The other day, we came across something rather strange – major international insurance company AIG had some strange exceptions up front when it comes to buying their comprehensive car insurance.
Here’s what the “purchase conditions” for a new comprehensive motor insurance policy with AIG Malaysia are:
The first one is a little stringent but understandable – AIG Malaysia will only offer comprehensive motor insurance to those aged 30-75 years old with more than 2 years of driving experience. Younger drivers tend to be more reckless and older drivers can equally start to lose their eyesight and other cognitive functions.
The next condition is also quite strict, but also something we can totally understand – they only want customers who have made no more than one car insurance claim in the last 3 years and that claim must be for no more than RM1,000. There are probably a few really bad or unlucky drivers out there, and possibly also a few who abuse the insurance system. Having this rule is sensible, though a little harsh on the unfortunate.
The third rule is also totally within the realm of reason. You must have a valid drivers license and it can’t be suspended due to road traffic offenses.
But once we get to point 4, things start to go off the rails. For whatever reason, AIG will not insure four very popular Toyota models – the Hilux pick-up truck, the Fortuner passenger-pick up vehicle, and the Vellfire/Alphard MPV siblings. The last of these entries comes with an additional qualifier – they’re only uninterested in Vellfire and Alphard models that have the sum insured of RM150,000 or more.
We also find that ALL Tesla models are disqualified from AIG Malaysia Comprehensive Car insurance. No other electric vehicles are named. That being said, there are wide categories of cars that are also excluded, from motorcycles, to commercial vehicles, to sports cars, modified vehicles and even reconditioned or unregistered new vehicles.
Now let’s get back to the named models that are banned – the four popular Toyotas and every Tesla model. As for the Toyota models, our first thought was that these models may be more frequently the target of thieves. AIG doesn’t seem to offer third party, fire and theft insurance on their website or anywhere online but it does exist.
As for Tesla vehicles, it’s possible that AIG Malaysia had a few Tesla customers from before their official arrival an found their repair costs to be too high. Without any aftersales support in Malaysia, Tesla vehicles may have also been particularly difficult to repair.
What do you think? Are these conditions a bit too specific?
