Insurance 101 : Car Insurance While Travelling

I decided to write this entry after I read about misconceptions with regards to car insurance in a travel forum. This is not the first time I bumped into either confusion or misconceptions among forum members with regards to how rental car insurance works. Many make wrong decision because they are confused with it.

So I just thought of writing a simple write up on this. But I hope I can write it as simple and as layman as possible (I know am technical sometime). 

When you want to hire a car in some foreign countries, one thing they will ask is whether you want to buy premium insurance to cover you and the car for the duration of the rent. Yes, they normally charge by day, and it makes your rental cost higher. But, don't ever take the risk by not buying the insurance because you will never know what will happen. What happen if you have an accident? What happen if you accidentally knock down a passerby and he dies? Who wants to bear the repair cost of the car? Who wants to pay the compensation to the next of kin of the dead passerby when they sue you? Never, ever rent a car without an insurance coverage. 

But then, when you decide to buy, which package do you want to buy? You sometimes see something like this for example :

Standard Insurance cover : $0 per day (Excess $4,000)
Silver Insurance cover : $25 per day (Excess $1,000)
Platinum Insurance cover : $60 per day (Excess $0)

So, of all the three type of covers, which one should you choose? What does it mean by "excess"? Excess is the maximum loss incurred (in case of accident etc) which the insurance company will not cover. For example, if you have an accident, and the repair cost is $3,000, and you bought the insurance cover with $4,000 excess, then the insurance company will not pay for the repair cost at all. If you buy an insurance cover with excess $1,000, you will have to pay the first $1,000 while the insurance company will cover the next $2,000. If you buy an insurance cover with excess $0, then you don't have to pay anything. Insurance company will cover all the cost.

Easy right? So always opt for 0 excess cover. No hassle. Of course the premium is much higher, but you can drive with peace of mind. Jangan kata boleh hati-hati memandu so tak payah beli insurance. Don't forget, kalau kita hati-hati, orang lain belum tentu hati-hati. So always make sure you are covered!

The excess, many car rental company will take a deposit upfront if you don't buy 0 excess insurance. Normally using credit card imprint as a security in case anything happens. It is an expensive business right? So have peace in mind, just buy 0 excess cover so you don't have to incur a lot upfront!

Pinky's Experience Crossing Over Malaysia - Thailand

Okay, this is one experience I have to write in this blog.It is about how I brought my little dear cute car, "Pinky" to cross over the Malaysia - Thailand boarder the other day - Pinky's longest journey ever. I hope to share this experience in case there are others who wish to also bring their car to cross over, but found the lack of information at the boarder on what to do and how to do it.

I have been to Thailand quite a number of times, but never with our own car. We normally either fly to Hat Yai or Mr D's Thai business partner will wait for us at the boarder. This is the first time we thought of driving ourselves to Southern Thailand because Mr D wanted to have a little freedom going around as he has a number of things to settle for his business. Pinky was chosen because of its small size, with the hope to make it easier for us to park in the crowded Hat Yai.

We drove from Subang Jaya, but stopped by at Penang for the night before crossing over from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Sadao the next day. We started our journey from Penang at about 8am, but managed to cross over to Sadao only at about 12pm, though the journey from Penang to Bukit Kayu Hitam took less than 2 hours. The delay was due to the difficulty we faced with regards to Pinky. 

For those thinking of crossing over, below are what you need to do in order to be allowed to cross over with your car :

1.  Don't forget to bring your car's ownership paper. It will be needed at the boarder. Without the car ownership paper, you won't be able to cross over with the car. And the car should be either under your name, or with some evidence that you are authorised to drive the car by the legal owner.
2.  Make sure the road tax renewal are updated at the back of the ownership paper. My ownership paper wasn't updated because I renewed the road tax via internet. Luckily the custom officer released it after I explained that to her and showed the road tax pasted on Pinky.
3. Settle our passport / boarder pass at the passport control and then move to the custom with the car ownership paper. The letter as per below will be issued. This will have to be kept and returned back to the custom at the boarder before crossing back to Malaysia later. The next custom officer will check the information before releasing it.
4. We didn't know that we have to buy Thai insurance for the car so we thought it was done. Halfway through the town of Danok, Mr D's business partner called him and ask him how things are. It was then that we know we have to buy the insurance.. so Mr D turned back, and ask around on where to buy the insurance. The insurance can be purchased in Changlun, before we cross over. Or it can be purchased at the premises selling insurance in Danok, right after the boarder. So Mr D purchased a 9 day insurance which was sold at 150 baht (RM15).
5. Upon returning back to Malaysia, the above paper will have to be returned to the Custom after we are done with our passport. The Custom will ask to sign in a book,the signature similar to the one we signed in the above paper. This will be the prove that we already bring our car back to Malaysia.

 The situation was a bit kelam-kabut for us, simply because we didn't know what to do next and didn't know what to expect. There was no instructions displayed (or perhaps there are, but we didn't understand as it was written in Thai) . So if you think of bringing your car in, remember the above ya!

