AmGeneral Insurance Bhd
KUALA LUMPUR: Allianz Malaysia Bhd
said the onus should not be solely on insurance companies on the issue of insurance coverage for mental illnesses, amid calls from the government for insurers to also cover such illnesses.
“This is an issue that we are looking at and will have to look at because society not only in Malaysia is suffering badly from this issue. What do you define as mental illness? It starts when you are really burning out as a child to get good grades to get to university. This is madness but it is where the world is moving to at large,” Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia’s chief executive officer (CEO) Joseph Gross said at a press conference after its AGM earlier today.
“The issue is there, it is a societal issue. But you can’t just put it to the insurance companies to solve it. This is not going to happen. You need medical profession, the government authorities and insurance companies to start looking at solutions. Will there be a full fledged medical coverage for mental illnesses? Maybe yes, maybe no. I think with anyone who runs a serious insurance company: I don’t think so,” Gross added.
He noted also that there might be parties who will misuse this for marketing gimmick.
“For sure we will not be one of these companies,” he said.
Meanwhile, Allianz Malaysia’s CEO Zakri Khir acknowledged that while this is not an easy matter, but the insurance industry has no answers to it at the moment.
“As it is we have not found an answer to it,” Zakri said.
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