Meet our driver. They want comprehensive cover at a fair price – and, above all, a claim that doesn’t turn into a headache.
- Car
- 2019 Perodua Myvi
- Postcode
- Klang Valley
- No-claims discount
- 55% NCD
- Renewal
- Due next month
It’s one of the most common insurance decisions in Malaysia. And more and more drivers now start it the same way: by asking an AI.
So we did exactly that. We put this driver’s questions to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Mode and Claude – in English and in Bahasa Melayu, three times over – 177 conversations in all. We never named a single brand. Everything below came from the AI.
“Best car insurance Malaysia?”
The opening answers feel reassuringly familiar. A tidy shortlist, a few pros and cons, the usual names: Etiqa, Allianz, Zurich, a takaful option or two.
If you stopped here, you would think AI simply repeats the market’s best-known brands. You would be wrong.
“I drive a 2019 Myvi”
Then our driver shares their details – and a new name walks in.
0 → 60
Perodua Total Protect Plus, the carmaker’s own insurance programme, did not appear in a single opening answer. The moment the AI heard “Myvi”, it started showing up – in 60 of the 177 conversations.
“If I were in your shoes driving a 2019 Myvi in the Klang Valley, I would confidently choose Perodua Total Protect Plus…”
The lesson is uncomfortable for anyone tracking AI visibility with generic keywords. The recommendation is shaped by the customer’s situation, not just the question.
“Which one would you go with?”
This is where the five assistants stop sounding alike. Push them for a single answer and each reveals a favourite:
Perplexity
Etiqa
Leans hard towards Etiqa.
Google AI Mode
Perodua’s own plan
Backs the carmaker’s programme.
ChatGPT
Allianz
Usually starts with Allianz – “then compare its final quote against Etiqa before paying”.
Gemini
Allianz or Etiqa
Splits between the two.
Claude
Often no pick
Often refuses to pick at all, arguing there is no reliable public data on which insurer is easiest to claim with.
Switch the question to Bahasa Melayu and the winner shifts again. And ask the same assistant the same question in a fresh chat?
13 of 57
On only 13 of 57 prompts did three identical runs land on the same insurer.
“How do I get a quote?”
Here’s the twist. After all that careful weighing-up of insurers, most assistants don’t send our driver to the insurer they just recommended. They send them to a comparison site.
| AI assistant | Answers naming a comparison site |
|---|---|
| Gemini | 89% |
| Claude | 89% |
| Perplexity | 83% |
| Google AI Mode | 58% |
| ChatGPT | 0% |
- All answers
Share of conversations where the answer to “How do I get a quote?” names a comparison site.
One name dominates that hand-off: Bjak. The AI builds the shortlist; an aggregator closes the sale. The one exception is ChatGPT, which links straight to the insurers it picks.
So what does this mean if you’re an insurer?
Our driver’s journey raises three questions every insurer should be able to answer:
Do you show up when customers give context – their car, their area, their language?
Are you being chosen, or just listed? Plenty of well-known brands made every shortlist and almost never won.
Where does AI send the customer after it recommends you?
And one more, which surprised us: is the AI even describing you correctly? Several assistants confidently recommended brands that no longer exist.
