Other than conventional car insurance, car owners in Malaysia also have the option to get motor takaful.
In order to help you better understand motor takaful, this article looks into the definition, features and providers of motor takaful in Malaysia and answers some of the questions that you may have regarding motor takaful.
Definition of takaful
Takaful is an insurance concept that complies with the Shariah law which is free from the prohibited elements in Islam. These elements are Riba’ (interest), Maysir (gambling) and Gharar (uncertainty).
Additionally, takaful promotes the concept of cooperation among the participants including the takaful provider to guarantee one another in case of loss. In particular, participants pay contributions voluntarily to a shared Takaful fund and agree to share all risks and surpluses mutually.
In Malaysia, takaful has been established as an alternative for Malaysians especially Muslims, mainly to avoid the elements prohibited in Islam.
What is the function of motor takaful?
Generally, conventional car insurance and motor takaful share the same objective of protecting policyholders and/or the third party in the event of an accident, damage to cars and properties, fire and theft, as stipulated in the policy selected.
Like conventional car insurance, motor takaful protects car owners from having to bear a high cost for any loss or damage as a result of any of the events mentioned.
Features of takaful
There are three main features of takaful which are risk-sharing, no claim bonus and Shariah-compliant as explained below:
- Risk-sharing. Participants under the Takaful scheme share all risks mutually.
- No claim bonus. This is one of the specialties that participants get to enjoy under Takaful coverage. If you do not make any claims within your policy period, you are eligible to receive cashback rewards. For your information, cashback amount varies across takaful companies as it is not fixed.
- Shariah-compliant. Takaful plans must adhere to the Shariah law. Therefore, takaful products are free from the prohibited elements in Islam such as interest, gambling and uncertainty.
Differences between takaful and conventional insurance
As mentioned, conventional insurance and takaful share the same objective of protecting policyholders and/or the third party in the event of an accident, damage to cars and properties, fire and theft, subject to the policy selected.
However, the key difference between takaful and conventional insurance is that takaful is free from the elements that are against Islam including Riba’ (interest), Maysir (gambling) and Gharar (uncertainty).
For your reference, below are the differences between takaful and conventional insurance:
Types of motor takaful
Like conventional car insurance, there are also three types of motor takaful which are comprehensive, third party, fire and theft and third party.
Comprehensive
Comprehensive motor takaful offers the most comprehensive coverage. It gives protection to policyholders from any loss or damage of their property and third party’s claims, which include the loss or damage to the third party’s property, injury, or death caused by you.
This policy is usually mandatory for new cars aged 10 years and below.
Third party, fire and theft
Third party, fire and theft motor takaful protects policyholders from third party’s claims that include loss or damage to the third party’s property, injury, or death caused by you.
Besides, this policy offers additional coverage that will protect your vehicle in the event of fire and theft.
This policy is more suitable for old (10 years and above) and rarely-used vehicles.
Third party
Third party motor takaful is the most basic policy as it only gives coverage to the third party. It includes damage or loss to the third party’s property and life as a result of a car accident caused by you.
Hence, say that your car is damaged by an accident where you are at fault, you will need to bear the repair cost of your car.
For your ease of reference, below is a summary of the differences between the three types of car policies:
Can non-Muslims purchase motor takaful?
Yes. Even though motor takaful provides coverage that complies with the Shariah law, it does not mean that it is only offered to Muslims. In fact, anyone including non-Muslims can purchase motor takaful.
Can Muslims purchase conventional car insurance?
As stated, conventional insurance may have the elements prohibited in Islam which are Riba’ (interest), Maysir (gambling) and Gharar (uncertainty).
For Muslims, it is obligatory for them to seek what is halal and complies with the teaching of Islam.
Therefore, in line with the decision by Muzakarah Jawatankuasa Fatwa Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Ugama Islam Malaysia (MJFK), purchasing conventional insurance products including general and life insurance is not in compliance with the religion of Islam, primarily because they contain the three prohibited elements that we have mentioned earlier.
The best motor takaful in Malaysia
According to the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), there are four motor takaful operators in Malaysia which are Etiqa Takaful, Takaful Malaysia, Takaful Ikhlas and Zurich Takaful.
Etiqa Takaful
Etiqa Takaful offers attractive benefits including:
Free all drivers coverage. Etiqa Takaful offers free all drivers coverage. Therefore, you do not need to put in any named drivers. All your authorised drivers are automatically covered for free.
