How to Make a Car Insurance Claim in Malaysia
Most claims are weakened in the first day, not at the assessment. Two deadlines do the damage. The police report has to be lodged within 24 hours, and notice to your insurer is due within seven days, or thirty if you were hospitalised or physically disabled by the accident. Miss either and you hand the insurer a reason to reduce or decline the claim before an adjuster has even looked at the car. Everything else, the workshop, the excess, the payout, follows from getting those first hours right.
Key facts at a glance
| Police report | Notify insurer | Own damage claim needs | Effect on NCD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within 24 hours | Within 7 days, or 30 if hospitalised. Check your wording | Comprehensive cover | Resets to 0% on an at-fault claim. Unaffected on a not-at-fault OD-KFK claim, or a glass-only claim under the windscreen add-on |
The first hour after an accident
Move the car out of the traffic lane if it is drivable and safe to do so. Then photograph everything before anything is moved: both vehicles, both number plates, the damage from several angles, the position of the cars on the road, and any skid marks or debris. Those photos decide disputes about fault months later, and nobody has ever regretted taking too many.
Take the other driver's name, IC number, phone number, vehicle registration and insurer. If anyone is injured, if the other party refuses to cooperate, or if the vehicle cannot be identified, treat it as a police matter on the spot rather than paperwork to sort out later.
If the car has been in floodwater, do not start the engine. Hydrolock damage caused by trying to start a waterlogged car is treated as consequential damage and is commonly excluded, which turns a repairable car into an argument you will probably lose. Call for a tow instead. What flood cover actually pays for is set out in the special perils guide.
Own damage or third party: two different routes
This choice shapes the whole claim, and the consequences differ.
| Own damage claim | Third party claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you claim from | Your own insurer | The at-fault driver's insurer |
| Cover needed | Comprehensive only | Any, including third party only |
| Your NCD | Resets to 0% if you were at fault. Unaffected if you were not and claim under OD-KFK | Unaffected |
| Excess payable | Yes | No |
| Typical speed | Faster, your insurer controls it | Slower, their insurer controls the pace |
| Best when | Almost always, if you hold comprehensive cover. You were at fault, fault is unclear, or you were not at fault and can claim under OD-KFK | The other driver was clearly at fault and OD-KFK is unavailable - an unidentified or uninsured vehicle, a foreign-registered one, a taxi or bus, or where injury is involved |
If you were not at fault and hold comprehensive cover, ask your insurer for an Own Damage Knock-for-Knock (OD-KFK) claim. You claim from your own insurer, so repairs start sooner and you pay nothing upfront, and your NCD is not affected. Your insurer recovers from the other insurer afterwards. Bank Negara requires insurers to offer you this option when you notify an accident, and to tell you your NCD is safe - so if nobody mentions it, ask.
It is not available in every case. The other vehicle has to be identifiable and insured with a Malaysian licensed insurer, it cannot be a hire-or-reward vehicle such as a taxi or bus, it cannot be foreign-registered, and there must be no death or injury claim involved. Where OD-KFK is unavailable and the other driver was at fault, the third party route is what's left - slower, and you may pay repairer and adjuster fees upfront and claim them back.
Ask which route is being used before you agree to anything.
What gets deducted from the payout
- Excess. Your voluntary excess, plus a compulsory excess of RM400 if the driver was under 21, held a P or L licence, or was not named on the policy. The RM400 is not deducted on claims for fire, explosion, lightning, burglary, housebreaking, theft, third party property damage or bodily injury. All drivers cover removes the unnamed driver trigger only. A separate waiver of compulsory excess, which some insurers sell and others do not, can also remove the under-21 and P or L licence triggers - so if a young driver is the issue, all drivers cover on its own will not solve it.
- Betterment. On a car five years or older, you pay a share of the cost of new original parts, on the logic that new parts improve an old car. The scale is 15% at five years, then 20%, 25%, 30% and 35%, reaching 40% at ten years and above, measured from original registration for locally assembled cars and from year of manufacture for imported used or reconditioned ones. Insurers apply this scale, they do not set it - but not all of them sell a waiver, so check your schedule.
