KUALA LUMPUR (July 14): Berjaya Sompo Insurance Bhd announced a new interim claim payment initiative for its corporate policyholders to help ease their financial burden during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement today, the company said the initiative applies when corporate policyholders make an admissible property related claim for loss or damages caused by fire, machinery breakdown and equipment, to name a few.

Under this new initiative, any corporate policyholder who makes a claim amounting to RM10,000 and above will receive a 20% interim claim payment in advance, depending on the assessed or recommended claim amount by the company’s adjuster.

Subject to its terms and conditions, the interim claim payment will be paid out to the corporate policyholder within three working days for the amount below RM500,000 and five working days for the amount of RM500,000 and above.

The company said while the general insurance industry recorded a flat net claims incurred ratio (NCIR) of 58.1% in 2019 compared to 2018 and the fire claims ratio saw a slight decrease of 1% in 2019 compared to the preceding year, the contractors all risk (CAR) and engineering claims ratio has risen significantly to 129.7% in 2019 from 64.3% in 2018.

“As we approach the third quarter (3Q) of 2020, and as the country continues to ride through the wave of the current Covid-19 pandemic, Berjaya Sompo understands that some businesses may face cash flow constraints if an unfortunate event were to happen.

“The company believes that by offering its corporate policyholders an interim claim payment will help them resume operation quicker and recover their losses,” the company said.