LGBTQ+ May Name Partner As Beneficiary

Members of the LGBTQ+ community may designate their partners as their life insurance beneficiaries, the Insurance Commission (IC) clarified on Friday.

In a statement, the regulator said the clarification was in response to the request by the University of the Philippines Gender Law and Policy Program (UP GLLP) as to who can be designated beneficiary in a life insurance contract acquired by members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Affirming the position of the UP GLLP, Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa said “there is no legal impediment to the designation as beneficiary of the domestic partner of an insured who has secured a life insurance policy on his or her own life.”

He added that an insured who secures a policy on his or her own life may designate any individual as beneficiary, subject only to the exceptions provided in Article 2012 in relation to Article 739 of the Civil Code.

According to the UP GLLP, members of the LGBTQ+ community are unable to designate their domestic partners as beneficiaries of their life insurance.

This inability is allegedly due to the unwritten practice of life insurance companies to refuse the designation of non-relatives as beneficiary of the insured.

This is notwithstanding that the said insured was securing (or has secured) the life insurance policy on his or her own life on the ground that a beneficiary must have an insurable interest in the life of the insured, it added.

Socso Paid RM4.15 Billion

The Social Security Organisation (Socso) paid out RM4.15 billion in compensation last year under the Employment Injury Scheme and Invalidity Scheme. About RM800 million was paid out to workers involved in accidents while commuting to and from the workplace.

The amount showed an increase in payment compared to 2018 which amounted to RM3.707 billion. There were 79,676 workplace accidents reported to Socso last year and of that total, 38,142 were commuting accidents. 

The Self Employment Social Security Scheme which had been expanded to 19 informal sectors had received a lukewarm response from self-employed workers. Of the total 2.8 million self-employed workers in the country, less than 50,000 of them have registered. 

Socso called on all food delivery companies and e-hailing companies to make it compulsory for their riders as well as drivers to contribute to the scheme. E-hailing and taxi drivers were required to register and make contributions under the scheme through Socso effective November 1 last year.

Since Jan 1 this year, Socso has expanded the scheme to 19 informal sectors including agriculture, livestock breeding, forestry, fisheries, manufacturing and construction.

EPF - From 11% to 7%

From April 2020, the statutory contribution rate for employee contributions will go down from 11% to 7%, says the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). The new rate which, will be in effect until December, is in line with the Government's announcement on the 2020 Economic Stimulus Package 2020.

"The new statutory contribution rate for employees will affect April 2020's wage (May 2020's contribution) up to December 2020's wage (January 2021's contribution) subject to the Third Schedule of the EPF Act 1991. The new statutory contribution rate for employees applies to those below 60 years old who are liable for contribution. 

The statutory contribution rate for employees aged 60 years old and above however, remains unchanged. However, employees may choose to maintain the current contribution rate of 11% by completing Borang KWSP 17A (Khas 2020) that will be made available on the EPF website at a later date. This form must be submitted to the EPF via employers and will take effect from the following month.

Insurers Innovate To Accommodate Customers

Life is full of uncertainties and unexpected ventures into the unknown. This is why you have to always be prepared; taking precautions isn’t really a luxury, but rather a necessity. The best way to be prepared is through insurance policies. Health insurance is important because medical treatment is expensive and you never know what might happen tomorrow, if not years down the line.

Your car should be insured because accidents can and do happen. The most important precaution, though, is life insurance. If you are the primary provider of the family, this particular policy is how you ensure they will be financially secured after you’re gone. This form of insurance has drastically changed over the years, and life insurers keep on innovating to accommodate modern society. Here’s how:

Online Life Insurance - Perhaps the most important way life insurers managed to accommodate the ever-growing and changing society is by making the process digital. Now, there are companies like eLife that conduct business online, for the most part, aiming to improve and make the life insurance application process easier. It usually takes up to weeks, but now it can be done in under 15 minutes! This massive breakthrough has been a welcomed innovation by a lot of people, who might’ve wanted a life insurance policy, but found it cumbersome and exhausting to go through the process using traditional means.