Plan B : Will it be Melbourne or Still New Zealand?

Since Air Asia announced the suspension of Christchurch route on Monday, I haven't made any decision with regards to the tickets I currently hold. I hold 5 tickets in September, supposedly to bring my parents for vacation as a present.

I certainly can't bring forward the date from September to an earlier one, because my sister-in-law, who is supposed to also join the trip, is currently pregnant. September would be perfect since the baby would have been delivered by then. 

Opting for a refund doesn't seem cost effective either.  I bought the tickets at quite a very cheap price, at about RM700 per pax return. So if I can move it to another long haul destination, it would be better. But to move the destination will need quite a careful consideration. Am bringing my parents, so location is important to ensure they are not sick and tired. New Zealand was earlier considered because I visited that country before and I know it is kind of comfortable for old people, and campervan is available to give them comfort along the journey. 


Am now considering 2 options, either to:


MELBOURNE
The capital city of Victoria in Australia. 

 (picture credit to foundation of CARI Forum)


I haven't visited Melbourne yet. I haven't done any research yet as to whether Melbourne will be suitable to bring my parents for vacation, guess I have to start doing the research now. 

NEW ZEALAND
To stick to the earlier plan, New Zealand. I might re-route the ticket to Melbourne, and then find other flight from Melbourne to Christchurch / Auckland. There are plenty of airlines operating Melbourne - New Zealand. 

 

I still can't take my mind off New Zealand for the vacation this time thinking of how comfortable it will be to move my parents around and am sure they would love New Zealand the way I do - the quietness, the peacefulness and all. And plus, I have already booked a campervan and cancelling it would be a messy business.

So what will my decision be? Am not quite sure yet. But I think I will just re-route the ticket to Melbourne, and think of whether I will take the connecting flight to New Zealand later on.

Airplane and Ears

I thought of writing this after we landed in LCCT back from Langkawi the other day, but never had time to really write it until today. Something happened during the journey that made me thought of writing this. There was a baby with his parents sitting near us, and the baby looks like a happy little baby throughout the journey. But he cried loudly both during ascend and descend, which makes me think, was it because of his uncomfortable ears - painful perhaps?

I think everybody who ever board a plane would know what would normally happen to our ears when an airplane ascend or descend. This does not only happen when we board a plane, but also to those involve in diving. The rapid changes in the air pressure during that process, causes extraneous discomfort in our ears because our eustachian tube does not react as quick. I can imagine how this will impact the tiny ears of a baby or a toddler. So it is important for parents to come prepared when traveling with their kids in an airplane. Don't take this lightly because it is normal for children to develop ear infection post airplane ride.

I don't know how you guys treat your airplane ear problem during ascend or descend, but I do normally have chewing gum or sweets or drinks or whatever in my bag ready for take off and landing. This helps to manage the air pressure and reduce the pain. The act of swallowing is what helps it. So for babies, perhaps parents should be prepared with a bottle of milk or to just breastfeed the baby during take off or landing. That perhaps is the easiest solution, of course there's ear plug that can help managing this as well which can be bought if you want to (though am not sure whether it is suitable for babies).

Take it seriously guys.. pity your poor little baby.  If it is painful to our tough big ears, think of what it will do to that little fragile ears of your baby. And plus, it helps other passengers too, an environment free from the sound of baby crying is certainly a better environment.. hehe.




 

Air Asia X Suspended KL-Christchurch Route!!

OK.. Bad news.. got an email today from Air Asia notifying the suspension of Air Asia X service Kuala Lumpur - Christchurch effective 1st June 2012.

I have a trip with AAX to Christchurch on 10th September 2012. Repeating my trip last year, this time I thought am going to bring my parents to visit solely South Island. I've already booked Kea Campervan and have partially paid for it. And am seriously numb now to think which flight I should book for that trip.

Options available :

• Get a refund from AAX
• Travel to / from Christchurch before the suspension date i.e before 1st June 2012
• Travel to any destination in Australia / any AAX destination

Now I am numb and do not know what to do!

NZ accommodation booking done!

Gosh... my flight to New Zealand will be tomorrow night, and I still haven't done any packing, food shopping bla bla bla - and plus I have to work tomorrow before going off to the airport. That means I just have today to do the shopping, packing, bla bla bla.

Yesterday I've just finalized the accommodation for the trip. I've been doing that since April, but because Jetstar rescheduled some of its flights (we use Jetstar for route Christchurch - Auckland and Queenstown - Christchurch), we had to do some changes to our itinerary thus our accommodation as well.

Our route will be KL - Christchurch - Auckland - Hamilton - Waitomo Caves - Rotorua - Taupo - Palmerston North - Wellington - Picton - Kaikoura - Christchurch - Akaroa - Lake Tekapo - Wanaka - Cardrona - Arrowtown - Queenstown - Milford Sound - Queenstown - Christchurch - KL.
We will not overnight at each places, only the main ones.
Since we are going during the Rugby World Cup, pricing wise is slightly higher than normal. I think if we go during normal time, the price might be lower.

