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Kuala Lumpur, 11 June 2018 – PERSATUAN INSURANS AM MALAYSIA (PIAM) and MALAYSIAN TAKAFUL ASSOCIATION (MTA) have jointly appointed Adibah Noor as Brand Ambassador for the National Consumer Education Campaign on the Liberalisation of the Motor Insurance Tariff in Malaysia. Adibah Noor, is a household name and a renowned actress, comedian and singer nationwide.
Antony Lee, Chairman of PIAM said “We decided on Adibah Noor because she is able to reach out to all Malaysians and transcends age, gender, race and social status. She has the ability to convey messages and taglines with ease to a broad spectrum of audiences. We are confident that she is the ideal person to speak on the important topic of road safety and promoting good driving habits in Malaysia. She will add a unique personal touch to this campaign. Our ultimate objective is to ensure Malaysian roads are safer with less traffic accidents and road fatalities.”
The Phased Liberalisation of Motor Insurance Tariff has been proceeding smoothly and the National Consumer Education Campaign has heightened awareness among the public on the benefits to consumers. Motorists may be rewarded with lower insurance premium rates by being a safe driver and a responsible car owner. Yet, accident rates in Malaysia remained alarmingly high. “PIAM is intensifying its collaboration with all major stakeholders to reduce road accidents nationwide and has set a stretched target of reducing national road accidents by 20% for 2018 and 50% from 2020 onwards,” emphasized Chairman Lee.
“Malaysia has been recording one of the highest road fatality rates in Asia.” added En Muhammad Fikri, Chairman of Malaysian Takaful Association. In 2015, the number of road accident fatalities stood at 6,706; in 2016 it increased to 7,152 ; and in 2017 it was 6,740. The fatality index in 2017 currently stands at 2.34 compared to 2.59 in 2016. Even though the index is reducing, we have to work towards achieving an index of 2.0 for every 10,000 registered vehicles to support the Ministry of Transport’s initiative to reduce road deaths on par with the developed countries. This consumer education campaign supports the governments’ initiative to make Malaysian roads safer.
Mr Mark Lim, Chief Executive Officer of PIAM said that “the current trend of accidents and fatalities caused by heavy and commercial vehicles is worrying. Although consumer education is important, enforcement by relevant authorities is equally crucial. The insurance industry supports the Kejara System as any information on errant and high-risk drivers will be useful. We look forward to working closely with all relevant Government agencies to help reduce the national road accidents. Motor insurers currently pay out RM14.7 million per day in claims for property damage, bodily injury and vehicle theft. This is a staggering amount and cannot be sustained going forward”.
The Liberalisation of the Motor Insurance Tariffs has been implemented in a phased approach to allow time for consumers and industry to adjust to the new operating environment. In the first phase which commenced 1 July 2016, insurers were allowed to offer new products to the consumers at market rates. Existing Motor Third Party, Motor Comprehensive as well as Motor Third Party Fire and Theft products continued to be made available.
On 1 July 2017, premium rates for Motor Comprehensive as well as Motor Third Party Fire and Theft product were liberalised. This is to avoid sharp upward premium rates adjustments if these classes of coverage were immediately liberalised. The progress of liberalisation will be reviewed by the regulator Bank Negara Malaysia in 2019 with an assessment of the impact on consumers and industry before full liberalisation takes place.
As at 2 May 2018, 33 new motor insurance products have been launched. The objective of the campaign is also to create awareness on the variety of new products available and encourages consumers to be more proactive and choose wisely when purchasing motor insurance. Consumers are expected to be better informed and will shop around to make the best selection from a variety of sources and offerings. PIAM and MTA’s websites have a Motor Product Selector which provides consumers with information on the insurance covers available. Consumers can select the protection based on the specific needs and receive quotations from insurance companies of their choice.
Adibah Noor added, “I am so happy to play my role in this initiative. Motor insurance is basically a coverage that we have been buying without much thought. The time has now come for us to make a difference and play our role as a responsible car owner and a safe driver. It is heartening to note that we will be able to reach out to the segment that most deserves our attention”.
The National Consumer Education campaign will kick off with new TV commercials, print ads, social media engagement, online ads, public relations and on-ground activations. It will be timely as the campaign will be launched prior to the “Balik Kampung” exodus for the coming Hari Raya holiday period. The campaign will run right through the whole of 2018.
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