3. Takaful Ikhlas

Buy Now at Ikhlas webpage

Takaful Ikhlas General Berhad is on the 3rd place in the 2019 Motor Insurance and Takaful survey. Last year, Takaful Ikhlas placed 2nd in the category Takaful. If you put together the 20+ conventional insurance companies, then you will see that Takaful companies, in general, have very high customer satisfaction in Malaysia. In a combined list, Takaful Ikhlas would place 5th place out of 22 two companies.

The company has recently renewed their webpages so that getting a price quote for car takaful is very easy now. You only need to provide five details, and you immediately get the price.

2. Syarikat Takaful Malaysia

Buy Now at Takaful Malaysia 10% off

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia has been at the top of the Motor Insurance and Takaful survey for the past three years. In 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, Takaful Malaysia placed 1st in the Takaful category. This year, Takaful Malaysia missed the top spot by only two points. However, the company remains to be one of the best car takaful companies in Malaysia. The webpage is simple so that most people will have no problem buying the car takaful online

The newest service is that you can chose an instalment plan for 6 months with zero (0%) interest. To buy with an instalment plan, you need to have a credit card, and your premium must be higher than RM 500.

1. Etiqa Takaful

Buy Now Etiqa Takaful - 10% off

Etiqa Takaful is the Best Car Takaful company in Malaysia and Winner of the prestigious 2019 Motor Takaful Award. It has a 5-star customer rating and also placed 1st in the Motor Insurance and Takaful survey in 2017/2018 together with Takaful Malaysia. Etiqa Takaful comes standard with

1. Agreed Value, instead of Market Value

When your car is stolen or destroyed in an accident, you will get the full sum insured. No questions asked about how much the car is worth at the time of the crash. Without Agreed Value, your vehicle is insured at Market Value. Market Value means that when you have an accident, the insurance company will only pay what the car is worth. Even after only one month, the car value can have dropped and lost some of its value, so that you get less money from the insurance company.

2. All Drivers are included

This means that you do not need to list the names of people who drive the car because all drivers are included with Etiqa Takaful. No need to add additional drivers for RM 10.

3. No excess during an accident

With “No Excess”, you do not need to pay some of the damages out of your pocket, when you have an accident.  Some insurance and takaful company have written in their fine-print that you will need to pay some money, also called an excess, when you have an accident. With Etiqa Takaful, there is no excess for people who are above 21 years old.

As one of the few companies in Malaysia, Etiqa Takaful offers an option to buy insurance for e-Hailing. This means that if you are a Grab or Uber driver, you want to purchase these options to be protected when you use your car to earn money.

The post Top 3 Car Takaful Companies in Malaysia appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.

5. MSIG Malaysia

Buy Now at MSIG webpage

MSIG Malaysia ranked 5th in the 2019 Motor Insurance Survey. This is a good result given that Malaysia has over 20 insurance companies in Malaysia.

Their web portal is easy to use, although not as easy as Takaful Malaysia’s or Etiqa’s. But you can get the prices and even renew your insurance within a few minutes. The downside, again you cannot renew your road tax here.

4. Etiqa Malaysia

Buy Now at Etiqa webpage

Etiqa won top ratings in the 2017/2018 Motor Insurance Survey in both takaful and conventional insurance categories. This year Etiqa General Insurance made it to #2. Etiqa was one of the earliest companies that offer car insurance online to Malaysians. We found Etiqa’s web portal the easiest to check to get a quotation for motor insurance prices. You only need to fill out the following six information.

1. Name
2. Registration Number
3. NRIC
4. Postcode
5. Email Address
6. Phone number

3. Tokio Marine

Buy Now at Tokio Marine webpage

Tokio Marine won the 2019 Motor Insurance Award as the best car insurance company in Malaysia. To get a price quote you only need to provide 8 information on the webpage, so that it is easy and quick. Tokio Marine is one of 5 companies that you can try out to compare car insurance within 5 minutes online. 

2. Allianz General

Check Allianz Price

Allianz General is the largest car insurance company in Malaysia. It is the newest company that has opened up and offered car insurance online to their customers. The webpage is easy, and you can quickly get a price quotation. In 2016/17, Allianz General won the Motor Insurance Award as the Best company. Since then it remains at the top as a 5-star service insurance company. In 2019, Allianz general placed at 4th place.

