Prudential Assurance Malaysia has issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) interim measures on medical insurance premium increases, following criticism from six lawmakers who questioned whether the insurer’s planned hike complies with the central bank’s 10% cap over three years.
In a joint statement on Monday, the lawmakers — including Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin and five senators — urged BNM to step in following reports that Prudential planned to raise premiums for certain medical plans, citing a 19.6% increase in average claims. They noted this could contravene BNM’s interim measures, announced in December 2024, which limit premium hikes to 10% over three years for most policyholders.
“We wish for Prudential to release a statement to clarify this,” the lawmakers said, as reported by Malay Mail via Yahoo News.
Responding on Tuesday, Prudential reaffirmed its commitment to the central bank’s interim measures. It said the reported figures were referenced “excerpts from a letter to our customers which outlined the average medical inflation rate for one of our medical plans, PRUHealth, resulting from an increase in number of policyholders who made a claim and their average claims amount.”
The letter was meant to help policyholders understand the pressures driving healthcare costs, the insurer added.
Prudential said that, since the implementation of the BNM interim measures, it has been reaching out to policyholders in stages with updated notifications, detailing the measures, including updated premium and insurance charges.
Prudential added that the updates include “staggering premium adjustments and additional assistance for eligible policyholders”.
However the insurer noted that “medical cost inflation is a nationwide issue.” It described the BNM measures as “a joint commitment from the insurance and takaful industry” to manage changes “responsibly and transparently”.
BNM’s guidelines also require insurers to pause certain premium increases for individuals aged 60 and above.
Rising insurance rates remain a concern in Malaysia, stemming from media reports of a 40% to 70% increase in premiums back in 2024. This resulted in widespread backlash, prompting BNM to release interim measures.
