Materia Medica Malaysiana

Medical insurers drop plan for policy-holders to bear part cost

MEDICAL insurers has dropped a proposal requiring medical policy-holders to bear part of the cost incurred in a medical treatment due to the improving claims ratio.

“We have decided not to purse with the proposal and it is now up to each company to pursue the plan on their own ,” said Sonny Tan, chairman of a joint committee on medical insurance.

The joint committee was represented by members of the National Insurance Association of Malaysia, General Insurance Association of Malaysia and Life Insurance Association of Malaysia .

Tan, who is also the deputy chief executive officer of Pacific Insurance (M) Bhd, said claims ratio had been brought down to about 70% in the first quarter of this year. Pacific Insurance is one of the leading medical insurers in the country.

The claim situation was better for individual medical policy but remain high under group policy, he said.

The improving claims ratio had enabled most insurers to break even or even make some profits, a big improvement from the previous year, he said.

Another factor which contributed to the marked improvement in claims ratio for medical insurance was the higher premium charges by insurers, following the approval by Bank Negara in April last year, he said.

Given the improving scenario, the joint committee had taken steps to make medical insurance more viable and accessible in the future, said Tan.

“We have met with the central bank last week to coordinate and standardise the term used in medical policy to ensure that policy-holders do not get confused about their insurance coverage,” he said.

The changes would take effect immediately and would ensure that policy-holders understand the protection they would receive for the amount of premium paid.