1. AXA Affin General Insurance

Buy Now at AXA Malaysia - 10% off

AXA Affin is one of the Best Car Insurance companies in Malaysia. It has a 5-star customer rating and placed as the 3rd Best company in the 2019 Motor Insurance Survey. The car insurance product offered is called SmartDrive Enhanced Private Car. AXA is the only company that currently provides telematics for car insurance in Malaysia so that you can save even more on your insurance. With Telematics, you have the chance to save an additional 20% on your car insurance if you are a safe driver. The AXA product is called AXA FlexiDrive. It is an add-on to the motor insurance plan.

What is telematics? Telematics is a method to monitor vehicle and driver behaviour. In this case, the insurance company will install a small device in the vehicle your that enables tracking and monitoring of vehicle usage and driver’s behaviour. Here are the benefits from AXA’s webpage:

• Safe Driving Bonus Up To 20%
• 10% online discount
• Enhanced Safety Features
• 24/7 Vehicle Security & Theft Recovery
• Smart Connectivity For Your Vehicle

To buy car insurance online from AXA is easy. You need to provide the following information to see how much your car insurance will cost quickly:

• Vehicle Number
• Your name
• NRIC
• Vehicle Location like West or East Malaysia
• Phone number
• Email address

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Prior to this, motor insurance prices were fixed for all insurance companies, just like how our gas stations have the same price for RON 95.

Today, with each company setting different prices, it becomes necessary to compare them. In iBanding’s current motor insurance study, 45% out of 7,000 Malaysians said that they do not compare insurance prices. Only 15% of the respondents compare prices from more than three insurers.

This is surprising, because our study shows that prices of the cheapest and costliest insurance vary up to 22%. In other words, if your premium costs RM1,000, you could have saved up to a cool RM220!

With motor detariffication, one key change is that more insurers are now offering motor insurance online. Last October, only seven companies offered motor insurance online. Now, four more companies have joined the bandwagon.

In one of our random price tests conducted early last month, only seven out of 11 companies offered very different prices, while the rest maintained their prices. This study shows that many insurance companies are still following the old tariff model to determine their product pricing!

The quality of the insurers’ websites also varies from company to company. Takaful Malaysia, Etiqa, MSIG and Tune offer simple and easy-to-use webpages. Meanwhile, the websites of Liberty, Berjaya Sompo, Axa Affin and Takaful Ikhlas have room for improvement. Buyers, especially those who aren’t very insurance-savvy, may find it difficult to make their purchases here.

Currently, there is no easy way to compare insurance prices. Malaysia has 26 motor insurance companies, and a comprehensive comparison website like those in the Europe or the US does not exist yet.

If you want to compare by going to the insurers’ webpages directly, here are a few tips for you:

Tip 1: Focus on the sum insured

The sum insured is the value of the car that you want to insure. Many companies allow you to adjust the sum insured to suit your needs. You may want to match the sum insured to the outstanding amount of your car’s bank loan. The sum insured is the key factor that determines the motor insurance premium. If you want to compare the premium accurately, ensure that the sum insured is the same.

Tip 2: Watch out for hidden products and fees

Many companies like to add additional fees during checkout. In the early days, low-cost airlines automatically added travel insurance to unsuspecting customers who purchased their flight tickets online. Insurance companies do the same, so keep a close eye on additions that you do not want.

Tip 3: Know when you get 10% direct discount

When you buy insurance directly from the insurance company’s website or its counter, you receive a 10% discount in return for not using an insurance agent. However, when you buy from websites run by bigger insurance agents like MyEG and House of Insurance, you do not get the same discount, even though it feels like you are buying directly because you are entering the information yourself.

Tip 4: Know what you are getting when buying direct

When you buy your motor insurance online, you save 10% on the price that would normally go to an insurance agent. If you know a lot about insurance and how to claim from an insurer, you can buy online. Otherwise, buying insurance through an agent is probably the easiest way. A reliable agent will help you in all matters relating to your motor insurance, from renewing your policy, to helping you with the claims process.

