KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 10): The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) and members of the companies are urging policy or certificate holders to update their nominees’ details to expedite future payment of death benefits.  

Chief executive officer (CEO) of LIAM, Mark O'Dell, said details of their next-of-kin are important to enable companies to contact them and disburse the death benefits in an efficient manner.

He said 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 insurance companies and takaful operators (ITOs) would not be aware of a potential claim.   

"ITOs will be reaching out to policy or certificate holders to update their personal information.  

"Letters from ITOs will be sent to the last known address on record, even for policies or certificates that had lapsed. We urge policy or certificate holders or nominees to respond and contact their ITOs to update the needed information," he said in a statement today.

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 or certificate holders or nominees advising them to contact their respective ITO for further updates

Meanwhile, CEO and executive secretary of MTA, Azli Munani, said failure to make the necessary nomination may hamper the intention of having an insurance or takaful cover.

He said 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.

"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," he said.

As this initiative will be a continuous effort from the industry, policy or certificate holders are highly encouraged 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. LIAM members may contact AIA Bhd hotline 1300881899 or e-mail [email protected] and [email protected], or visit www.aia.com.my, Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd (hotline 1300225542 or e-mail [email protected].)

MTA members may contact AIA Public Takaful Bhd (hotline 1300888922 or e-mail [email protected]), AmMetlife Takaful Bhd (hotline 1300229777 or e-mail [email protected]) and Etiqa Family Takaful Bhd (hotline 1300138888 or e-mail [email protected]).

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 scam 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 clarification. 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 or certificate holders from becoming victims of phishing, identity theft or malicious malware. Always be cautious to avoid becoming a scam victim," it said.