SHAH ALAM, Oct 30 — Persatuan Rakan Grab Malaysia (PRGM) has urged the Transport Ministry (MOT) to engage with stakeholders and determine details for a proposed distance-based e-hailing insurance scheme.
PRGM chairman Shanlee Tan Shamsuri Tan said while the group welcomes the government’s move for a more flexible and affordable insurance scheme, there is a need for greater overall clarity.
“The method of calculating travel distance, the premium structure, and the continuity of coverage must first be clarified before the scheme can be properly assessed for implementation,” he told Media Selangor, advising against a one-size-fits-all approach.
In a written parliamentary reply on Wednesday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the government is considering a distance-based insurance and takaful scheme for e-hailing drivers amid rising insurance costs and to provide more affordable protection.
He said the scheme would consider distances travelled and individual drivers’ risk levels.
Other proposed reforms are a risk- and cost-sharing mechanism among e-hailing platform operators, drivers and passengers, and the use of telematics technology to encourage safer driving.
E-hailing drivers have been raising concerns over mounting financial pressure due to rising insurance premiums, which they must pay to keep operating.
In May, Grab Drivers Malaysia Association president Mohd Azril Mohd Amin urged the government to review the e-hailing insurance fee structure, which he said had risen by 200 per cent over the past three to four years.
Drivers’ costs a key concern
Shanlee meanwhile said it is too early to determine whether the proposed distance-based insurance scheme would ease driver’s financial burden, as MOT has yet to explain how it would work.
He acknowledged that insurance premiums are among major operating costs affecting e-hailing drivers’ net income, but noted that Grab offers daily insurance coverage that allows drivers, especially part-timers, to pay only for the days they work instead of committing to an annual upfront premium.
On the proposed cost-sharing scheme, Shanlee commended the idea but stressed that the arrangement must be reasonable.
“The main question is why e-hailing insurance premiums have been increasing so drastically every year. That is the real issue that needs to be addressed.
“We do not want insurance companies to exploit the cost-sharing mechanism by significantly increasing premiums simply because they know passengers will also share the costs.”
Shanlee added that any policy should consider e-hailing drivers’ interests.
