KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — A group of lawmakers from PKR today urged Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to extend its cap on medical insurance premium hikes to group insurance plans, citing sharp increases in premiums for a health plan subscribed to by teachers.
Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin, who is leading a campaign alongside several PKR Senators and Members of Parliament against rising health insurance premiums and private hospital charges, said he had received complaints from teachers covered under the NUTP Takaful Healthcare plan, a voluntary group insurance scheme under the National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP).
“Those covered under this plan have faced sharp premium hikes in a short period. Some have seen their premiums rise by 852 per cent over 12 years, while others experienced a 190 per cent increase from 2023 to 2024. We also received reports of an impending 28 per cent hike starting April 2025,” Sim told a press conference in Parliament.
One case involved a policyholder who subscribed to a family plan in 2002 at the age of 40 with an annual premium of RM588. By the time the policyholder turned 63 this year, the premium had surged to RM8,002.20, an 852 per cent increase.
Another policyholder saw their premium jump 190 per cent from RM2,833.08 in 2022 to RM12,138 ringgit in 2024.
According to Sim, the NUTP Takaful Healthcare plan was initially under Great Eastern in 2016 before being transferred to Etiqa Takaful, and most recently to Prudential BSN Takaful in 2024.
Sim questioned why the plan was excluded from BNM’s interim measure, which capped medical insurance premium increases at 10% annually over the next three years.
“We are puzzled as to why this is happening. The cap should apply to all policies – both individual and group medical insurance,” he said.
Also present at the press conference were PKR senators Manolan Mohamad, Dr Ahmad Azam Hamzah, Isaiah Jacob, and Amir Md Ghazali.
The lawmakers urged BNM to extend its measure to group insurance plans to ensure a more sustainable health care and insurance system. “These are our teachers who educate our children. Their welfare must be protected,” Sim said.
