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(Business Times, 14th Sep 2009) Singapore life insurance giant Great Eastern Holdings Ltd is putting the final touches to its plans to start takaful operations in Malaysia, with the latest move being the hiring of a top executive to lead the unit.

Sources told Business Times that the insurer had roped in former Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd chief executive officer Mohamad Salihuddin Ahmad to head its future Islamic insurance operations.

The sources said that Salihuddin was hand-picked by Great Eastern Holdings group chief executive officer Ng Keng Hooi.

Ng was Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd (PAMB) chairman and Prudential Corp Asia regional managing director when Salihuddin was appointed to head Prudential BSN Takaful in 2006.

Salihuddin is said to have vacated his post at Prudential BSN Takaful some two months ago. The company has yet to announce his replacement.

“The group under Ng’s leadership has already put in place a project team in Singapore to spearhead the takaful operations,” the sources said.

Ng was the architect of Prudential’s venture into the takaful business, which now makes up almost a third of PAMB’s new business in Malaysia.

Great Eastern Holdings is a front runner to clinch one of two takaful licences to be awarded by Bank Negara Malaysia later this year.

Great Eastern Holdings operates in Malaysia through subsidiary Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) Bhd, but does not have a takaful licence as yet.

The insurer is keen take advantage of several broad changes aimed at liberalising the country’s financial services sector, including greater flexibility for foreign financial institutions to operate in the country and issue of two takaful licences.

Great Eastern Malaysia director and chief executive officer Koh Yaw Hui had said earlier that its strong channels and bancassurance business, through holding company Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC), would provide it with a strong platform to launch products for the takaful market if it succeeded in securing the licence.

At OCBC’s first quarter results briefing in May, its chief executive David Conner said the further opening of Malaysia’s financial services sector to foreign players would present fresh opportunities to the bank and its subsidiaries.

He had said then that Great Eastern would apply for a takaful licence in Malaysia, while OCBC would be keen to add to the 29 bank branches it has here.

Life Insurance Coverage for Influenza A(H1N1) – Press Release

Kuala Lumpur, 21 August 2009: The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) has confirmed that death due to the Influenza A(H1N1) will be payable. In addition, all the 16 life insurance companies under LIAM will also be paying claims arising from hospitalization due to Influenza A(H1N1). Even though a majority of the medical policies carry exclusion on communicable diseases requiring quarantine by law, life insurers are responding to an immediate need of the nation in light of the increasing number of people who have been infected.

Life insurance companies will nonetheless continue to monitor the Influenza A(H1N1) situation. In the event of any review of this decision on life insurance coverage, the policyholders will be duly informed.

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release

Kuala Lumpur, 19 August 2009 – Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad’s Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr Koh Yaw Hui informed that as a good corporate citizen with a hundred and one years’ presence in Malaysia, Great Eastern will cover hospitalization claims made by its policyholders, who have been hospitalized due to influenza A (H1N1).

“This pandemic disease is distressing for our community. We would like to dispel all uncertainties on hospitalization claims by affirming that Great Eastern will compensate our policyholders who have been hospitalized for treatment of influenza A (H1N1),” assured Mr Koh.

Similarly, Mr. Koh in his capacity as a Director of Overseas Assurance Corporation (Malaysia) Berhad (“OACM”), would also like to take the opportunity to assure the policyholders of OACM who have been hospitalized due to influenza A (H1N1), that they will be accorded similar treatment.

Mr Koh urged the public to adhere to the authorities’ request to take precautionary measures to prevent further spread of this disease by practising isolation should one feel ill or show symptoms of influenza A (H1N1), to curb further spread of this deadly disease.

Mr. Koh added, “Great Eastern and OACM have constantly briefed our employees on influenza A (H1N1) in relation to insurance claims. We have also taken the initiative to communicate regularly with our employees and our agency force on this pandemic so that we are able to serve our policyholders on a timely basis.”

About Great Eastern
Great Eastern began its operations in 1908 as a branch office of The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited. The Malaysian operations were subsequently transferred to a locally incorporated public company, Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad under the Scheme of Transfer of Business. The Company was certified by The Malaysia Book of Records in 1998 as “The Oldest and Largest Life Insurer” in Malaysia. With more than a century of experience and solid financial foundation, Great Eastern has assets in excess of RM37 billion, over 2.8 million policies in force, 24 Branch offices and a network of 17,000 agents nationwide as at 31 December 2008. Its products include life insurance plans, investment-linked plans, mortgage protection, business protection, employee benefits, medical insurance and group health benefits schemes. Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad is a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Eastern Holdings Limited (GEH) and its ultimate holding company is Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC).

(The Edge, 21st August) KUALA LUMPUR: Etiqa will pay the claims made by its medical and health plans’ policyholders should they be hospitalised for treatment for H1N1 influenza, with immediate effect.

Etiqa said on Aug 21 the H1N1 influenza can affect everyone physically and also financially, in terms of the medication and treatment.

Its CEO and director Datuk Aminuddin Md Desa said in this difficult time, it decided to extend the cover of H1N1 influenza to its medical and health plans and ensure that claims are paid to policyholders hospitalized and treated for the H1N1 influenza.

Etiqa is extending the cover for H1N1 influenza treatment and hospitalisation to its group and individual medical and health plans. This H1N1 coverage benefit is extended to all current policyholders of Etiqa’s medical and health plans and any new policyholders who will be joining the plan from now on.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) — Malaysia reported six more deaths due to A/H1N1 flu on Tuesday, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to 38.

The Malaysian Health Ministry’s Director-General Ismail Merican also said that in the last 24 hours, Malaysia has detected 270 new cases of the flu, bringing the total cases in the country to 2,253.

Among the new detected cases, Ismail said 48 patients were treated in the isolation wards, while eleven patients were treated in intensive care unit, he said in Putrajaya Hospital, some 25 km south of here.

Ismail said that generally, most patients have high recovery, urging people who have flu symptoms such as cough and fever to stay at home and wear mask.

Ismail also said that the public should seek medical treatment immediately if they have unusual flu symptoms, including difficulty in breathing and chest pain.

Meanwhile, Ismail said that the Malaysian Health Ministry would publish useful and updated information of the disease twice a day for the public, through the ministry’s website.