Flyguy

Hi All, I'm having problems getting clear answers from Insurance Agents here as to what is covered by Malaysian home insurance policies. Do you have any knowledge or expertise in this area? We live in a Condo and were told by our AIA Agent that the Condo 'Buildings Insurance' covers fixtures and fittings in the units, right down to flooring, built in kitchen cabinets etc, and a Home Contents policy listing our high value items plus some 'miscellaneous cover' was all we need for everything else.
But I just talked to our building Manager about a recent fire in another unit. He told me the Condo Buildings Insurance paid for structural repairs like rewiring, replastering and repainting, but NOT the kitchen replacement etc.
I get the impression the Agent doesn't know his business very well, and we could end up underinsured if we listen to him.
Have you been through this minefield?
Any tips or advice?

simon2017

I don't have personal experience within Malaysia, but as no one has replied as yet would give you my views/experiences from elsewhere in the world. Generally condo insurance does not cover fittings and fixtures, the reason being that the insurance company cannot know the value of each condo's fixtures and fittings. When you do contents insurance that is where you state the value of contents and the insurance premium is calculated accordingly. The building insurance covers what is called "common property". That is parts of the building that are shared by multiple owners. A path you could take is to get a contents insurance quote from the company that does the building insurance and when they ask about values of contents have the insurance company cross reference the building policy.

Flyguy

Hi Simon, thanks for the reply. I agree entirely with your take on the 'common property insurance' limits of the condo policy. Arranging home contents insurance has been a bit of a joke here - when we first tried to do so a few years ago the big insurance companies hadn't a clue what we were on about. I ended up going to my friendly local Bank Manager to ask for guidance. She looked at me like I had two heads and said Malaysians just don't go in for such a thing because they'd regard it as 'inviting bad luck' to even think of insuring the contents. And anyway, she said, Malaysians all know Insurance Companies never pay on claims, so it would be a total waste of money!

Things are slowly changing now - but it's still quite a minefield. Agents don't know their own products.

I like your suggestion of trying to get a quote from the Condo's insurer. I'll try that! Thanks!