What is a totaled vehicle?
Let’s break it down.
In the context of car insurance/takaful, total loss means that the cost of repairing your vehicle to a roadworthy condition exceeds its actual cash value (ACV). If the repair costs exceed the vehicle s ACV determined by its age, condition, and current market or agreed value your insurer/takaful operator may declare it a total loss . This typically happens when the damage is so severe that repairing it would be more expensive than replacing the entire vehicle.
The decision to repair also lies on the type of damage the vehicle sustained e.g. structural or aesthetic, among other things which is determined by through a loss adjustor appointed by your insurer/takaful operator.
There are two categories for “total loss” vehicle claim.
What is Actual Total Loss (ATL) vehicle?
This refers to the condition of a motor vehicle that has sustained severe damage which has compromised the structural integrity of the main chassis, to the extent that the damaged motor vehicle cannot be repaired or restored to a safe state and thus, can only be scrapped.
Your insurer or takaful operator will ensure proper handling of ATL vehicles including reporting ATL vehicle status to the Road Transport Department Malaysia (JPJ), proper safekeeping and disposal of registration card (RC) in line with JPJ’s requirement, and disposal of ATL vehicles.
Vehicle can be declared ATL if:
Note: You can search the status of ATL vehicles online.
What is Beyond Economic Repair (BER) vehicle?
This refers to the condition of a damaged motor vehicle that is not financially feasible to be repaired or restored, as the cost in repairing or restoring the motor vehicle to roadworthy condition before the damage occurred exceeds the market value or the sum insured.
Your insurer or takaful operator will report BER vehicle status to JPJ, no later than 5 working days from the date of the BER settlement offer is accepted by policyholder/takaful participant. The BER vehicle then can be acquired by an auctioneer or workshop repairer to be rebuilt and obtain roadworthiness certificate from a credible vehicle inspection provider e.g. PUSPAKOM before it is sold and the vehicle Registration Card is released by your insurer or takaful operator.
How much compensation can I get for a total loss vehicle?
The claim payment is determined based on a few factors your liability in the incident, policy/takaful coverage and determined sum insured/covered which is either market value or agreed value. If you opt market value, the compensation is based on the car s market value at the time of the accident, not the time of insurance renewal versus agreed value where the insurer or takaful operator will compensate you as agreed on the motor policy/certificate.
Always consult your general insurance or takaful provider for more information
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