Motorists getting peace of mind with flood coverage for their rides

PETALING JAYA: With the floods dominating recent headlines, Malaysians are taking it upon themselves to ensure their financial security by getting special perils insurance coverage for their valuables.

An electrical engineer, who wanted to be known only as Nixie, said he renewed his car’s special perils insurance every year from 2022 after he saw first-hand how bad floods could get during the 2021-2022 floods.

“I had thought of cancelling it when I went to renew it earlier this month, but the recent terrible flood news like what happened in Puchong has made me rethink my decision entirely,” he said.

The 26-year-old, who lives in Semenyih, Selangor, said the rest of his family had also decided to get the special perils insurance for their cars after the recent news of floods.

Living in Petaling Jaya, a 28-year-old media content writer who wanted to be known only as Jarod said he got the special perils insurance coverage immediately for his new sport utility vehicle (SUV) the moment he bought it earlier this year.

“I signed up for it as my work requires me to travel a lot regardless of weather or location, including to areas which may be disaster or flood-prone.”

He added that his special perils insurance coverage add-on cost him an extra RM150 per year, and that he had also gotten windshield insurance coverage for an additional fee.

Meanwhile, a Subang Jaya resident who wanted to be known only as Jin said he had bought special perils insurance for his car recently after the flash floods in nearby Puchong.

“Just a few weeks ago, I saw that a shopping mall in Puchong that I frequented had flooded really badly, with many cars being destroyed despite it never having happened before.

“While I was lucky to not have gone there that day, the incident proves that we just never know what is going to happen, which is why it is better to be safe than sorry,” Jin, 28, said.

Copywriter Astrid Lye, 40, said she has continued to renew her car’s special perils coverage since 2015 after she was transferred to the Klang Valley.

“Throughout my years in the Klang Valley, there have been times when I had to pass through flooded areas. My car has yet to be badly affected but it is still better to take precautions,” she said, adding that the coverage currently costs her RM250 annually.

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) had a similar view, with its chief executive officer Saravanan Thambirajah saying that special perils insurance was becoming increasingly more important as more extreme climate events were predicted to occur.

“With climate change making weather events more unpredictable and stronger, special perils insurance is basically a necessity now as we have seen areas that have never flooded before suddenly become flooded.

“However, the price for special perils insurance can be up to RM1,000 a year depending on the vehicle characteristics, which could be too much for low-income groups to afford.

“The government needs to step in to try to make it more affordable for those in the B40 group, especially as they are the ones at most risk of losing everything when an extreme weather event occurs,” he noted. — BENJAMIN LEE