ITOs Must Submit Information To BNM Before Implementing Premium Readjustments — Lim Hui Ying

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Insurers and takaful operators (ITOs) are required to submit all necessary information to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for review before implementing premium readjustments, said Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying.

She said BNM does not allow ITOs to implement any premium readjustments if the proposal does not fully comply with the interim measures.

This is among the control measures during the interim period to assist policyholders who experience changes in Medical and Health Insurance and Takaful (MHIT) product premiums driven by medical cost inflation.

“For your information, the initial target set for the interim measures was that 80 per cent of policyholders would not experience a premium adjustment of more than 10 per cent due to medical inflation costs.

“Based on the latest data, more than 90 per cent of policyholders experienced a premium adjustment of less than 10 per cent in the first year. This is a better achievement than the initial target set,” she said during a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

She said that for a small number of policyholders who experienced higher premium adjustments involving products that had not been reviewed for a long time, the ITOs had provided more affordable alternative plan options for policyholders to consider.

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“There are also MHIT policyholders who experienced premium increases due to age transition. The premium adjustments due to age transition have been notified to policyholders at the time of purchase,” she said.

Lim said any issues related to this adjustment will be handled separately by the ITOs, and policyholders who have disputes regarding their premium adjustments are advised to refer to the relevant ITOs first.

“If policyholders are still not satisfied, they can contact BNM Link where any disputes will be resolved on a case-by-case basis,” she said.

Meanwhile, she said that, based on the latest data, BNM Link has received a total of 190 MHIT complaints from the public, of which 94 per cent, or 179, have been resolved by the ITOs.

“The government will continue to monitor the implementation of the interim measures during these three years and will not hesitate to take action against ITOs which do not meet the requirements of the interim measures," she said in reply to a question from Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru) who asked the Finance Minister to state that since the interim measures were implemented, how many cases of insurance companies were found to have violated the interim measures, as well as the types of violations and what action BNM will take against these companies.

— BERNAMA