Tip 5: Compare the service level

When companies set their own prices, their service level will differ accordingly. Companies that offer cheaper insurance might not provide the nice extras that more expensive insurers offer for free. For instance, AirAsia tickets are usually cheaper than Malaysian Airlines’, but food and checked-in luggage will cost extra. So, look at the total cost of the services that you need. An expensive insurance policy with lots of extra add-ons might be more expensive, but it may turn out to be handy when you have an accident or need help. 

Now, you are all set to make Motor Detariffication work for you, while potentially saving a few hundred ringgit in the process!

The post How You Can Use Motor Detariffication To Your Advantage appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.

In our never ending pursuit in consumer education about insurance, iBanding’s Co-Founder and CEO, Mr Luke Roho has been invited as a guest writer to shed some lights on how to best take advantage of motor detariffication on a local esteem publication, Focus Malaysia this week.

Focus Malaysia: Use Motor Detariffication to Your Advantage

About Focus Malaysia:

The post Focus Malaysia: Use Motor Detariffication to Your Advantage appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.

This change happened on the 1st of July 2017, where the detariffication or liberalisation of motor insurance took place for the whole of Malaysia. It is not something that happened overnight, so if you’re hearing this for the first time, you have a lot of catching up to do!

Scroll down or click here for easy to follow infographic if you’re not a fan of reading.

Prior to this change (and for the past 30 years or so), the price of car insurance followed a strict tariff structure provided by BNM. So irregardless of which insurance or takaful company you bought your insurance from, the price had always been pretty similar (with some minor differences due to other factors). Two main factors that determined the price of insurance were: vehicle engine and sum insured (either based on agreed or market value).

The Malaysian Guide to save on car insurance

Factors determining the price of car insurance today

Oh how things have changed! Today the price of your insurance is calculated based on all sorts of factors! For instance:

The vehicle itself – vehicle age, engine size, car model theft rate, safety features;

The driver/ car owner – years of driving experience, occupation, marital status, history of traffic violations and insurance claims etc.

Here at iBanding, we’ve touched on this subject extensively and many times over. So this time we shall look at this topic from a different angle – how your driving behaviour affects the price you pay for your car insurance.

Infographic: High Risk Driver vs. Low Risk Driver

Detailed explanation below.

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</p><br /><br /><br /> <p><strong>Source https://www.ibanding.my</strong></p><br /><br /><br /> <p><a href=’https://ibanding.com.my/what-type-driver-are-you-car-insurance-price-depends-on-it/’><img src=’https://ibanding.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Insurance-Cost-depends-on-your-driving-behaviour-EN.png’ alt=’Insurance Cost depends on your driving behaviour – Infographic’ width=’500px’ border=’0′ /></a></p><br /><br /><br /> <p>

How you drive = how much you pay for your insurance!

The price of your car insurance is largely determined by your risk profile as a driver and car owner. In a nutshell…

High risk driver = Higher car insurance price

Low risk driver = Lower car insurance price

1. The Careful Driver vs The Reckless Driver

The careful driver is always alert while on the road and is considerate. To the careful driver, his safety and the safety of his passengers as well as other road users is of utmost priority and importance.

With this attitude, he takes traffic regulations seriously. He has a very slim chance of getting involved in accidents. And when he does, it’s not his fault. Therefore he probably has never made any claim against his insurance policy.

The reckless driver is the complete opposite. They are inconsiderate, they road rage, are ill-tempered and they completely disregard the safety and well-being of other road users, or that of their own for that matter. Being Malaysians, like it or not, we all have seen them in action on the road.

Their careless and reckless behaviour often result in a higher number of road accidents to their names. This also leads to more number of motor insurance claims against their insurance policies.

2. The Traffic Observer vs The Traffic Violator

A driver who abides by traffic rules naturally is a careful driver. They take rules seriously and therefore may have very few traffic violations or none at all. They don’t drive above speed limit, don’t overtake at double-lines and they use their indicators when making a turn.

Needless to say, a traffic violator takes traffic rules lightly. They do no necessarily care about the safety of others or that of their own. Speeding, using mobile phone without a hand-free kit while driving, overtaking dangerous and recklessly and running red lights. Naturally, these drivers are no strangers to speeding tickets and other types of ‘samans’.

