Press Statement By Julian Tan:
We received yet another case involving insurance agent fraud. The said agent accepted cash premium payments from the complainant but failed to remit her premiums, which resulted in cancellations of her policies. The complainant only found out recently when she called the insurance company. Many years ago, her insurance lapsed without her knowing. She had paid almost RM 100k in cash to the agent. Further investigation also reviewed that insurance policies were issued under her name without her consent via the agent’s fabricated documents.
Insurance fraud is a growing concern in Malaysia. The reported case is not the first case we come across in Kuching involving insurance agents misappropriated insurance premiums. Such an irresponsible act from rogue insurance agents give a bad name and causes distrust to the industry. In the case of fraud by the insurance agents, customers suddenly found out that they had no insurance in effect even though they have been serving their premiums. We view such a case seriously and help all we can to escalate the matter to the relevant authorities and the Insurance company involved.
We want to urge the public member not to pay cash to their agents at all cost, given the growing concern of rampant misappropriating of premium by insurance agents. The public can always pay their premium online to the insurance company directly or pay over the counter at its service center. Insurance clients can also opt for an auto deduction on their credit card or debit card. The public should always call up the Insurance company to check the status of their insurance. To ensure payment was made promptly, should they still rely on their agent to make such payment. The rule of thumb is, they can and have the right to call up the insurance company directly without going through the agents. Should their agents advise them otherwise, they should take it as an alarm that something is amiss. If their agent is committing fraud, they should immediately report it to the company for advice. They should not make any personal settlement with the rogue agent as the agent may again take advantage of them due to their lack of knowledge in the industry.
We received yet another case involving insurance agent fraud. The said agent accepted cash premium payments from the complainant but failed to remit her premiums, which resulted in cancellations of her policies. The complainant only found out recently when she called the insurance company. Many years ago, her insurance lapsed without her knowing. She had paid almost RM 100k in cash to the agent. Further investigation also reviewed that insurance policies were issued under her name without her consent via the agent’s fabricated documents.
Insurance fraud is a growing concern in Malaysia. The reported case is not the first case we come across in Kuching involving insurance agents misappropriated insurance premiums. Such an irresponsible act from rogue insurance agents give a bad name and causes distrust to the industry. In the case of fraud by the insurance agents, customers suddenly found out that they had no insurance in effect even though they have been serving their premiums. We view such a case seriously and help all we can to escalate the matter to the relevant authorities and the Insurance company involved.
We want to urge the public member not to pay cash to their agents at all cost, given the growing concern of rampant misappropriating of premium by insurance agents. The public can always pay their premium online to the insurance company directly or pay over the counter at its service center. Insurance clients can also opt for an auto deduction on their credit card or debit card. The public should always call up the Insurance company to check the status of their insurance. To ensure payment was made promptly, should they still rely on their agent to make such payment. The rule of thumb is, they can and have the right to call up the insurance company directly without going through the agents. Should their agents advise them otherwise, they should take it as an alarm that something is amiss. If their agent is committing fraud, they should immediately report it to the company for advice. They should not make any personal settlement with the rogue agent as the agent may again take advantage of them due to their lack of knowledge in the industry.
