, ride on pedestrian path, criss-crossing dangerously during traffic congestion and many more. Breaking traffic laws seems to be their traits. Even the pedestrians are less important than them. What a bummer.
How convenient for your JSPT contact to pass the hat with his/her comment. Try walking to any police station to make a report on motorcycle accident and you will be persuaded to not make a report at all.
Did you know that if a motorcycle with no insurance and no road tax hits you, and they are in the wrong, but they sustained injury, they can still claim from YOUR insurance.
Which part of the population ride 2 wheel the most?
You look at their pattern, do u think they have valid roadtax or insurance? Heck, chances are they wont have driving license too.
So its better to ram those 2 wheelers when they hit u instead of claiming insurance. Better revenge.
So today we understand why biker’s can ride any way they want.
They cannot be contacted in case accident happen.
But seriously injured or mati, they can be contacted. Bullshit
It’s about time the govt start towing the line on enforcement on motorcycles at traffic lights….itni getting out of hand….now against traffic is also OK for them…..
I am quite sure this article is a very good example of poor journalism. No proper research done.
If the motorist is at fault, with proper report and investigation result and provided the motorist have insurance , you still make a claim.
Just go to any bengkel with 3rd party insurance claim service, they can do for you. Just that claim amount might be lower and thus you can’t do it at your preferred service centre.
Too many wise men with too many ideas.
I guess the writer didn’t get he right person to ask for information.
Yes it’s a long story and tedious to write down all the details.
First of all, there’s the legal system that affects how Insurance operates.
Secondly, there’s the matter of how the people operates which affects how Insurance responds.
Thirdly, there’s a matter of how enforcers operates which affects how the people carry on their lifes.
I think this article can be very useful and beneficial to readers especially car owners.
However, this is not covered in depth.
If the writer is willing to write in depth on this topic.
Email me… buy me a pack of nasi lemak and a couple of teh ice cause I will get thirsty.
I guess next timne when you have an accident with a bike, go make a report and don’t bother to pay anything to the biker even if you are at fault.