3. The Vigilant Driver vs The Incautious Driver

We are looking at this from the aspect of car safety and not from the aspect of driving behaviour. The vigilant driver always ensures that his car is safe. They install sufficient safety devices and features and make sure to always leave their cars at safe locations. But that is not all. They also ensure that they send their cars for checkups and maintenance on a regular basis.

The incautious drivers do the total opposite. They do not give any attention to the safety of their cars. They leave their cars in areas with high crime rates. They don’t install additional safety features and they don’t carry out regular maintenance to ensures the safety and security of their cars.

Your role as a car owner and driver

No doubt our responsibility as car owners and drivers is to ensure the safety of other road users as well as our own. However with liberalisation of motor detariffication, we may have just gained one more responsibility.

The price of our car insurance now depends on our behaviour as owner and driver. High or low, cheap or expensive, we can more or less decide it on our own.

If you are looking for an experienced and knowledgeable insurance agent to renew your motor insurance, you can easily find one on our directory.

The post What Type of Driver Are You? Your Car Insurance Price Depends On It! appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.

This time we are testing the following 7 companies to compare the premium for comprehensive motor insurance:=

• Takaful Ikhlas
• Syarikat Takaful Malaysia
• Berjaya Sompo
• Etiqa Insurance
• AmGeneral & Kurnia
• AXA Affin
• Liberty

We obtained insurance quotations from the companies’ websites. The following information is required in order to get the quotation:

• IC number
• Car Model and Make
• Year of Make
• Car Registration Number
• No Claims Discount (NCD)
• Car Registration number

NCD can be obtained from MyCarInfo here

The comparison

We compared comprehensive motor insurance for a 2013 Peugeot, model 208 with NCD of 55%. The owner of the car is a 41-year-old male. According to MyCarInfo the market value of the car is currently RM 38,200. This is important because the market value will be used as the Sum Insured (rounded up to the nearest 1000th) for the insurance plan.

The following table shows the proposed Sum Insured and the respective premium for each insurance company.

*Sum insured is higher

Findings

Our findings above are different from two months ago where all 6 companies compared (exclude Liberty) had the same premium. Because the study we did was only a few weeks after the implementation of motor detariffication, it was safe to presume that the companies had not adopted a new way of premium calculation.

However, this time around, it is clear that some of these companies have already started to determine their own insurance price. Notable differences can be observed for the premium by Syarikat Takaful, which is the lowest among the 7 companies. As expected, Etiqa and AmGeneral are higher because the sum insured is higher.

Based on the above prices by 7 companies, you can save up to approximately 24% on your insurance price (which can be done through iBanding motor renewal), by switching from the highest to the lowest (do note again the difference in sum insured).

Why is Sum Insured important?

The proposed sum insured in the table above is the value that each insurance company automatically suggests when a quotation request is made. It is surprising to see that Etiqa and AmGeneral/ Kurnia proposed a different sum insured for our sample car. Etiqa is particularly high with RM 46,000 compared to the RM 39,000 that MyCarInfo.com and the other 5 insurance companies proposed.

The higher the sum insured – the higher the premium. This is because the sum insured is one of the key factors in setting the price for insurance. This makes sense because a car that is more expensive will have higher repair costs during an accident, so insurance companies charge a higher price.

Conclusions

In our review above, insurance companies are now determining their own insurance price. The price difference is between the expected range of 10% that is allowed by Bank Negara. It is important to compare prices as some companies may increase their prices while others may lower theirs. To ensure that you are getting the product that you need at the best price, it is wise to compare the prices of at least several companies.

To understand more about detariffication, click this link.

The following snapshots are pictures of quotations from the individual insurance companies

Takaful Ikhlas

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia

Berjaya Sompo

Etiqa Insurance

AmGeneral & Kurnia

AXA Affin

The post Be Smart. Compare and Save Up To 24% on Your Motor Insurance Price 2017 appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.

What is liberalisation of motor insurance?

Before the liberalisation of motor insurance, motor insurance premiums were calculated based on only two main factors: vehicle engine size (cc) and sum insured. The prices were governed by a tariff structure controlled by BNM. However, this is no longer the case with the start of the second phase of the liberalisation of motor insurance on 1 July 2017.

