The luxury of knowing.
When detariffication was implemented in Malaysia, we knew that providing access to tools and information is the best way we can help you and many other Malaysians find the best car insurance. With over 30 insurance companies and each offering their own price, comparing and shopping around for the best deal is ever more so important.
So is choosing the best way to buy a car insurance. In this article, we show you that even though most coverage can be similar, the difference lies in price, speed, and convenience, sales advice as well as claims support. You’re always at an advantage if you know of a vital information before committing to something.
You may have used your insurance policy multiple times in a year, or you’re probably someone who is working in the insurance field or had an accident and has submitted claims before. These experiences allow you to pinpoint the lack of coverage. The next time you look to renew your car insurance you have some knowledge and know what exactly to look for.
In this case looking at sales advice is probably not a priority, but price, speed and convenience and claims support are something you may want to consider before buying a car insurance.
When you buy your insurance from MyEG, you do not get a 10% discount. MyEG acts as an agent, so you are not buying directly from the insurance companies. MyEG currently (June 2017) offers insurance from the following insurance companies: AIG, Zurich Takaful, Etiqa Takaful, RHB Insurance, Berjaya Sompo Insurance and Takaful Malaysia.
MyEG is very convenient because besides buying motor insurance, you can benefit from other useful services like check your summons and purchase your road tax. This saves you a lot of time and trouble, especially since you can have both the insurance and road tax delivered to your doorstep.
The disadvantage of buying direct is that you need to have some background knowledge on insurance to select the right insurance company and policy. With MyEG you can choose from different insurance companies, but you will not know what the differences are. With the start of the Motor Detariffication this July, you will want to compare prices among the various insurance companies to find the cheapest insurance. You will need to do that on your own for each of the companies.
When you have a claim, MyEG offers a hotline that you can call. But when you call the line, MyEG will refer you to the insurance company hotline or website. There is no support in filling out the insurance claims form. Without knowledge and experience, you may find it difficult to go about the claim process on your own.
If you buy your insurance directly from the insurance company, you get 10% discount on your premium. This is great because it offers the lowest possible price for you from that particular insurance company. If you buy the insurance from a Takaful company, you might even be entitled to a 15% rebate when you renew your motor insurance. This means next year, you can save up to 25% on your motor insurance.
The disadvantage of buying from the insurance branch is that you need to have some knowledge on insurance to know which insurance company you want to buy from. So in advance you need to know how good the insurance company is. Also you need to know if the insurance company that you want to go, offers the right price for you. If you want to compare the insurance from different companies, you will need to go to each one of them to find out the price. With MyEG and Pos Malaysia you can choose from different insurance companies at one location. When you go to the insurance branch, you can only choose from that insurance company.
If you want to research about the quality of the insurance company, you can read our article 2016 Malaysia Motor Insurance Award to find our ranking.
If you buy insurance at the insurance branch, you also need to check beforehand if they offer road tax renewal on the spot, as not all branches have the capability to issue road tax immediately.
When you are involved in an accident, you can walk into the same insurance branch you purchased your insurance from to file a claim. You can speak with the person in charge face-to-face, so you can get help in making the claim. This is much better than having to wait on the line with the call center or waiting for an email response. Here you can just walk into the branch and find a person responsible for claims.
If you buy your insurance online direct from the insurance company, you get 10% discount on your premium. This is great because it offers the lowest possible price for you from that particular insurance company. If you buy the insurance from a Takaful company, then you might even be entitled to 15% rebate, when you renew your motor insurance. This means next year, you can save up to 25% on your motor insurance.
You can find a list of insurance companies that offer insurance online in our article Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying Motor Insurance Online in Malaysia.
Similar to buying directly from the branch, the disadvantage of buying online direct is that you need to have some knowledge on insurance. You need to know which insurance company is the best for you and what insurance product to select.
If you buy insurance online, you will need to buy the road tax separately on your own. Most insurance companies do not combine the purchase of insurance with road tax like MyEG does.
The quality of sales advice you get is similar to buying insurance from MyEG. You need to have some knowledge of insurance and know from which company you want to buy online from. Compared to insurance branches buying online is good and bad at the same time. It is good, because if you want to compare prices among companies, you do not need to go to each one of them physically instead you can do so online. It is bad however because you do not have a person that you can ask questions. You need to find the information on your own on the internet.
Unlike buying your motor insurance online through MyEG, you still have insurance branches that you can go to. You can then speak to someone in person to get help with your insurance claim. We ranked it as NEUTRAL because in case the insurance company denies you the claim, you are on your own to figure things out. Insurance staff make mistakes, so you want to have someone you can consult with.
As you can tell, almost all of the options above have bad sales advice. But it’s ok because you already know what to look for in a policy. Ultimately before renewing your car insurance, a good price, a reasonable convenience and speed of service, as well as a good claim support, will only help you fine-tune your decision in buying a car insurance.
Explore other options in our 2017 Buying Guide for Motor Insurance/ Takaful and Road Tax in Malaysia.
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