30% Of Working Malaysians Don’t Have Insurance

Everyone wants to build a better future and be able to enjoy life. One way to do this is to be financially robust with the aid of takaful and insurance.

According to a Zurich Malaysia survey, one-third of working Malaysians in the core financial planning age range of 25 to 40 years old lack personal protection. This is made worse by the fact that 16% of them claimed they have no plans to save any money for takaful or insurance.

According to Bank Negara Malaysia, 75% of Malaysians are unable to raise RM1,000 in an emergency, and 6.62 million EPF members under the age of 55 have savings totalling less than RM10,000.

The insurance and takaful operator stated that the failure to take action to secure personal protection was due to misunderstandings, a lack of knowledge, and ignorance.

Source: Zurich Malaysia

Misconception

The misperception among these respondents is evidenced by the beliefs that it suffices when protection is supplied by the employer (21%) and that insurance or takaful is not required (14%).

In a statement, it said that the negative perception regarding insurance/takaful (9%) also does not help motivate them to invest in their future.

Lack of knowledge and comprehension

In spite of several initiatives by insurers and takaful operators, 22% of respondents claimed they still lacked sufficient knowledge about insurance and takaful, according to Zurich Malaysia.

This may have contributed to the 18% lack of awareness of the objective and advantages of insurance and takaful, though it was not definitely the cause. 

Furthermore, 11 per cent of the respondents said that they could not afford to purchase personal protection. 

Source: Zurich Malaysia

According to Zurich Malaysia, the findings underscored the crucial role life insurance agents and takaful consultants played in ensuring public knowledge. The report stated that it is crucial to improve insurance and takaful penetration and close the protection gap toward a more sustainable way of living.

The study, titled "Impact of Pandemic on Protection," was commissioned in late 2021 and included 1,201 respondents from around the country.

A total of 491 respondents, or 41% of the sample size, were working adults between the ages of 25 and 40, and 30% of them reported having no protection.

Source: BERNAMA