To Cam or Not To Cam

Does having a dash cam help in making insurance claims easier?

Yes we have all seen it, those highly entertaining dash cam videos on YouTube. From those wacky Russian drivers in their 3-wheeled vans cruising around the city, to high speed chases on the wrong side of the road. We have even seen some very heartwarming videos of random acts of kindness captured on videos, which had not only put smiles across our faces, but have succeeded in restoring our faith in humanity. And perhaps the most famous of all dash cam videos to come out of Russia, the big, bright-as-the-sun fireball that shot across the sky in 2013, the Chelyabinsk meteor.

What are dash cams?

A dash cam or dashboard mounted camera is a camera device equipped in your car that records video continuously onto an SD card. They are usually installed on the dashboard or on the windscreen, recording everything that happens in or around your car, while you are driving or even when the car is parked.

Dash cams have in the recent years become more and more popular, especially amongst the younger drivers. It can even be said that it is becoming a trend. Irregardless of your reason/s for getting one, dash cams certainly have more uses than just a device which provides us the entertaining videos and the occasional giggles. Let’s look at some of the advantages of having one in your car:

Benefits of Dash cams:

1. Solve disputes

During an accident, there is almost always a disagreement between the parties involved. Those who have experienced a car accident are no strangers to the blaming game that follows the “bang”. In some cases, the parties may not even be aware of exactly how the accident happened. Dash cams are useful in such events as they record exactly what took place.

2. Evidence for Police Report and Insurance Claim

Dash cams are able to provide indisputable facts/evidence during an accident. They are your best protection against wrong accusations made against you by the other involving party who may try to put the fault on you. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. Dash cams are especially advantageous during a hit-and-run where things happen so quickly that you are not able to catch the vehicle registration number of the perpetrator.

Dash cams can assist in settling a case immediately at the police station as they provide irrefutable video evidence which allows the police officer in making a clear judgement. Thus the usual “he says she says” situation can be avoided. Sometimes, in the absence of such evidence, the officer may not be able to make a decision, and the case will then be referred to the court, where most often than not, the insurance company will settle these cases by taking away your No Claim Discount (NCB). This means that you lose your NCB even if you are found not guilty of the accident.

3. Prevent fraud

Believe it or not, there are people out there who go out looking for an accident, or should I say, staging one. These scammers intentionally try to get hit by oncoming vehicles so that they can extort you into paying for their “medical expenses”, and/or their car damages, or in a more serious case, file for fraudulent claims against insurance companies.

These cases have become very common in some countries, including China and Russia. There are many tactics used, one that I have seen took place here in Kuala Lumpur was where a driver backed into the car behind him and later accused the driver for rear-ending. Luckily the victim, ie the guy at the back, had a dash cam installed in his car, thus making the scammer looking like a fool. Good guy 1, bad guy 0. Thank you Dash Cam!

4. Parking protection

Some dash cams come in parking mode too! So now you are able to park and leave your car in peace. If you come back from your lunch to a smashed up car, you are able to catch the culprit on film and report him to the police and at the same time, file a claim against the insurance company.

With the coming implementation of motor detariffication in Malaysia, could the presence of a dash cam in your vehicle be one of the factors considered in determining the price of your insurance premium? It does sound plausible. Irregardless, looking at the benefits listed above, I believe they provide enough evidence that they can be a pretty handy little device to have around. One can never be too careful, as they say.

Should you do decide to obtain one, I suggest that you spend ample time researching on them and find the best one that suits your budget and purpose. There are a wide range of dash cams available on the market, from as low as RM50 to as high as RM1,500. You would want to pay particularly close attention to the video quality and the width of its recording angle.

You should also try to identify what additional features you may want from your dash cam to suit your need, such as the parking mode, GPS and night vision support. I would also recommend reading up reviews on the net after you have narrowed down a few brands/models to find out what experts and/or actual customer have to say about them.

Perlukah dash cam di dalam kereta anda?

Dash cam pada masa ini semakin menjadi suatu kebiasaan. Banyak kegunaannya sebenarnya. Antaranya:

1.Menyelesaikan salah faham

Kadang-kadang salah faham wujud ketika berlakunya kemalangan. Masing-masing mula menuding jari tidak mengakui kesilapan. Video dash cam dapat membantu dalam menyelesaikan salah faham seperti ini.

2. Bukti untuk tujuan repot polis dan claim insurans

Video dash cam dapat menjadi bukti yang kukuh dalam membantu siasatan polis ketika kemalangan, juga ketika membuat claim insurans.

3. Mencegah penipuan

Sedihnya, ada di kalangan pengguna jalanraya yang sengaja mencari kemalangan untuk kepentingan sendiri. Kebiasaannya mereka melakukannya untuk mendapat pampasan daripada syarikat insurans. Dengan adanya dash cam, anda dapat melindungi diri dari menjadi mangsa penipuan sebegini.

4. Keselamatan semasa parking

Ada juga dash cam yang mempunyai “mode parking”. Jadi anda dapat record segala kejadian di sekeliling kereta anda ketika parking. Jika anda dapati kereta anda dirosaki semasa kereta anda ditinggalkan, contohnya ada berlaku hit-and-run, anda dapat menonton semula video dash cam untuk mendapatkan nombor plat kereta yang bertanggung-jawab.