KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 — Malaysia’s life insurance industry said today it will speed up the payment of insurance claims from flood victims and give them longer grace periods to pay their insurance premiums.

In a statement today, the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) announced a list of measures to relieve the suffering and losses of Malaysians caught in the country’s worst flood “catastrophe”.

The measures include restructuring the schedule for paying insurance premiums from a yearly to monthly basis, as well as cutting down or waiving the interest charges for policy loan and Automatic Premium Loan.

LIAM said its 16 member companies will also waive the fee for medical card replacement and will also help to duplicate lost policy documents without charging the flood victims.

“Our member companies are committed in expediting the claims payments related to this catastrophe. We would like to advise policyholders and their family members to contact their respective insurance companies for further assistance.

“In this time of need, it is only right that the life insurance industry extend its warmth and care for them. We believe that these measures will help to ease their burden and help them get back on their feet again,” LIAM president Vincent Kwo said in the same statement.

LIAM said life insurance policyholders can also contact the association for assistance. Liam’s office numbers are 03-26916628 and 03-26916168, its email is liaminfo@liam.org.my.

At the height of the disaster that affected nine states in peninsular Malaysia, nearly 250,000 residents were forced to evacuate their homes to escape the floodwaters.

Many sustained severe financial losses and later returned to destroyed houses, with authorities confirming that the floods had claimed 21 lives.

There are pockets of settlements in some states like Pahang that are still inundated, especially for the Orang Asli community, cutting off their access to flood relief aid.