Special Perils in Car Insurance

Special perils are the natural events a standard motor policy refuses to cover. Liberty's Product Disclosure Sheet lists the exclusion in one line: "losses arising from convulsions of nature i.e. flood, typhoon, storm, landslide etc". PIAM's Motor Insurance Types & Coverage in Malaysia guide lists the standard exclusion for 'convulsion of nature' (including flood, typhoon, hurricane, storm, tempest, volcanic eruption, earthquake, landslide, landslip, subsidence, or sinking of soil). Special Perils cover is the optional endorsement that deletes that exclusion, so these natural events become claimable.

The word "special" is doing specific work. In insurance language a "peril" is a cause of loss. The standard perils on a comprehensive policy are accident, fire and theft. The special perils are the ones nature causes. When your quote says "Inclusion of Special Perils", it means those natural causes are now inside the policy.

Covered events

• Flood - river flooding, flash floods, rising water in a basement or car park
• Storm and tempest - including wind damage and falling trees where the cause is the storm
• Typhoon and hurricane
• Landslide, landslip, subsidence and sinking of soil
• Earthquake and volcanic eruption
• Other "convulsions of nature" as worded in the partner's policy

What gets paid

• Repair of the vehicle at a panel workshop, up to the sum insured
• Total loss at market value if the car is beyond economic repair - common after deep water enters the engine or electronics
• Where the partner includes it: towing from the flood site and interior cleaning (see partner extras below)
• Your excess applies as on any own-damage claim

• Driving into flood water deliberately. Wordings exclude losses from negligence; an adjuster who finds you drove through a visibly flooded road may reduce or decline the claim. Stop, reverse, and let the water come to the car rather than the car to the water.
• Starting a flooded engine. Hydrolock damage caused by attempting to start the car after water ingress is treated as consequential and may be excluded. Do not turn the key.
• Water damage that is not a natural peril - a car wash, a leaking seal, a burst pipe in a car park.
• Strike, riot and civil commotion - a separate add-on (about 0.3% of sum insured at Zurich), often bought together with special perils but not the same thing.
• Your own injury and passenger liability - separate covers.

Zurich's Z-Driver PDS prices Inclusion of Special Perils at 0.2% of the vehicle sum insured, before service tax and stamp duty. Other partners price within a similar band. That makes it one of the cheapest add-ons relative to the loss it covers:

Rates and the exact wording differ by partner; the figure on your quote is the binding one. Some partners offer two versions - Takaful Ikhlas, for example, sells special perils as either full cover up to 100% of the sum covered or a cheaper limited version up to 25% - so check which one your quote carries.

Partners use slightly different labels for the same endorsement. On a quote or policy schedule, any of these means you have flood cover: Inclusion of Special Perils, Special Perils Extension, Flood / Special Perils, Natural Disaster Cover, Perils Khas, Perlindungan Bencana Alam.

If none of them appears on your schedule, you are not covered for flood - regardless of what the plan is called. Check the schedule, not the brochure. Every partner's Product Disclosure Sheet and policy wording is linked from its page on BJAK; the add-on appears under "additional coverage" or "optional benefits".

• Syarikat Takaful Malaysia - Towing and Cleaning due to Water Damage: reimburses towing from the flood site and interior cleaning after flood, flash flood or mudslide. One claim per certificate period.
• AIG Malaysia - free flood towing included in its comprehensive package, alongside battery delivery and doorstep windscreen repair.
• Zurich General Takaful - standard special perils at 0.2% of sum insured, plus a separate Special Perils for EV endorsement at the same rate for electric cars.

Which partners offer which add-on, side by side: Insurance & Takaful Partners.

Take it if

• You park at ground level near a river, monsoon drain or low-lying road
• You park in a basement or underground car park - flash floods fill them first
• You live or commute on the East Coast, in Johor, or anywhere with a recent flood history
• Your car is worth more than about RM20,000 - the premium is trivial against the loss

It matters less if

• The car sleeps in covered, elevated parking every night and you drive on high ground
• The car's value is very low and you would not repair flood damage anyway
• You are on third party or TPFT cover - the add-on is not available; you would need to move to comprehensive first

A flood claim usually resets your No Claim Discount at the next renewal, like any own-damage claim. On 55% NCD that can cost more than the repair. Two ways to protect it: Current-year NCD Relief (about 15% of your NCD amount at Zurich) lets you make one claim without losing the discount, or check with the partner whether the flood towing-and-cleaning benefit is claimable without touching NCD. Check your current discount on the NCD checker.

• Comprehensive car insurance - The base cover special perils attaches to
• NCD checker - What a flood claim costs your discount
• How do I claim for flood damage? - The short FAQ answer
• Windscreen insurance - The other most-claimed add-on
• Compare add-ons by insurer - Which partners offer what