Is Etiqa Ezy-Secure the absolute cheapest pure life insurance in Malaysia?

I'm seeing a quote of RM555/year until age 37, after which it gradually starts going up.

Compared to a few other companies (e.g. GE's Great Term Direct), the premium is nearly halved!

I just checked Fi.Life...for RM500k cover for basic life/TPD it is RM650 until age 34 and then gradually increases.

Age 32

Etiqa Ezy-Secure: RM555
Fi.Life: RM650

Age 40

Etiqa Ezy-Secure: RM640
Fi.Life: RM900

Age 60

Etiqa Ezy-Secure: RM5,465
Fi.Life: RM7,790

Age 75

Etiqa Ezy-Secure: RM28,055
Fi.Life: RM31,185

Etiqa seems to be around 20% cheaper than Fi.Life at the same age points.

Personally I think level-term is too restrictive and locks you into something for that 10/20/30/50 year period. My personal belief is that by the time I hit 60 or 65, I shouldn't need life insurance anymore.

You get penalized badly by cancelling a level-term life insurance early, as the latter year's premiums are front-loaded to your earlier years.

But yes, if you can commit to the very end and are super sure about it, then I believe a level term will be ever so slightly cheaper than the equivalent yearly increasing premium life insurance.

This post has been edited by contestchris: Jan 16 2024, 08:02 PM

I just did some projection for a 20Y policy comparison between FWD Takaful level premium term insurance vs Etiqa increasing premium life insurance.

To match the level premium using time value of money approach, the premiums saved in the initial years from the increasing premium has to be invested at 4.65%. Meaning to say, if you are certain you can get returns above 4.65% on the saved premiums, then the level premium term insurance might not be the best idea.

Overall, now that I've run the numbers, I actually think it's a good deal with obvious drawbacks of level term insurance being as follows:

1. Early termination of such a policy is at your loss as you overpay in the earlier years.
2. You have to be very sure about the policy term at the point of purchase, as a 30Y term life will cost significantly more than a 20Y term life and you have to commit to it for the entire duration.
3. You will not have much flexibility and lock yourself into a multi-decade contract.

Projection for 30M with coverage at RM500k:


Edit: I don't understand how FDW Takaful has got such competitive rates! Great Eastern's increasing premium direct life insurance (purchased from their website) already starts in 4 figures and keep rising!



This post has been edited by contestchris: Jan 16 2024, 08:38 PM

Have you been on the FWD level premium plan for more than a year? Do they declare surplus profits? If so, how much?

Has anyone bought term Takaful, any idea if you get surplus profits, and if so, how much?

Not a good idea mate. Even if they don't know now, they could find out in the future and void your entire policy. You'll be in for a world of hurt then.

Heads up everyone. A centralised medical claims database is coming soon, spearheaded by BNM. It is one of the measures to contain medical claims experience.

Yes this is true, and it is widely known in the industry.

The thing is, the Participating Funds are broken into 2 - Estate and Asset Share.

Asset Share = share of ownership by Par policyholders.

Estate = "unknown" money floating around in the Par Fund for which the beneficial owners cannot be traced back.

Where the whistleblower is wrong is that, the Estate funds do not actually impact the current Par policyholders. They were not shortchanged. For current Par policyholders, their benefits/returns etc come from the Asset Share portion of the Par fund, where everything is accounted for fairly and in accordance with the 90:10 rule.

Over the years, Great Eastern may have had an estate that had ballooned up. You cannot distribute it to current Par policyholders because it's going to be unfair gain for the policyholders. Maybe this is an agreement they reached with the government to trim down the Estate, for which they have zero ownership over.

TLDR: Although there is some political element here, it cannot be denied that Great Eastern, Government of Malaysia, and B40 rakyat all mutually benefitted at the expense of "unknown" money that has been floating around for decades.

Link to policy document: https://www.bnm.gov.my/documents/20124/9481...mt-July2023.pdf



This post has been edited by contestchris: Jan 27 2024, 10:41 AM

Mind you, #2 is already known upfront and priced in accordingly. It's not a factor in ILP premiums increasing.

#1 is also priced in to a large part.

The issue is with #3 which causes COI to rise (and consequently premiums to rise).

#4 is a separate issue which doesn't cause COI to rise, but it causes the premiums to rise.

There is another reason that causes the death spiral of a medical plan. I shared the diagram before. When healthy people exit to a cheaper plan or a plan with more benefits, and those that remain are disproportionately unhealthy.

Yes BNM is looking into medical repricing as a serious issue, together with LIAM/PIAM/MTA.

One of the key things will be the upcoming industry-wide shared medical database to get insights across the industry on medical claims.

Increase in insurance charges for age is accounted for in your initial premium. It's there in the PDS and SI.

However increase for medical repricing is not accounted for (which factors in medical inflation, claims experience etc)

This post has been edited by contestchris: Feb 3 2024, 04:40 PM

I looked at the life takaful from Etiqa, seems to be less competitive compared to buying from their website directly.

I have submitted an application to upgrade my medical plan in my ILP.

After a few weeks, I received an enquiry from the insurance company to fill in a "Neck & Back Pain" questionnaire.

I asked my agent, she says:

1) I declared it in my application form (Note: I did not)
2) I have received medical attention / hospitalization for it (Note: I did not)

Both my neck and back are completely fine to my knowledge. I do not recall ever seeking any kind of medical attention, or indicating as such to any doctor, regarding this.

How can I appeal to the insurer? I have filled in "N/A" to all the questions but not sure how acceptable it will be to the insurer. What will they make me do next?

NOTE: Asking for a close personal friend, NOT myself.

This post has been edited by contestchris: Feb 7 2024, 10:13 PM

Can any of the agents please assist in this matter?

Assuming he is being completely truthful and zero such history of back and neck pains.

I've known him many years, he does have some health conditions (duly declared and claimed under that same insurance in the past) but no back/neck pains.

Thank you good sir.

Surprisingly, they just send the questionnaire. No explanation as to where the information is coming from or why they're asking for it.

Hi all,

May I ask, does anyone here (customer or agent) know if Great Eastern offers medical insurance (standalone or ILP rider) with deductibles?

Currently for SmartMedic Shield, there is only a RM300 deductible. I'm wondering if they have options for higher deductible e.g. RM30,000.

Thanks!

This is just a basic term life. You can either buy with level premium for xx years, or increasing premium for whole life.

Thanks for the tip yea, this seemed to have flipped the situation. Now approved with no further question. In the letter they were asked for the source of their information.

Is there any further risk or consider case closed? Can they drag this up again if there is a related claim 5 or 10 years down the road?

This post has been edited by contestchris: Feb 25 2024, 03:29 PM

Deferment mean what? First time coming across this term

Why not renew now? You can renew 2 months before