The industry is reaching out to policy/certificate holders and nominees to update records and speed up payments of potential death benefits

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 (Bernama) -- The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) together with their member companies are urging policy/certificate holders to update their nominees’ details to expedite future payment of death benefits. 

In the coming weeks, both LIAM and MTA will be embarking on a community service engagement exercise which is intended to expedite the payouts of eligible death claims and to ensure more Malaysians enjoy the benefits of insurance and takaful coverage. 

This community service engagement exercise which commences today entails a communication letter addressed to the policy/certificate holders or nominees and advised them to contact their respective insurance companies and takaful operators (ITOs) for further updates.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of LIAM, Mark O’Dell, details of their next-of-kin are important to enable companies to contact them and disburse the death benefits in an efficient manner.

In many instances, there have been nominees who may not be aware that there was a life policy or takaful certificate in force on the life of a deceased family member. In those cases, the ITOs would not be aware of a potential claim.   

He further elaborated, “ITOs will be reaching out to policy/certificate holders to update their personal information.  Letters from ITOs will be sent to the last known address on record, even for policies/certificates that had lapsed. We urge policy/certificate holders or nominees to respond and contact their ITOs to update the needed information.”

Encik Azli Munani, CEO/Executive Secretary of MTA said that, “Failure to make the necessary nomination may hamper the intention of having an insurance/takaful cover. This is because without nomination, it can take years to obtain official documents from court in order to gain the right to claim. Furthermore, the nominees may not understand the proper way to make a claim”. He added, “Both Associations and ITOs will be actively promoting the importance of nomination to the public to ensure that policy/certificate holders are aware of this communication exercise and take appropriate action to update their nominees’ details for their insurance policies and takaful certificates.”

As this initiative will be a continuous effort from the industry, it is highly encouraged that policy/certificate holders to regularly update their nominees’ details for ITOs to reach out in the event they become aware of a potential claim.

Alternatively, family members can also contact LIAM or MTA member companies’ directly for further enquiries at the following consumer touch points:

LIAM members’ Hotline/e-mail address

Enclosed is the FAQ on Nomination for your reference.

Meanwhile, LIAM and MTA would like to advise members of the public to remain vigilant on scams which may arise from this exercise. This type of scams may be promoted in many forms through social media, emails or phone calls impersonating officers from the ITOs. Hence, members of the public are encouraged to contact their respective ITOs to seek information and clarifications. Please note that, LIAM and MTA members will never request for an update of personal information or account details via SMS, telephone call, email, social media or any messaging application. Policy/certificate holders are advised to ignore such messages or anything similar and never reveal your financial information, PIN or TAC with anyone. This is to protect policy/certificate holders from becoming victims of phishing, identity theft or malicious malware. Always be cautious to avoid becoming a scam victim. 

About LIAM 
Formed in 1974, the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) is a trade association registered under the Societies Act 1966. LIAM has a total of 16 members, of which 14 are life insurance companies and 2 life reinsurance companies. 
 
LIAM’s objectives are to promote a progressive life insurance industry; to enhance public understanding and appreciation for life insurance; to upgrade the image and professionalism of the life insurance industry and to support the regulatory authorities in developing a strong industry. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Name: Ms Nancy Tan
Executive Secretary
Tel: 03 –2691 6628/ 6168
Fax: 03 –2691 7978
Email: liaminfo@liam.org.my
Website: www.liam.org.my
Facebook: LIAM – Life Insurance Association of Malaysia 

About MTA
Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) was established on November 2002 under the Societies Act 1966. It is a trade association representing all 18 licensed Takaful and Retakaful operators in the country. The objectives and the powers of MTA are to promote the interests of its members and to lead and supervise the exercise of self-regulation within the Takaful industry.   

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Name: Encik Azli Munani
CEO/Executive Secretary
Tel: +603-2031 8160
Fax: +603-2031 8170
Email: mtasecretariat@malaysiantakaful.com.my
Website: www.malaysiantakaful.com.my
Facebook: Malaysian Takaful Association

SOURCE: Life Insurance Association of Malaysia / Malaysian Takaful Association

--BERNAMA