An unfair pricing system in a tariff market:

A tariff market has advantages and disadvantages over the Malaysian consumer. Here are some of the reasons why liberalisation of motor insurance is necessary and is beneficial to the public:

1. Safe drivers vs risky drivers

In a tariff environment (before liberalisation), the premiums did not take into consideration good driving behavior and risk management. This meant that a careful and law abiding driver who has not caused any accident or made any claim against his insurance policy had to pay the same amount as the driver with a car of the same sum insured and engine size, who may have caused numerous counts of accidents and made many claims.

This is further illustrated by the picture below (source: BNM).

2. High-risk vs low-risk of theft vehicle models

Below graph released by the Vehicle Theft Reduction Council Malaysia indicates the top 10 most stolen car models in the country in 2016.

Between 2011 and 2016, the insurance industry paid out over RM2.8 billion in claims for vehicle theft. With insurance premium fixed by the tariff system, insurers could not charge a higher price on car models that are stolen more frequently than other models.

This resulted in two vehicles of the same engine cubic capacity and sum insured being charged the same price for insurance – although one could be prone to theft. Example: Toyota Vellfire vs. Toyata Alphard. Now with the Liberalisation, insurance companies are able to charge a higher insurance premium for Toyota Vellfire and lower for Toyota Alphard.

Low-risk drivers at a disadvantage in a tariff market

Due to the fixed pricing based on tariff as illustrated in the two scenarios above, high-risk drivers pay the same amount in insurance as drivers with low-risk. Furthermore, low-risk car models have the same insurance cost as low-risk cars.

1. Safe drivers pay the same amount for insurance as reckless drivers

2. Low-risk cars pay the same amount for insurance as high-risk cars

This has resulted in a heavy cross-subsidization, where the low-risk drivers had to pay for the damages of the high-risk drivers. In a fair market environment, the person who has a higher risk, should and will pay higher insurance.

Liberalisation of Motor Insurance: Broader risk factors that reward good risk management practices

After the liberalisation of motor insurance, insurance companies and Takaful operators now have the freedom to establish their own methods in calculating premiums for their motor insurance products. Liberalisation of motor insurance introduces a fairer pricing system that rewards policyholders with good risk management.

More than just two factors now determine the price of motor insurance, which assess the risk profile of the policyholders. This is known as risk-based pricing.

Referring to the image below by Bank Negara, the factors in red indicate the two main factors that determined premium in the previous tariff market. Followed by three other factors (in orange) that also influenced the price of motor insurance.

• Loading: Insurance companies can place up to 15% loading on premium for special cases. Common examples are loading for young drivers and the vehicle age.
• NCD: A discount awarded to the policyholder during renewal of motor insurance policy if no claims were made during the previous 12 months of coverage.

Liberalisation of motor insurance introduces new factors that also affect premium. They are the ones in blue in the same image above.

• Vehicle model: Certain vehicle models are prone to theft and are perceived to carry more risk than other models. Therefore, these cars are more expensive to insure.
• Driving experience: A driver with more years of driving experience is considered to be at a lower risk than someone with less experience. Therefore, he pays lower premium.
• Driving behavior: A driver with no record of traffic offences carries lower risk. Therefore, he enjoys a lower premium than a reckless driver with traffic violations.
• Security features: A vehicle with additional safety features installed for extra precautions and safety has a lower risk of theft than those that lack such features. Therefore, the premium for such a car is lower.

With this risk-based pricing system, drivers can expect fairer pricing for their motor insurance. Drivers with good driving behavior and lower risk profiles will enjoy cheaper insurance premiums.

The role of the consumer

With premium now largely dependent upon the risk profile of the policyholder, consumers are now in better control of the price of their motor insurance. The consumers can adopt several steps to control the premium they pay:

1. Ensure the safety and security of their vehicles to avoid theft. Park at a safe spot, install additional safety features such as anti-theft devices and immobilizer.

2. Practise good driving behaviour, avoid committing traffic offences and accidents.

3. Shop around for the best product to suit needs and risk exposure. Compare not only price but also features and scope of protection.

Insurance Agent Directory

To start comparing prices and products, consumers can make use of the online agent directory offered by iBanding to contact insurance and Takaful agents from various insurance companies and Takaful operators.

The post Bank Negara Malaysia: Liberalisation of Motor Insurance – Cheaper Insurance for Safe Drivers appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.