PETALING JAYA, June 26 (Bernama) -- FOMCA today praised Bank Negara Malaysia on its initiative to allow consumers to purchase general insurance directly from insurance companies.
Its Secretary-General, Muhammad Shaani Abdullah, said this move would save consumers between five and ten per cent of the cost of the premium.
Whatever little savings consumers make, it will be welcome especially now with the economic downturn, he told Bernama.
However, Muhammad hoped that Bank Negara would extend this direct buying for life insurance policies as well.
Besides this, he also called on Bank Negara, as the nation's banking regulator, to instruct commercial banks to reduce and standardise bank charges some of which were "too high".
For example, he said a copy of bank statement could cost RM10 and receiving documents via the post could cost RM12 to RM15.
Moreover, these charges differ from banks to banks and it is a hassle for consumers to shop around for banks which provide the cheapest rates, he said.
FOMCA also hoped that Bank Negara would closely monitor the "outsourcing activities of banks" which had the tendency to cause unnecessary hassle for consumers.
He pointed that the outsourcing of loan collection function of banks to private companies had caused undue stress and tension to consumers because of the "arm twisting tactics used by these companies to harass them."
Meanwhile, The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) cautioned Bank Negara in allowing consumers to purchase insurance directly from companies and bypassing agents, saying that "in the long run it would be detrimental to consumers, agents and the insurance industry as a whole."
Its General Secretary, J. Solomon said agents provided a very valuable service and this system of selling insurance via agents should be retained.
He said that agents were most useful particularly in remote areas in the country where companies cannot reach on their own to service the clients.
Moreover, taking away the business from agents will cause a huge unemployment problem as thousands are employed as full time agents, he added.
-- BERNAMA