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Kuala Lumpur, 22 October 2016 – Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM) commemorated the General Insurance Day 2016 with the launch of a Drive Safe Campaign and a host of activities at Berjaya Times Square Kuala Lumpur on 22 October 2016.
The focus for GID 2016 was on Road Safety, as the number of road accidents in Malaysia has been steadily increasing over the past few years resulting in loss of precious lives and properties. All these are also considered to be a loss of productivity to companies and the country in general.
“The Polis DiRaja Malaysia’s 2015 statistics show a record of 489,606 cases of road accidents in Malaysia, with 6,706 of these fatalities. Of this number, 62.7% involved motorcyclists and pillion riders. These accident victims were mainly youth in their prime. A majority of the accidents are caused by human error, some examples of which are not obeying traffic rules, reckless driving, speeding, tiredness or lack of concentration. We hope that with more sustained campaigns like this, we can inculcate good driving habits and have more courteous drivers on Malaysian roads.” said Mr Antony Lee, PIAM Chairman.
The campaign, which was themed “Every Road User Has A Family, Drive Safe”, was launched by the Chief Executive Officer of PIAM, Mr Mark Lim. The launch also ran parallel with a social media campaign by PIAM that promoted the hashtag #DriveSafe4Family. Guests and visitors who attended the General Insurance Day 2016 event had family portraits taken superimposed with road safety messages which were shared on social media.
“We wanted to get the public involved and to motivate them to take road safety seriously. Data from the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) shows that 80.6% of road accidents in this country are due to human error, while the remaining 19.4% are caused by poorly maintained road or vehicle conditions. With an average of 19 deaths recorded daily, we have approximately 1 death every hour. These are alarming statistics. In 2015, the insurance industry paid out a staggering RM14.5 million per day on motor claims, a large part of which was for property damage and bodily injury. It is our shared responsibility to reduce the number of road accidents in the country and have safer roads for all citizens.” said Mr Mark Lim.
Members of the public are also encouraged to use the 24-hour emergency Accident Assist Care Centre (AACC) Helpline 1-300-22-11-88, when they require immediate roadside assistance, be it due to an accident or a breakdown, or even if they just ran out of petrol. AACC will respond to basic or common enquiries relating to insurance claim coverage and procedures or regarding your own specific motor policy details. It will also assist to transfer your call to your own insurance company’s call centre. AACC is a free add-on service on top of the contractual obligations of your own policy coverage, with the aim of enhancing the overall services of Insurers and Takaful Operators during your journey on any roads in Malaysia. It seeks to provide you with instantaneous roadside assistance interactively and on demand.
This campaign also served to educate the public on the recently implemented Phased Liberalisation of the Motor Insurance. With the Phased Liberalisation, consumers can expect a wider range of motor and fire insurance products to cater for their lifestyle needs. Premium charged on products will also vary from one insurance company to another based on their business risks models and strategies. Over time, it is expected that premium rates for both motor and fire insurance will adjust and align to the underlying risk, thus allowing vehicle owners and property owners with low risk profiles to be charged lower premium rates.
“PIAM is confident that with a sustained campaign to educate and promote road safety road accidents and deaths can be reduced significantly. All it requires is a change of mindset and attitude.” said Mr Mark Lim