Perlindungan Tenang Takaful, insurance products penetration still low

KUALA LUMPUR: The penetration rate for Perlindungan Tenang Takaful and insurance products in the country is still low and far from the target established.

Perlindungan Tenang is a national initiative developed by the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM), General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM), and supported by Bank Negara Malaysia.

Takaful Ikhlas Family Bhd senior vice-president and chief operating officer Nazrul Hisham Abdul Hamid representing MTA, said although more than 29,000 Perlindungan Tenang policies were sold from the launch in December 2017 until Dec 31, 2018, the numbers were far from the target.

“However, with the surge in awareness and high demand, we are confident Perlindungan Tenang will be the choice of the Bottom 40 (B40) group because the products are takaful and insurance plans that are affordable, easy to join and offers easy claims process,” he said in a statement yesterday.

According to MTA, the overall takaful and insurance penetration rate among Malaysians is still low at 55 per cent and this was one of the reasons for the creation of Perlindungan Tenang.

“Among the reasons for the low penetration rate in Malaysia is the lack of priority (to obtain insurance) among Malaysians.

“Therefore, the industry is continuing to focus on the objective of encouraging public awareness and creating better understanding on the benefits of insurance coverage and to increase the desire to purchase takaful and insurance coverage,” the association added. — Bernama