KUALA LUMPUR (July 12): The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is targeting 300,000 contributors to take advantage of the i-Lindung platform launched on Tuesday (July 12) within the first year.
EPF chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir said with a premium as low as RM30 per annum, the total coverage offered for i-Lindung is RM10,000.
The EPF launched the i-Lindung platform under the Members Protection Plan to facilitate the purchase of insurance and takaful products consisting of life and critical illness protection at an affordable premium from Account 2, with the protection offerings available to EPF members with immediate effect.
“The ownership of insurance policies and takaful certificates among the people in this country is still low, especially those in the lowest 40% monthly income group or B40. This situation is particularly worrying as this segment is more vulnerable to disasters and faces a lack of protection.
“At the industry level, the ownership rate of insurance and takaful coverage that is low will certainly stunt the growth of the insurance coverage industry overall,” he said in his opening address in conjunction with the launch.
Citing a study from the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia in 2020, Ahmad Badri said that the insurance penetration rate in the country is only at 56.1% for insurance and takaful, and after deducting the number of policyholders with more than two policies, the rate is reduced to 41%.
Of that total percentage, he said over 90% had not enough coverage for themselves and their families.
“What is more alarming is that from that amount, only 4% of households from the low-income group have takaful coverage or life insurance,” added Ahmad Badri.
As such, Ahmad Badri said the i-Lindung facility was created, with the EPF confident that apart from helping members getting insurance and takaful coverage, it is also able to help realise the country’s aspiration towards achieving a higher insurance penetration rate of 70%.
“To achieve that goal, we need to mobilise efforts to address a number of factors that contribute to the lack of ownership for insurance policies and takaful certificates among Malaysians. The main factor that is often cited for not having insurance or takaful is the price and affordability.
“Local industry players also need to expand their approach to insurance programmes and takaful, especially for the B40 group to ensure it better meets the needs of their protection,” he said.
In a statement, the EPF said members who wish to purchase insurance and participate in takaful products offered by EPF-approved insurance companies and takaful operators can do so via the i-Lindung platform within the EPF i-Akaun (Member) portal.
The participating insurance companies and takaful operators are FWD Takaful Bhd, Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd, Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd, Etiqa Life Insurance Bhd and Etiqa Family Takaful Bhd.
Members below age 55 with a sufficient balance in Account 2, who are Malaysian and registered i-Akaun users, are eligible to purchase products under i-Lindung.
Those above age 55 can also purchase products under i-Lindung provided that they are within the eligible entry age of related products and maintain a minimum RM100 in their Akaun 55 or Akaun Emas.
The i-Lindung platform was launched by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
In his speech, the minister said the registration of new EPF members rose by 57% to 146,000 in the first quarter of 2022, while voluntary contributors under the i-Saraan programme jumped 77% to 599,000 individuals.
This was after the EPF embarked on a long-term strategy to expand the social protection coverage of Malaysians in an effort to strengthen government-linked companies’ support ecosystem, he said.