Improved Customer Relations - Over the years, customer service has significantly grown and improved, because service providers started realizing that just selling a product or service isn’t enough. You have to include a strong after-sales service that is capable of supporting growing customer demands and concerns. People always have concerns and questions in this day and age, and if you don’t provide them with an answer, they will find someone who will. So, life insurers have begun implementing more efficient customer service strategies that provide better care for their clientele.

Affordability - With most insurance policies, people dread the notion of having to go to an insurance company because they think they will have to pay a lot of money for any plan. This is the prevalent notion of life insurance policies. That is far from the truth because you can get a life insurance policy for just £5 a month! You can definitely pay more and get better benefits, but the option to pay less and get a decent plan is still available, which is quite reassuring. This is another area where life insurers have significantly innovated. As society developed, people’s needs have changed. Living standards have significantly improved, unlike wages. So, insurers understand the importance of creating adequate policies for affordable prices to cater to people’s needs if they want to stay in the game.

Automation - Life insurance, like most insurance forms, entails a lot of paperwork and a usually bureaucratic process. You have pretty boring steps like preparing manually written notifications and the underwriting that takes a lot of time and effort. It didn’t make sense to have such tedious tasks done by people, especially in the digital age we live in, which life insurers were quick to realize. Companies spend a lot of money on hiring people to do boring jobs, when they could better invest in machines to do those tasks and let people do other more relevant things. This entails significantly reducing costs and, more importantly, improving efficiency.

Artificial Intelligence in Life Insurance - it is not just the mundane tasks that are benefitting from the rapid advancements and emerging technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also being used in the process of claims processing. One of the biggest challenges facing insurance –– life or any other kind –– is the fact that claims processing takes a lot of time, and decisions are usually delayed. This is only normal because an employee needs to gather all the data and relevant information to make a decision about a claim. This happens with all insurance types, which is why claims take a long time. This is where machine learning algorithms come in. They can significantly cut time from the process and enhance the entire claims processing part of the insurance business. This is done by taking out the human factor in certain areas that would expedite the process. 

There is no telling how much further life insurers would innovate to accommodate society, but they definitely will. The life insurance business is a very competitive one, and those in it need to go the extra mile to stand out. At the end of the day, it is the people that benefit from such innovations, so it’s definitely a good thing.

Airtel Distributes Life Insurance

Airtel has always been at the top of their game especially when it comes to prepaid plans. They have gotten very aggressive with the plans and have something new to offer every other day. Since the price hike in December, the telecom giants including Airtel had altered a lot of existing plans, discontinued some. However, there is something that only Airtel offers and no other telecom brand has implemented it-the life insurance cover. In as low as 179, you can avail a life insurance cover worth Rs 2 lakhs. This cannot get better!

Here we will focus on Airtel prepaid plans that offer life insurance cover, free subscription to Amazon Prime and many more.

The Airtel Rs 179 prepaid plan offers a total of 2GB internet data, unlimited calling without any FUP limit along with 300 SMSes. The pack is valid for 28 days from the date of recharge. Although it offers the same benefits as the Rs 149 plan, the Rs 179 plan comes with a life insurance cover worth Rs 2 Lakhs. There cannot be a better way to secure your and your families future than this. The life insurance scheme is only valid for people aged 18-54 and it doesn't require any paperwork.

Once you have opted for this plan, the policy certificate will be delivered to you digitally and a hard copy can be accessed digitally.

Airtel has another plan that comes with a life insurance cover and that is Rs 249 prepaid plan. The plan offers 1.5GB data per day, unlimited calls and 100 SMSes per day but what separates this plan from other plans is that it comes with a life insurance cover worth Rs 4 Lakhs from HDFC Life insurance.

