Malaysians are under-insuring. Are you part of the stats?

Savings is not longer a virtue these days. Fortunately, the older generations saved a lot and this has helped the younger generations of today. Before we start saying how “bad” Malaysians have become, it’s actually a global phenomenon. Materialism is real in all countries, well perhaps except Bhutan. My friend just went and said the people there are just so real, so sincere. However, beyond savings, there’s investment and in-tandem with investments would be protection for our wealth.This is where insurance comes into play and this is also where many Malaysians do not do enough.
Reported in NST. According to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) assistant governor Jessica Chew Cheng Lian, the Malaysian insurance industry will be having a significant transformation over the next 5 – 10 years as it addresses the extend of underinsurance in the country currently. It is extremely important to address this protection gap and this will then promote a resilient economy and the well-being of the society. Million of individuals, families and businesses across the country remain ill-prepared for losses arising from unforeseen events. Jessica shared that the general insurance penetration level in Malaysia measured in terms of premiums as a share of GDP stands at 1.68 per cent as at end 2015. This is only about half of those in developed markets, currently at between 3 to 4 percent. She quoted one real example, “During the December 2014 flooding in the east coast of Malaysia, total economic losses were RM2.6 billion while insured losses paid as at end-2015 were only a fraction of that at about RM100.0 million.”
Fellow readers. Savings remain a foundation. Investments would be building blocks to a comfortable retirement. However, unforeseen circumstances may force us to lose a lot of what we build if we did not subscribe adequate protection for what we have. Perhaps the mentality of “nothing bad will happen to me” should change to “I love what I have and I will protect it.” I do not have any recommendations for KL but if you are from Penang, I can recommend my very helpful insurance agent for you. Just email to me and ask for her contact. Happy protecting what we have so that we can really enjoy it when we need it.
written on 5 Aug 2016
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