Pet insurance in Malaysia

Guang Ming Daily     2010-06-16 16:57     Translated by YOU HSUEH LIN

PENANG: Insurance polices nowadays do not cover only humans, cars and properties, but as well pets.

An insurance company is recently working together with a private company to offer an insurance coverage for pets.

A package offered by Evolutis Sdn Bhd includes a pet medical protection provided by Kurnia Insurance (M) Berhad.

Every pet owner who joins the Pet Nation Lifestyle & Wellness plan is eligible to apply for the pet insurance to insure their pets aged between four months and eight years old.

Although they thought that the plan might receive good responses when it was launched in November 2009, Hanson Lye, owner of Kuala Lumpur-based Evolutis Sdn Bhd, told Guang Ming Daily that not more than 30 pet owners have insured their pets.

He said that there are animal insurances in many Western countries. Asian countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore also provide similar pet insurance plans. In Malaysia, two insurance companies tried to provide such coverage before but the plans ended up as a failure.

"Pets receive almost the same insurance benefits as humans in Hong Kong, showing how much the owners love their pets," he said.

Lye also said that most people would buy expensive pet food and let their pets to sleep in an air-conditioned room but they refused to insure their pets.

"Actually, I hope that medical services for pets will be improved after having the pet insurance," he said.

There are currently two types of premiums which cost RM248 and RM328 per annum respectively. They are also required to pay RM60 of member fees.

The insurance scheme covers veterinary fees for accident, illnesses, accidental death, kennel fees, cattery fees, burial, cremation and even third party liability.

Consciousness of protecting pets is low

Although pet insurance is common in other countries, it is still a new concept for Malaysians. Lye said that people thought that he was joking when he told them about the pet insurance.

He added that Malaysians should increase their consciousness of protecting pets.

When he collected the opinions from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and others non-government organizations, some people suggested that he should include dog castration into the plan, while some of them thought that the insurance amount was too low.

"I hope that after the pet insurance is introduced to the market, we can always improve our policies. Besides, there are still some related issues that require further studies," he said.