Vodafone also has the same prepaid plan costing Rs 249 and provides the same benefits but doesn’t come with a life insurance cover paired with it. The plan by Airtel not only provides a life insurance cover it is also extremely useful for avid internet users. While the Rs 179 prepaid plan, doesn’t offer great internet benefits for extensive internet users.

Another unmissable prepaid plan by Airtel is the Rs 349 plan. It doesn’t come with any life insurance benefits but provides a free subscription to Amazon Prime worth Rs 999. The plan offers 2GB data per day, unlimited calls to all networks and 100SMSes per day and has a validity of 28 days.

Malaysia Life Insurance Projected RM47 Billion

The Malaysian life insurance market is projected to grow from MYR46.7 billion (US$11.6 billion) in 2019 to MYR55.4 billion (US$13.7 billion) in 2023 in terms of gross written premiums, at a compound annual growth rate of 4.4%.Term insurance, endowment and whole life products account for almost 90% of Malaysia’s life insurance business. Rising working-age population and government and regulatory initiatives towards affordable insurance products are among the key factors driving the market’s growth.

As of end-2018, the share of working-age population stood at 66.2%. This offers huge growth potential as 46% of the population still does not own life insurance products. 

Among the other goals the regulator has been pursuing is improving product accessibility. It is now mandatory for life insurers in Malaysia to offer standalone term insurance through their direct distribution channel – either own office or online platform, the report said. Due to their more affordable pricing, it is expected to help insurance adoption.

Points To Ponder Before Buying Insurance

6 Things to ponder when buying life insurance.

Not having life insurance at all - Life insurance is there to provide a financial benefit for your loved ones after you're gone. Having no life insurance can leave your family in serious financial trouble. Yet, only 50% of Malaysian are insured. Many people, especially millennials, overestimate the cost of life insurance. However, many policies for those in good health cost barely more than a Netflix subscription.

Only breadwinners need life insurance - Most people think only the person who provides the primary source of income should worry about life insurance. If you aren't the breadwinner or are a stay-at-home parent, you may think you don't need life insurance. However, a stay-at-home parent obviously provides a huge value, and if a household were to lose this person, they'd need to pay for all these expenses. Childcare and housekeeping as expenses that would need to be covered, either by paying for assistance or having the surviving spouse step in, which could cut down on their income.

Not having enough life insurance - Not having enough insurance was another huge mistake many people make. If you only want to cover funeral expenses, understand that the median cost of a burial today is approximately RM20,000 and can range up to $50,000. For a policy that will replace your income to help provide for your family, you will need much more coverage. Generally - you should be insured 5 times your annual income.

Relying only on employer-provided life insurance - Many employers offer life insurance as part of a benefits package. But, before you think you're set with just that coverage, not so fast, experts warn. It's extremely easy to sign up for employer-provided life insurance, but it often doesn't actually provide enough coverage. Employer-issued life insurance policies typically amount to 12 or 60 months worth of salary. Where people make mistakes is making this their only option. Group life insurance likely doesn't provide a significant amount of payout, and if it does, you're paying for it. And if you swap jobs? You're in trouble."

Waiting too long to buy - Buying life insurance is not something you want to put off. Yet because it's something that people think is far off in the future, they wait too long to get it.
That can end up dramatically increasing costs. The reality is your best chance of getting an affordable rate on your coverage is when you're young and in good health. Policy premiums are going to go up if you develop health conditions or when you get older. Some won't even insure you depending on the condition. If you haven't developed anything troublesome yet, it's a good time to get insurance. Immediately.

Forgetting to update your beneficiaries - When you get a life insurance policy, you name the beneficiary i.e. the people who will get the money after you die. But this is one area where you don't want to set it and forget it because that could have serious consequences. It's a good idea to make a plan to revisit your policy consistently and update your beneficiary accordingly. That conventional wisdom is especially true after significant life changes, including marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child. The beneficiary listed on your life insurance supersedes whatever is written in your will, so be sure to update this as needed.