What is KfK (Knock for Knock)

KFK stands for Knock for Knock. The KFK agreement is signed among all Malaysia Insurance companies whereby all insurers will refrain from exercising their respective subrogation rights against each others, irregardless whose insured party is at fault. Example, an accident occur between Vehicle A and Vehicle B. Vehicle B is clearly at fault, thus, the normal litigration route is for Vehicle A to claim against the Insurer of Vehicle B for Third Party Property Damage (TPPD), which is tedious and time consuming. The other faster option would be to file under Own Damage (OD) claim, provided Vehicle A has comprehensive policy.

Claiming under OD would cause Vehicle A to lose his NCD. But, vehicle A’s insurer after settling the OD claim, would have subrogation rights to seek recovery against Vehicle B’s insurer as the fault lies in B and not A. In other claims, there could be similar claims whereby Insurer of B would have subrogation rights against insurers of A. Thus, end of the day, there will be many insurance claims among each and every insurance companies in Malaysia.

To avoid the many litigations between insurers which would be very costly, all insurance companies in Malaysia get together and signed the Knock-For-Knock Agreement.

The KFK agreement was further improvised with the introduction of NO-fault Own Damage. This is whereby vehicle owner involved in an accident, whom he is not at fault can claim against his own insurer without losing his NCD. Commonly known as ODKFK (Own Damage Knock for Knock)

“A No-Fault Own Damage claim is a benefit for private cars with Comprehensive policy and is only applicable if you are in an accident with another private car with Comprehensive policy. It is an alternative to filing a Third Party Property Damage Claim. Under a No-Fault Own Damage claim, you can seek compensation against your insurer instead of the other person’s insurer for the damages the other person has caused to your vehicle in the event of a road accident. This is a benefit to you as it saves you the hassle of dealing with the other person’s insurer.” – Bank Negera Malaysia

However, take note that under below situations, the ODKFK will not apply:
1. When there is third party bodily injury involved, regardless of who is at fault.
2. When the insurer of the third party vehicle is an insurer out of Malaysia (e.g. Singapore).
3. When the third party vehicle is a bus, taxi, limousine or hire and drive vehicle.

So, in the event where your vehicle is damaged by a bus or taxi, you cannot claim under ODKFK. You will have to pursue the normal route of claiming Third Party Property Damage against the bus/taxi’s insurance. In this scenario, you will have to repair your vehicle first and then submit the claim to the bus/taxi insurer for recovery. Otherwise, the last option would be to claim under Own Damage and loses your NCD if you have a comprehensive policy.