We choose to stay at self contained motels throughout the trip, so the following are our booked accommodation for the 2 weeks :

6th September - Christchurch
We will arrive at Christchurch at about 2pm. Initially, we wanted to fly direct to Auckland via Jetstar at 19:50pm, but since Jetstar rescheduled its flight to 3pm, we have to then fly the next morning. So have to arrange the accommodation in Christchurch for the night. This is the motel we booked :
City Central Motel Apartments
252 Barbadoes Street
Christchurch Central
Room type : Studio Double @ NZD170 per night

7th September and 8th September - Hamilton
Atrium on Ulster
281-285 Ulster Street
Hamilton
Room type : Studio unit (queen bed) @ NZD128 per night

9th September - Rotorua
Alpin Motel Apartments and Conference Centre
16 Sala Street
Whakarewarewa
Rotorua
Room type : 1 bedroom queen @ NZD130 per night

10th September - Lake Taupo
Baycourt Lakefront Taupo
104 Lake Terrace
Central Taupo
Room type : Accessible @ NZD130 per night

11th September - Wellington
Fernhill Motor Lodge
17-19 Pharazyn Street, Lower Hutt
Wellington
Room type : Studio @ NZD150 per night

12th September - Kaikoura
Bella Vista Motel
45-47 Churchill Street
Kaikoura
Room type : Standard Queen Studio @ NZD145 per night

13th September - Christchurch
We will be back to City Central Motel, similar to our 6th Sept accomodation

14th September - Lake Tekapo
Lakeview Tekapo
6 Lochinver Avenue
Lake Tekapo
Room type : Lakeview Suite @ NZD195 per night

15th to 17th September - Queenstown
Earnslaw Lodge Motel
77 Frankton Road
Queenstown
Room type : Lake Facing Kitchen Studio @ NZD165 per night (extra NZD15 per night for wireless broadband)

So that's how my spending will be for accommodation. All in all, the total spending for accommodation will be NZD1,886, that is RM4,715 if we convert it at RM2.5=NZD1.

NZD going cuckoo! - Part 2

Finally, I managed to drag myself to the money changer and changed some more New Zealand dollars for my next trip. As mentioned in my earlier post, the exchange rate has gone up significantly since the last time I changed it in February, thus, I 'managed' to lose quite a bit *sigh*. All because at that time I was thinking "yeah.. yeah.. it will go up, but how high can it be?" yadda.. yadda.. yadda.. Nah! Ambik kau.. 30sen terus dia naik! Now I am thinking whether I should change some more, because initially I planned to just swipe my credit card for accommodation and rental of car, since I don't want to bring that much cash [the risk and stuffs]. But what if the exchange rate goes up a lot more then, I'll definitely lose something since the rate they will charge will be the current rate while I swipe my credit card. Imagine if I spend NZD3,000 on accommodation and car rental, even if the exchange rate goes up by just another RM0.10, I would easily lose another RM300. Should I just bring cash then?

Travel with peace of mind.

I think it is a known fact that the insurance and takaful penetration among Malays is still very-very low. Insurance is generally a taboo among Malays, perhaps people will distance themselves as far as possible from the insurance agents, for fear that they will be persuaded to buy insurance.

I think if we ask 10 Malays, 7-8 perhaps will say they have no life insurance protection. Many do not even have medical coverage. And I am not surprise if somebody present me with a fact showing the tendency for Malays to face difficulty with regards to medical bills.

In Malaysia, generally insurance agents will hunt for clients, unlike in developed countries like Japan where the awareness is high and people will generally have insurance protection.

OK.. OK... this has gone way too far. I mean, my nagging about life insurance has gone too far. I actually just wanted to write about travel insurance, just a simple travel insurance. This is a must if I want to go to travel, because we never know what will happen along the way, especially if we want to go to foreign country. Either I take it direct from the airline, or I''ll buy it at any insurance or takaful company. I have an annual policy with HSBC, which covers life, personal accident, medical expenses, baggage, personal belongings, flight delay, personal liabilities etc etc. That will give me peace of mind while traveling, I don't have to think of the 'if's basically.

Basically, if we can't afford travel insurance, we actually can't afford to travel. But all travel insurance is cheap anyway, so better don't try to save that little bit of money and take the risk to face difficulties in the future.

*Motif tayang HSBC travel policy? Harus HSBC Takaful kena bagi marketing allowance ni :)

NZD going cuckoo!

New Zealand's economy is strengthening, and the rugby world cup is just around the corner. What the hell am I thinking - waiting till the last minute to buy New Zealand dollars? I did change about NZD1.5k somewhere around February at a much cheaper rate, but waited till now to change another few thousands NZD - knowing very well the rate will go up. But I didn't expect it will go up this much!

And now I would have to pay the price for procrastinating - and that will be quite a considerable amount of money. Serve me right - so much of being an accountant serving financial industry my entire life, when I can't even plan my financial properly - heh!