As part of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) move to liberalise motor insurance tariffs, motor insurance premiums will be fixed according to individual risk factors.
Under the liberalised environment, the premium will be determined based on risk factors such as sum insured, cubic capacity of the vehicle’s engine, age of vehicle, age of driver and most recently announce, traffic offences on record.
Other factors include safety and security features in the vehicle, duration the vehicle is on the road, and geographical location of the vehicle (in areas with higher incidents of theft).
These factors will define the risk profile group of the policyholder which will then determine the premium.
General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) corporate communications manager Kuan Shook Quan announced that this was in line with what BNM has announced and that this would be similar to risk-based insurance. This means that there would be lower premiums for lower risk drivers with good records on the road.
Kuan has pointed out that different insurers have different ways of defining the risk profile group, hence the price of a motor policy would differ from one insurer to another.
“With this transition, consumers are now empowered to improve their risk profile and enjoy lower premiums,” she said.
“They should shop around and get the best insurance coverage that meets their needs and at a price best suited to them. However, consumers are cautioned that a lower price does not mean a better product. Proper assessment and due diligence must be done.”
