KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) has announced that life insurers are granting additional time of a few months for the payment of premiums in order to help flood victims in the country.
LIAM said life insurers are also offering restructuring premium paying modes, from an annual to monthly basis; extending the grace period (usually 30 days) to a longer timeframe for premium payments; reducing or waiving interest charges for policy loans and policies under the automatic premium loan (APL) option; and waiver of printing cost for insurance policy or medical card replacement.
“Our member companies are committed to providing the necessary support to affected families and ensuring their peace of mind, knowing that their insurance needs are taken care of.
“We advise policyholders to contact their life insurance provider to find out more details of the relief measures offered,” said LIAM president Loh Guat Lan in a statement today.
Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM) said Malaysians are reminded that flood cover is widely available as all PIAM member companies provide flood cover under their comprehensive motor and fire policies with additional premiums subject to respective underwriting discretions.
It said contrary to common perception, flood coverage is affordable as the additional motor premium for flood cover is estimated to range from RM0.08 to RM1.74 per day.
As for fire insurance, the additional premium for flood cover (for risks below RM10 million) is only 0.086 per cent of the sum insured, a small price to pay given the exposure to flood that had caused millions of losses to properties every year.
For a sum insured of RM200,000, this is translated into an additional premium of 47 cents per day or RM14 per month.
As for house owner and householder policies, flood cover is included as part of standard coverage.
Takaful Malaysia Association (MTA) is also helping out Johor flood victims through its initiative called ‘Takaful-4-All,’ which aims to simplify and expedite claims, and even help with the clean-up, among others.
The Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) said it will also help those affected by the floods through various initiatives while the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and its member banks said they remain committed to assisting customers who have been affected by the recent floods around the country.
It said ABM member banks have in place specific, accessible, and compassionate flood relief assistance for their customers who have been impacted by the floods.
The assistance offered is based on customised programmes by individual banks and may include (but are not limited to) deferment of repayment of loans/financing, waiver of fees and charges to replace lost/damaged bank documents and bank cards, and more.
— Bernama
