Still no action on insurance claim months after damage due to floods

 

The complainant says the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) should station its personnel or place signboards to alert drivers on roads that are flooded. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Kunachandran Kanasakaram got much more than he bargained for when he decided to head to a mall in Kelana Jaya in Petaling Jaya on May 5 with his family.

What was supposed to be a routine trip from his home in Sunway to get some groceries and grab some dinner turned out to be a “disaster” for the 35-year-old manufacturing supervisor when his Honda Civic got stuck in floodwaters while he was on the road.

The floods badly wrecked his car’s engine, and Kunachandran – whose car was not insured against floods – is holding the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) liable as it did not station its personnel, or place signboards, to alert drivers to the flood.

Frustratingly for Kunachandran, the adjustors appointed by MBPJ’s insurance broker to assess the damage to his car’s engine have yet to submit the claim to the broker – this despite the incident taking place more than 140 days ago.

Making matters worse for the father of two, he had to continue servicing his car loan despite not being able to use it. He currently gets around with the use of a family member’s car, for which he is also footing the monthly loan repayments.

“I wanted to get some groceries and buy some household items… but all my plans collapsed because of an unexpected disaster,” he told FMT.

“I have been following up closely with the attending adjuster on my claim, and to be honest, I am frustrated with the way my claim is being handled by this adjusting company.”

Stating that the council has a duty to ensure that the public infrastructure in Petaling Jaya is safe for public use, he said the loss of his car has greatly disrupted his daily routine.

“This is purely due to MBPJ’s negligence,” he said.

Kunachandran also said the adjustors appointed by MBPJ’s insurance broker have been giving him the runaround and have refused to provide him a timeline to finalise their findings, this despite him having already submitted all the relevant documents, photographs, and technical reports.

“I feel as if they are targeting my claim and being unreasonable with their request for documents. They also do not furnish reasonable answers to my requests for clarifications and are intentionally delaying the claim,” he said.

“I am now at a dead-end and want to bring this to the public’s attention. These corporations think they are invincible, and I feel I am not the only one being victimised by them.”

The adjustors declined to comment for the story, stating that all information related to Kunachandran’s case was “private and confidential”.

FMT has reached out to MBPJ for comment. - FMT