KUALA LUMPUR - Tens of thousands of home owners in the flood stricken states, including Johor and Melaka run the risk of not having insurance protection for the loss or damage of household products, furniture and fittings, and other personal belongings.
Most house owners in Malaysia have basic fire insurance protection for homes or the more comprehensive houseowner insurance protection for the building which covers floods; but stopped short of having protection for home contents which are only covered in householder insurance plans.
Householder insurance products offer the insured extra peace of mind and total protection for home contents against damage or loss caused by floods, earthquake, storm, explosion and theft apart from fire and lighting.
"Based on our own portfolio, less than five per cent of homes have householder insurance for protection against the loss or damage of their household products and personal belongings" said Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (Malaysia) Bhd (MSIG) Chief Executive Officer, Mr Song Yam Lim.
MSIG is the largest fire property insurer in Malaysia. "Most home owners assume the fire or houseowner insurance cover was all they need to enjoy insurance protection. But this is not the case, as both insurance plans only provide protection for the loss of or damage
to the insured property and not the home contents.
"Most home owners assume the fire or houseowner insurance cover was all they need to enjoy insurance protection. But this is not the case, as both insurance plans only provide protection for the loss of or damage to the insured property and not the home contents.
Mr Song advised all home owners to purchase home contents insurance to complement their property insurance for added peace of mind, adding the premium for the tariff-based householder insurance plans start from 0.398% for every RM1,000.
"Typically, the annual premium for an insured amount of RM50,000 (of home contents) is from RM199," he added. On insurance claims by the flood victims, Mr Song said MSIG had
recently implemented the fast track claims process to assist its affected individual and corporate clients.
"To date, we have received and are processing over 120 claims worth over RM7.3 million. The claim process is being expedited at every stage from notification all the way through the claims settlement. For example, reduced documentation and allowing our adjustors to make on-the-spot settlements for personal and individual claims of up to
RM20,000".
"We are monitoring the situation closely and will extend the fast track claims process to other states. We would assist in everyway we can to help the affected flood victims," he added.
About MSIG
MSIG is the second largest general insurance company in Malaysia with gross written premiums totaling RM704 million in 2006. The company, backed by over 125 years of experience in general insurance, is also Malaysia's no. 1 insurer for the fire and marine cargo insurance categories. MSIG has an agency force of over 1,900 and a nationwide network of 15 branches, including Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei.
