KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — A staggering RM2.71 billion was paid out in motor insurance claims in the first six months of this year which translates to RM14.8 million per day, said Mark Lim, the chief executive officer of General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM).
He said at a media briefing today that the number of motor insurance claims in the country were alarming and this is attributable to reckless driving by Malaysians.
“Based on the statistics published by the Ministry of Transport, a total of 533,875 accidents were recorded in 2017, which is an increase of 2.4 per cent from 521,246 accidents in 2016,” said Lim.
PIAM chairman Anthony Lee said Malaysia has one of the highest accident and fatality rates in the region.
He said PIAM was working closely with the government to reduce road accidents by 20 per cent in the short term and 50 per cent in the long term by changing bad driving habits.
On a positive note, Lim said motor theft claims declined by 31 per cent from 8,590 units to 5,913 units in the first half of this year.
He attributed the decline to the efforts of the Police, Customs and other law enforcement agencies in combating vehicle theft.
On another note, Lim said the general insurance industry has also launched 40 new motor and 29 fire products in the market.
Lim also said the implementation of the Sales and Service Tax posed an administrative nightmare to its members as policies purchased during the tax holiday period between June 1 and September 1 had to be prorated on the portion of SST levied.
Many insurers were having a tough time sorting out that tax problem, he said.