Agreed value, not market value. Compensation for a claim is according to the agreed value. This means that you will get the full amount insured in the event of car theft or total loss.
No excess. Certain insurers will require you to pay an excess for each and every claim. However, for drivers above 21 years old, Etiqa Takaful does not charge any excess.
Free courtesy car after an accident claim. Etiqa Takaful lets you use a free courtesy car for 14 days. This benefit is rarely offered by other car insurance or motor takaful providers. This will be useful especially if you heavily rely on only one car for your daily transport.
Further information:
Product Disclosure Sheet (Etiqa Takaful: Comprehensive cover for private cars)
Certificate Wording (Etiqa Takaful: Comprehensive cover for private cars)
Takaful Malaysia
Takaful myMotor under Takaful Malaysia offers two types of coverages which are comprehensive coverage and third party, fire, and theft coverage.
Comprehensive coverage. Policyholders will receive compensation for their own car losses or damages caused by an accident, theft or accidental fire. This policy will also protect the third party from injuries, deaths, losses and property damage.
Third party, fire and theft coverage. Compensation is provided to the third party in the event of death, injury, damage or loss to the third party’s vehicle. Meanwhile, the policyholders will only receive coverage for losses and damages caused by fire, explosion, lightning, robbery, burglary or theft.
Like Etiqa Takaful, Takaful Malaysia also provides free all drivers coverage.
More interestingly, Takaful Malaysia also offers personal accident coverage for free. Its comprehensive plan comes with a complimentary personal accident coverage of RM15,000 for each driver and passenger in the event of accidental death or permanent disability.
In addition, Takaful Malaysia policyholders are eligible to get cashback on the condition that their total claim amount is below 7.5%.
Further information:
Product Disclosure Sheet (Takaful Malaysia: Comprehensive cover for private cars)
Certificate Wording (Takaful Malaysia: Comprehensive cover for private cars)
Takaful Ikhlas
Takaful Ikhlas also offers comprehensive coverage for car damages and losses due to car accidents, theft or fire. This policy also covers liability against the third party for injuries, deaths and property damages or losses.
Some of the key benefits offered by Takaful Ikhlas are free additional named drivers up to 10 drivers and personal accident coverage of up to RM10,000 for the policyholders. Further, Takaful Ikhlas waives the compulsory excess for unnamed drivers and offers transportation fee reimbursement of up to RM100 for your use of public transport when your car is repaired in a panel workshop.
Further information:
Product Disclosure Sheet (Takaful Ikhlas: Comprehensive cover for private cars)
Certificate Wording (Takaful Ikhlas: Comprehensive cover for private cars)
Zurich Takaful
Zurich Takaful also provides coverage against the third party for injuries, deaths, damage to the third party’s property as well as damage to the policyholders’ vehicles due to car accidents, theft or fire.
Through its product, Z-Driver Takaful, Takaful Ikhlas also offers a range of benefits including personal accident coverage of up to RM175,000 for as low as RM15 a year. Unlike Takaful Malaysia and Takaful Ikhlas that offer free personal accident coverage, Zurich Takaful charges a nominal fee for personal accident coverage that is as low as RM15 a year for a coverage of up to RM175,000, subject to terms and conditions. This additional coverage protects you as the participant and other passengers.
Furthermore, Zurich Takaful also lets you extend your coverage to an unlimited number of additional named drivers, free of charge. Another interesting feature of Zurich Takaful’s comprehensive plan is its waiver of betterment cost coverage. In the event of an accident, you can replace damaged parts of your car with new and original parts, at no extra cost.
Further information:
Product Disclosure Sheet (Zurich Takaful: Comprehensive cover for private cars)
Certificate Wording (Zurich Takaful: Comprehensive cover for private cars)
Should you get conventional car insurance or motor takaful?
Based on what we have shared, conventional car insurance and motor takaful share the same purpose of providing coverage to policyholders. Both also offer coverage for policyholders’ vehicles in the event of accidents, fire and theft. However, for Muslims, it is obligatory for them to purchase motor takaful as it is free from the forbidden elements in Islam.
Compare motor takaful at Bjak
We hope that our sharing above can help you distinguish and choose between conventional car insurance and motor takaful.
As we have mentioned, anyone – regardless of their religion – can purchase motor takaful without any worry. However, ensure that you understand the principle that applies as well as coverages offered by each motor takaful.
You can compare all of the motor takaful providers as listed above through one of Malaysia’s biggest insurance comparison sites, Bjak. Visit Bjak.my and get your free motor takaful quotes today.
