By Danial Dzulkifly
SHAH ALAM, Nov 22 — The Selangor General Insurance Scheme (Insan), which offers coverage for eligible residents, will be reviewed after its policy ends in August of next year.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari clarified to the Selangor State Legislative Assembly the need for a more cost-effective approach to enhance welfare initiatives for Selangor’s residents as the current scheme proved to be financially unsustainable and disproportionately beneficial to insurance companies.
“Our experience has shown that using insurance-based methods is unsustainable. It results in either financial losses or poor returns on investment,” he said in his wind-up speech for the 2025 Selangor State Budget here today.
“Spending RM20 million in this way does not seem worthwhile. It would be better allocated directly to beneficiaries instead of relying on an insurance-based model.
“Initially, we adopted this model to provide greater value. For instance, instead of offering just RM1,000 under conventional schemes, the programme could provide up to RM10,000. However, most of the financial benefits seem to favour insurance companies.” he said.
[caption id="attachment_380759" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari addresses the Selangor State Legislative Assembly at Wisma DNS, Shah Alam, on November 22, 2024. — Picture by MOHD KHAIRUL HELMY MOHD DIN/MEDIA SELANGOR[/caption]
Amirudin said the scheme’s policies will remain active until August 2025, after which the state government plans to reassess and implement a more comprehensive initiative with better outcomes for its residents.
Earlier today, state executive councillor for investment, trade and mobility Ng Sze Han said Insan will be scrapped and replaced by Khairat Darul Ehsan, due to low registration and payment rates.
Insan is a state initiative that offers insurance coverage to Selangor residents aged 30 days to 80 years, and comprises a conventional and takaful scheme.
The conventional scheme offers RM10,000 in insurance coverage for death and permanent disability due to accidents, and RM1,000 for burial expenses in the case of death.
The takaful scheme offers between RM10,000 to RM20,000 in coverage for death or permanent disability due to accidents, a RM1,000 for burial expenses in case of death, and an additional benefit of RM50 per day for up to 30 days for hospitalisation.
Khairat Darul Ehsan, meanwhile, provides a death benefit of RM1,000 for all Selangor residents aged 50 and above, as well as people with disabilities.
It is expected to benefit 20,000 people and is set to start on June 1, 2025, with an allocation of RM20 million.