- NCD. An at-fault own damage claim returns your discount to 0% at the next renewal. A not-at-fault claim under OD-KFK does not, and neither does a glass-only claim under the windscreen add-on. The ladder climbs 25%, 30%, 38.33%, 45%, then 55% after five consecutive claim-free years, and the rates are the same at every licensed insurer. Check where you currently sit with the NCD checker.
On a market value policy, a total loss is settled at market value or the sum insured, whichever is lower - so the figure on your schedule is the ceiling on any payout. On an agreed value policy, the total loss is settled at the agreed figure regardless of market value, which is the whole point of paying for it. Either way, under-insuring cuts more than the total loss figure: if your sum insured sits below the market value, the insurer can reduce a partial claim proportionally too. Which is why the number deserves attention at renewal rather than at claim time.
Panel workshop or your own
A panel workshop is one the insurer has an arrangement with. Repairs there are usually cashless up to the approved amount, the insurer deals with the workshop directly, and there is often a workmanship warranty attached. A non-panel workshop generally means paying first and claiming reimbursement, with the insurer still controlling what it considers reasonable.
For most claims the panel route is less work and less risk. The exception worth thinking about is a specialist or continental vehicle where the panel network may not have the right expertise. Ask which panel workshops near you handle your make before you commit.
Step by step
- Lodge a police report within 24 hours. State the location, time and what happened, factually. This is a legal requirement under section 52(2) of the Road Transport Act 1987 where anyone was injured or another person's property was damaged, not just a claims formality - the penalty reaches a RM2,000 fine or six months' imprisonment.
- Notify your insurer. Use the claims line on your e-policy. Give the policy number, police report number and the photographs.
- Get the car to a workshop. Let your insurer arrange or approve the tow. Do not accept an unsolicited tow from someone who turns up at the scene - an unauthorised tow and an unapproved workshop are two of the most common reasons a claim gets reduced, and the towing charge itself may not be covered.
- The adjuster inspects and assesses. Repairs start once the assessment is approved. Do not begin any repair before this.
- Pay your excess on collection and check the repair before you drive away.
- Watch your NCD at the next renewal so the claim has been recorded correctly.
If the claim is declined
Ask for the reason in writing, and ask which clause of the policy it rests on. Making the insurer point to the wording resolves a surprising number of disputes on its own.
If you still disagree, go to the insurer's internal complaints unit first. Your insurer is required to tell you about the ombudsman route when it conveys a final decision or declines a claim, so check the letter - it should already name it. If the internal review does not settle it, take the case to the Financial Markets Ombudsman Service (FMOS), which handles motor insurance disputes at no cost to consumers, covers disputes up to RM250,000, and must be filed within six months of the insurer's final decision. An FMOS decision binds the insurer once you accept it, and you keep your right to go to court if you do not.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to lodge a police report?
24 hours. This is the deadline most commonly missed and it is the hardest to argue around afterwards.
Will my NCD drop if the accident was not my fault?
No, provided you claim the right way. If you hold comprehensive cover, ask your insurer for an Own Damage Knock-for-Knock (OD-KFK) claim: you claim from your own insurer, repairs start sooner, you pay nothing upfront, and your NCD is untouched. Claiming from the other driver's insurer also leaves your NCD alone but is slower. What does reset your NCD is a standard at-fault own damage claim.
Can I claim on third party cover for damage to my own car?
No. Third party only covers other people. Damage to your own vehicle needs comprehensive cover.
How long does a claim take?
An own damage claim through a panel workshop is usually the fastest. A third party claim depends on the other insurer and typically takes longer.
Is flood damage covered?
Only if you hold the special perils add-on. No Malaysian motor policy covers flood by default.
Do I pay the excess even if I was not at fault?
On an own damage claim, yes. On a successful third party claim against the other driver's insurer, no.
What if the other driver has no insurance?
You would need to claim on your own comprehensive policy, with the NCD consequence that carries, or pursue the driver personally.