Malaysia: Life insurance associations to develop product comparator website

23 May 2017

The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) are in the midst of developing a Product Comparator which will enable consumers to compare prices and product features online.

In addition, the two associations will also introduce an integrated financial website and self-assessment tools to guide consumers in choosing suitable life insurance products, said Mr Gan Leong Hin, LIAM management committee member, who was delivering the keynote address at the 16th Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress (APLIC) opening ceremony last week.

These measures will bring about challenges and demands to those life insurance selling as a career, he said.

Mr Gan also shared with APLIC attendees that there have been several regulatory requirements rolled out in Malaysia in recent times to boost the productivity and professionalism of intermediaries.

For example, agents’ commission will be restructured with the introduction of a Balance Scorecard, which contains a set of performance indicators to evaluate the performance, quality and service level provided by the agent. A public enquiry facility via the Internet and SMS has also been made available so customers can ascertain whether the individuals they are dealing with are registered agents with LIAM.

Policyholders are given a Service Guide which spells out the expected level of service they can expect from their agents and all insurers have websites where customers can obtain updates on their policies.

The life industry in Malaysia is undergoing a transformation process with the rollout of various key initiatives under the Life Insurance and Family Takaful Framework (LIFE Framework) issued by Bank Negara in end 2015, which aims to develop various facets of the life insurance industry, with the overall mission to reduce protection gaps and insure 75% of Malaysians by 2020.

Mr Gan said that currently, there are close to 80,000 agents, 20,000 bank intermediaries and 600 financial adviser representatives fore life insurance in the country.

Some 5,000 life insurance intermediaries from 13 Asia Pacific markets attended APLIC 2017, which took place in Genting Highlands, Malaysia from 17-19 May 2017, hosted by NAMLIFA, the National Association of Malaysian Life Insurance and Financial Advisors. It is a biannual event.

Asia Insurance Review is a media partner for APLIC 2017.