The flash floods that hit the Klang Valley on March 7 became another bitter experience for the city dwellers. After experiencing the devastating floods on December 18, the recent flash floods added to the grief and frustration of the victims who have to bear the loss and damage to their property, including their vehicles.
The Star reported that hundreds of vehicles are in workshops in the Klang Valley following the recent floods. Intan, a workshop operator in Selayang, said her workshop is reluctant to take in more vehicles. They still need to repair ten cars damaged by the floods last December.
“We received many calls from car owners affected by the floods on Monday, but we had to tell them there was no guarantee of how soon repairs could be completed.
“Spare parts are hard to come by now, especially for older vehicles,” she told The Star.
Meanwhile, a service centre in Kuala Lumpur told The Star that the waiting list for vehicles damaged by floods from last December alone amounts to almost 20 cars. Five more vehicles were brought in following the floods last Monday. They had to have the cars of recent customers towed back to their homes until they are ready to repair them.
The Star also interviewed a tow truck driver, Ibrahim Abdul Hamid, 43, who made seven trips last Tuesday to tow flood-affected vehicles.
“It was a very busy day. I started towing cars at 8.30 am and finished at midnight that day.
“It was tiring, but this is common after flash floods,” he said.
Vehicle owners expressed their sadness and frustration over their flood-affected vehicles
In a Berita Harian report on March 8, some vehicle owners expressed their sadness and frustration over their flood-affected vehicles.
One of the victims interviewed, Sivaneson, 59, said the flash flood was his most ‘beautiful’ birthday present. His car was stranded in the flood last Monday that coincidentally fell on his birthday.
“That was my first time parking my vehicle here because I had to complete a flooring project at a nearby clinic.
“When I was told there was a severe flood, I could only give up and come back to see my vehicle here today (March 8) and wait for a friend’s tow truck to tow the car to a workshop,” he told Berita Harian.
Affected vehicle owners expressed their relief to have taken a flood insurance
Meanwhile, some of the victims interviewed by Berita Harian expressed their relief as they managed to get flood insurance.
Jooey Ng, 23, who has only been working for two months at a nearby shopping mall, did not expect his car parked in the same parking lot every day to be hit by a severe flash flood.
“After the heavy rain subsided, I rushed down and was surprised to see that the place was full of water and saw that my car was half-submerged to the level of the side mirrors,” he told Berita Harian.
Despite the damage to his car, Jooey breathed a sigh of relief as his vehicle was covered by flood disaster insurance. He purchased the cover when renewing his road tax earlier this year.
Another victim, Muhammad Faizullah Ijaz Jasni, 32, also expressed his relief to have purchased natural disaster insurance.
“I never took natural disaster insurance in the previous years. This year, I decided to get coverage when renewing my road tax and vehicle insurance last month.
“Maybe, it is a silver lining of the incident. The cover can at least help reduce the cost of repairing my vehicle damaged by the flash flood,” he told Berita Harian.
Do you need special perils (natural disasters) cover?
You may be wondering: Is it necessary to get special perils (natural disasters) cover? Is car insurance, not enough?
To answer your question, you need to know the coverage provided by your car insurance. For your information, standard insurance, including comprehensive insurance, does not cover damage or loss due to natural disasters, including floods, hurricanes, landslips, landslides, and earthquakes. If your car sustains any damage due to any natural disaster, you will have to bear the damage yourself. You can check your car insurance policy to find out more about what your insurance covers and does not cover.
Since standard insurance does not cover damage or loss due to natural disasters, do you need to get special perils (natural disasters) covered?
Given the frequency of natural disasters such as floods in recent times, we recommend getting this additional cover. If you live in a flood-prone area, we advise you to get this cover immediately before it is too late. If a natural disaster damages your vehicle, you can at least make an insurance claim that can reduce your burden.
How much do you have to pay for special perils (natural disasters) cover?
For your information, the additional premium rate for special perils coverage varies across insurance companies. The usual premium rate is 0.5% of the sum insured for your car. Assume that the sum insured for your vehicle is RM30,000. The amount you need to add is 0.5% or RM150.
Get the best protection for your car
Hopefully, the above sharing can open our eyes to the importance of getting special perils cover.
With the cover, the insurers will bear the loss or damage to our vehicles due to natural disasters. You can easily renew your car insurance at Bjak and add special perils cover to your policy. Visit Bjak to get free car insurance quotes.
Bjak is one of Malaysia’s biggest insurance comparison websites, offering policies from over 10 brands. Get your free insurance quote from Bjak today!
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