Every driver will be exposed to various risks on the road, and road crashes are no exception. You may have a stroke of unfortunate luck and hit another vehicle while driving. In this case, you are the party at fault. Therefore, what should you do in such a situation? Can you claim insurance? How do you claim insurance to repair your car damage?
Read on as we elaborate more on this matter.
Are you eligible to claim insurance if you are the party at fault?
As a car owner, you need to know the type of policy that you purchase every year.
There are three policy types available, each of them provides different coverage.
If you are the party at fault and want to repair your damaged vehicle, you are eligible to claim the insurance on the condition:
- Your insurance policy is still active
- You own comprehensive insurance coverage
You can claim damage to your vehicle as a result of an accident caused by yourself. However, it is only applicable if you own comprehensive coverage.
Without comprehensive coverage, you cannot claim insurance and the damage will be borne by you.
What type of claim is allowed?
In this case, you can make an insurance claim under the Own Damage Claim on your behalf.
However, this claim is only applicable if you own a comprehensive insurance policy. Please note that you will lose your NCD as the rate will go back to 0% during your next insurance renewal.
Steps to claim insurance under Own-Damage claim?
The followings are the steps to claim insurance for vehicle damage:
- Do an immediate evaluation of your vehicle damage. Call your insurance company if your car suffers severe damage and requires towing service.
- Take a photo of your vehicle, including the other involved vehicle.
- Get the details of the other party involved – phone number, full name, and MyKad number.
- Immediately bring your car to the police station and lodge a report within 24 hours.
- Bring your car to panel workshops to enable insurance claim for your car damage.
- Provide and submit the document to facilitate the claim process such as a copy of police insurance, MyKad, insurance policy and driving licence.
- Upon completion, the workshop will take over your insurance claim process for car repair.
What about the involved party that got hit by you? To whom can they claim insurance?
What about the party (third-party) that you hit? To whom should the claim be made?
All three types of policy insurance provide coverage to the third party (the involved party that was hit). Regardless of whether you have comprehensive coverage or third-party coverage, the involved party may claim under your policy.
The involved party does not have to claim under their insurance because they are not the party at fault.
Following the claim made by the involved party under your policy, your NCD rate will return to 0%.
What other situations enable you to claim under Own-Damage claim?
The followings are among the situations that allow you to claim for Own-Damage claim.
- Your car suffers damage after hitting a traffic pole. You may claim, however you will lose your NCD.
- Your car runs over an animal while driving. You may claim, however you will lose your NCD.
- Your car windscreen damages. You may claim although you do not have additional windscreen coverage. However, you will lose your NCD.
- Your car windscreen damages. You may claim without affecting your NCD, on a condition that you purchase additional windscreen coverage.
*Note: You are only allowed to claim for Own-Damage if you have comprehensive insurance policy
Get sufficient coverage
Comprehensive insurance coverage will help to allow you to claim in the event of any untoward incident. Therefore, you must get the best insurance coverage to be better covered.
You also need to understand the steps to claim insurance to ensure a smooth claim process as several reasons or factors can cause your claim to be rejected. Therefore, make sure you understand your insurance policy for your insurance policy.
Do not forget to renew your insurance immediately if your insurance is about to expire soon. You may renew it online using Bjak and get the best comprehensive insurance plan. Get free quotations and have your insurance activated in just 5 minutes!
Bjak is one of Malaysia’s biggest insurance comparison websites, offering policies from over 10 brands. Get your free insurance quote from Bjak today!
Read more:
