Recruitment

Under the Guidelines on Minimum Qualitative Criteria for Life Agency Force, the basic criteria for recruitment of agents are

• minimum 18 years old
  
• minimum SPM/MCE qualification or its equivalent
  
• must pass the Pre-Contract Examination For Insurance Agents (PCEIA) conducted by the Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII)
  
• must also pass the Certificate Examination In Investment-Linked Life Insurance (CEILLI) conducted by MII to sell investment-linked products
  
• must be registered with LIAM through his/her insurance company
  
• must complete 20 hours of training within 6 months of appointment
  
• must not be an undischarged bankrupt

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Programme

With effect from 1 January 2005, all life insurance agents who have been in the industry for more than one year are required to undergo 30 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours. Click here for the approved training programme. ( PDF)

All life insurance agents who have been in the industry for more than one year will also be required to attend Module 1 and Module 2 of the Registered Financial Planner Programme (RFP) with effect from January 2005.

RFP is an integrated financial planning programme jointly developed by LIAM, the MII and the National Association of Malaysian Life Insurance and Financial Advisors. Click here for further details. ( PDF)

LIAM has issued a set of guidelines on the accreditation of CPD hours on 22 December 2005. Click here for the guidelines (PDF). LIAM has also released a list of life insurance courses conducted by the MII and the number of credit hours that could be granted for these courses. Click here for list 1 (PDF) and list 2 (PDF).

Replacement of Policies

It would not be in the best interest of the policyholders to replace their existing policies. This is because they will probably have to pay a higher premium for the new policy since they are older. The cash value of their policies will take time to build up and the 2-year period of contestability will begin again.

LIAM has issued a set of Rules on Replacement of Policies to discourage such practices and to protect the interest of policyholders. Under these rules, an agent would not receive any compensation for the new policy that replaces another policy within less than 1 year before or after the original policy is discontinued. Click here for further details. ( PDF)

Code of Ethics and Conduct

Introduced in 1990, the objective of the Code of Ethics and Conduct is to promote and maintain the highest degree of standards and integrity among employees and intermediaries in the life insurance sector. It is applicable to all directors (executive and non-executive), employees and intermediaries in the life insurance sector.

The Code comprised three parts - Guidelines on the Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and Conduct for Life Insurance Selling, and Statement of Life Insurance Practice. Companies are required to submit a quarterly report to Bank Negara Malaysia on breaches observed and the corrective or punitive actions that were taken. In addition, insurers have to report any fraud cases Bank Negara Malaysia and the police.

Common Wordings for Critical Illnesses

The definitions of 38 types of illnesses have been standardized and the common wordings were enforced in January 2002. This exercise was carried out to promote greater transparency and uniformity of critical illness coverage. It was also to reduce disparities in claims assessment due to different interpretations used. Click here for definitions of the illnesses.( PDF)