Malaysians buying insurance up to 100 years

KUALA LUMPUR - Longer life span and rising healthcare costs are prompting people in Malaysia to buy insurance up to the age of 100.

More and more Malaysians are now taking up multiple health insurance policies covering at least 80 years of age, with some even extending their policies to the age of 100.

Most employers do not provide post-retirement medical coverage, and many working people aged between 25 and 50 are now taking up medical insurance policies to avoid exhausting their savings, an insurance company official said.

Some clients were buying more than one medical plan to ensure they had “sufficient cover all the way”, Heng Zee Wang, chief product and marketing officer for Prudential Assurance Malaysia, was quoted as saying by The Star.

“Each medical plan comes with a claim limit. If a person is hospitalised and the bill exceeds the existing limit, the patient will have to pay the remaining amount from his own pocket if he or she does not have a second policy,” he said.

Heng said more insurance companies were now offering policies that covered a longer period as Malaysians were living longer due to improved living conditions and medical advancement.

“The average life expectancy of a Malaysian male and female was only 55.8 years and 58.2 years respectively in 1957. Today, it is 71.9 years for men and 76.9 years for women.

“By 2050, the average lifespan is expected to increase to 77 years for men and 82 years for women. This upward trend presents a need for insurance companies to provide medical plans that would cover the policy holders beyond the current life expectancy,” he said.