COMMENT | Insurance policy nightmare after changing credit card
His problem is similar to mine. I also encountered problems with the auto-payments using a credit card.
The fact that his insurer and mine are two separate companies goes to show there is a trend I think Bank Negara should address so that insurance policies are not allowed to lapse.
The fact that we are on the auto-payment option shows we have the intention to pay the premiums promptly.
My own nightmare
The nightmare began after I changed to a new credit card. I had to complete a form for every policy which I sent to the insurance company’s customer service department...
COMMENT | In the first article in this series, I mentioned a retired professor friend who complained to me that he could not get in touch with the customer service staff of his insurance company.
His problem is similar to mine. I also encountered problems with the auto-payments using a credit card.
The fact that his insurer and mine are two separate companies goes to show there is a trend I think Bank Negara should address so that insurance policies are not allowed to lapse.
The fact that we are on the auto-payment option shows we have the intention to pay the premiums promptly.
My own nightmare
The nightmare began after I changed to a new credit card. I had to complete a form for every policy which I sent to the insurance company’s customer service department.
Thereafter, there was silence, and I assumed everything was in order. After some time, I received an email asking me to re-submit the form again with some corrected information.
Grudgingly, I submitted the form a second time, complaining that the terminology used in the form was too technical for an ordinary citizen like me.
There was no standard glossary of terms used and every company is free to use its own fanciful words such as ‘Disappearing Premium Option’ (DPO) when all it means is the insurance dividend accumulated will be used to pay for your premiums.
After submitting the form, there was another period of silence, and I thought things were in order until one fine day, I logged into my account to check on the status of all the policies.
Lo and behold, one of the policies had been annulled! In short, after paying the premium for many years, if anything happens to me, the company will not be paying me or my beneficiaries the amount promised.
When I wrote to the customer service department, I was told that I had failed to pay the premiums.
I refused to accept the explanation; moreover, it was not my fault as I had submitted my forms twice to the customer service department to advise them of the change of credit card.
They never even responded to my second submission when they detected some other mistakes on the forms. Instead, they just let the policy lapse!
When things came to a standstill, I brought the matter to Bank Negara Telelink.
Knight in silver armour
After Bank Negara was alerted of my complaint, the insurance company took things more seriously. They finally decided to reinstall my policy and I made my payment for any outstanding premiums.
Now, the thing is I was persistent when dealing with the insurance company. I knew I was being sidelined just because I had not made one or two premium payments.
I was not even aware of the lapses as I had all the payments done automatically using my credit card.
The customer service department was initially reluctant to budge, but with the help of Bank Negara, they finally agreed to reinstate the policy. It took a few emails to get this sorted out.
Had I not been persistent, when the policy lapsed, I would have lost the full amount insured, including all the accumulated dividends, if any, for the policy.
This is, of course, very unfair for most people who have paid their premiums faithfully every year - but only to discover that their policies had lapsed.
My advice to all
In the case of the retired professor, I advised him to write to Bank Negara and provide all the proof he had of trying to get in touch with the customer service department of his insurance company.
In another case, where a friend complained that after her brother-in-law passed away, the insurance company gave him a lot of ‘running around’.
After submitting the first set of forms that the insurance company required, they then asked for a second set of forms to be completed, then a third, and a fourth set.
My advice is: Bring the complaint to Bank Negara, as the central bank is the regulator of the insurance industry in Malaysia.
Sadly, I have to admit that based on my experience, the customer service departments in insurance companies are not always as what they portray in advertisements: ‘Caring, friendly, and personalised service.’
A phone call to the company, for example, would mean at least a few minutes of waiting, listening to the voice-activated machine giving you all the unrelated self-service options.
Most people just give up like that. I even brought this matter up to Bank Negara.
And then, even after you get to speak to someone on the phone, they would put you on a test of patience, which is why ultimately, I said it is persistence that pays off at the end of the day.
If you have a problem with your insurance company, remain persistent and if you think you have a case, complain directly to Bank Negara’s Telelink.
I find through the years that Bank Negara is an excellent arbiter of cases, two of which I managed to get back the premiums I paid.
More information about Bank Negara Telelink can be obtained here. Their phone contact: 1-300-88-5465 (when overseas: +603-2174-1717).
This is part three of a five-part series.
Part 1: Persistence pays when dealing with insurance companies
Part 2: My medical insurance journey, uncovered radiotherapy
Part 4: Discrepancies in insurance policy, police report drafted
STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen who believes that everyone, including the insured, has rights that must be protected.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
