Life insurance companies and family takaful operators extend 3-month deferment premium/ contribution payment support to 30 June 2021
Kuala Lumpur, 26 March 2021 – The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) are pleased to announce that all life insurance companies and family takaful operators have extended the 3-month deferment premium / contribution payment initiative for policy/certificate holders who are financially affected by the pandemic to 30 June 2021.
During this period, life insurers and family takaful operators will continue to provide insurance and takaful protection to the affected policy/certificate holders including those who are unable to earn an income to have a grace period of three months (or 90 days) to pay premium/ contribution due.
The extension is in response to the need of affected policy/certificate holders who may continue to face financial difficulties during this recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, policy/certificate holders are advised to check with their life insurers or takaful operators on their eligibility for this initiative.
“The impact of this COVID-19 is huge and prolonged. As such, we need to continue to safeguard the customers’ interest. The intended outcome is to enable policy/certificate holders to maintain their insurance/takaful protection coverage during this challenging period, “ said Loh Guat Lan, LIAM President.
“If the application by the policy/certificate holder is approved, the policy/certificate will remain in force during the deferment period. Once the deferment period ends, contractual provisions regarding premium/contribution payment will resume as usual. This deferral is a one-time exercise only although insurers or takaful operators can allow more liberal deferral at their discretion,” Loh elaborated.
The premium/contribution deferment option is applicable for annual, half-yearly, quarterly and monthly premium/ contribution modes of payment. This flexibility may be provided by life insurers and family takaful operators through a no-lapse guarantee, an extension of grace period or any other means that maintain the policy/ certificate intact during the deferment period.
Additionally, life insurers and family takaful operators will also provide the following assistance to the policyholders and takaful participants affected by COVID-19 to reinstate or preserve their life insurance and family takaful protection:
- Extend the period during which a policyholder and takaful participant affected by COVID-19 can reinstate a policy/certificate that has lapsed;
- Provide options to enable policyholders and takaful participants affected by COVID-19 to continue to meet their premium/contribution payments and maintain their policies/certificates. This may include changes in the sum assured/covered, adjustments to the premium/contribution structure and conversion into a paid up policy; and
- Waive fees and charges imposed for changes made to policies/certificates.
As the flexibilities provided for vary from company to company, policyholders and certificate holders affected by COVID-19 are advised to check with their respective life insurance companies/takaful operators for more details.
Refer to Appendix A for Contact details.
Refer here for FAQ on the Deferment of payment of life insurance premiums and family takaful contributions.
