20
The Health | january-february , 2021
| Biz Health |
You can increase your contribution by doing top-ups as your life progresses and you can withdraw and sell units if you are in sudden need of money . While you do this , your family takaful policy or plan is intact to protect you . You don ’ t have to nullify or sell the whole plan .”
Right timing for financial immunity
Zurich Takaful ’ s new insurance plan in line with Bank Negara ’ s market strategy guidelines and makes the product more customer-centric
BY KHIRTINI K KUMARAN
Driven by Bank Negara ’ s market
strategy , the nation ’ s insurance industry underwent a significant change for Investment-Linked Plans ( ILPs ) effective Oct 1 , 2020 .
“ As per the guidelines of Bank Negara , insurers must allocate more units to the customer . So , this has made the product more customer-centric ,” Zurich Takaful Malaysia Berhad ( Zurich Takaful ) CEO Mukesh Dhawan explained .
ILPs are coverage plans that combine both investment and protection . The contributions paid would provide takaful cover and be invested in specific investment funds of choice .
According to Mukesh , ILPs in the takaful industry have been holding up well regarding driving growth .
“ We were among the first to launch a new ILP plan called Takaful ProInvest ( ProInvest ), in early November 2020 , with a higher allocation of units .”
ProInvest is an investment-linked family Takaful plan which , according to Mukesh , is a customer-friendly , transparent and dynamic product .
“ You can increase your contribution by doing top-ups as your life progresses and you can withdraw and sell units if you are in sudden need of money .”
“ While you do this , your family takaful policy or plan is intact to protect you . You don ’ t have to nullify or sell the whole plan .”
Protection up to age 100
The nature of ILP allows customers to personalise their premiums and contributions , according to affordability .
As Mukesh puts it , ILPs work like a chassis – the supporting frame , which structurally supports its construction of an object .
“ So , with ILPs , a parent creates the chassis for their future need . Over 20 to 25 years , they can top up and add more money . They also can withdraw and cash in some of the units for various needs such as to fund children ’ s education , vacations or life milestone events such as weddings and so on .
“ ProInvest gives all this in one . That is why this product is very flexible , dynamic and customer friendly .”
With the population living longer , another thoughtful benefit is the provision of Total & Permanent Disability and Golden Age Disability benefits that provide lumpsum disability payout up to age 100 .
“ As life progresses , you can attach add-ons for premiums , critical illness care as well as other benefits . ProInvest is the only ILP plan in the market that gives you protection up to age 100 .”
2021 and beyond
According to Mukesh , the prospects are good and in the new year , Zurich Takaful is committed to growing in Malaysia with a wide suite of products and distribution channels .
“ Apart from ILP like ProInvest , we also have traditional plans such as Term Takaful , Takaful ProEssential and Takaful Family Hero , which are all popular products . We are also one of the few operators that have a standalone cancer care product called CancerCare .
“ So , with a wide range of products , we aim to serve the underserved people in Malaysia .”
Another critical success factor is distribution . Zurich Takaful ’ s plans for 2021 is to drive growth with a multi-channel distribution approach .
“ We have a dominant agency force , whereby they contribute to about 90 to 95 per cent of our business . We have about 7,000 professionally trained agents nationwide , known as Zurich Takaful Wealth Planners .
“ With Zurich My Second Income Plan , we are committed to growing this channel by recruiting more Malaysians . It is the perfect time to provide a second income to Malaysians , many of whom are looking for second careers .”
Zurich My Second Income Plan is a career program , whereby recruits will be trained and groomed to become a Takaful agent .
Mukesh continued : “ Another channel we are committed to serving Malaysians is through online direct channels .
“ We are going to make sure we are more visible in the virtual space , especially now where virtual is taking over everything .”
Mukesh believes this is the perfect time to provide financial immunity to Malaysians .
“ While doctors are frontliners to give immunity through vaccination , we are the frontliners to give financial immunity to Malaysians .” — The Health