KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 27): There is huge potential for insurance companies to provide insurance policies for the underserved disabled community, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim.

While the ministry does not provide the estimation on the size of the insurance market for the disabled, she said there is a huge potential as there are very limited offerings and insurance plans for them.

According to Rohani, Allianz Malaysia Bhd is the only insurance company in the country that provides insurance policies for the disabled community.

"The ministry has been engaging with Bank Negara and Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) on the matter to provide the disabled community with suitable insurance products," she told reporters at the parliament lobby today.

"We are happy with Allianz as they are the first to offer insurance plans for the disabled community. We hope there will be more insurance companies coming on board, not only on the potential for this segment but also as Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR)," she added.

Currently, there are 400,000 registered disabled in the country.

Allianz Ability Life plan, introduced in June 2015, is a yearly, renewable life insurance, said Rohani.

The specially designed insurance plan for disabled comes with premium rates, from as low as RM50 for sum insured of RM25,000 and RM70 for sum insured of RM50,000. The plan is open to people with disabilities between 16 and 70 years old.

The estimated penetration rate of insurance for the disabled is said to be as low as 0.1%.

Rohani was responding to a parliamentary question on steps being taken by the government to ensure the disabled can purchase insurance at affordable rates that cover all their needs during Minister's question time at parliament.

She said the government will continue to hold discussions with insurance companies and LIAM to explore other insurance products for the disabled, such as saving plans or endowment plans, and plans that are not limited to protection regarding death and accident.