KUALA LUMPUR (March 1): The General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) wants the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) to reconsider its decision to act against the association and 22 of its members for allegedly being parties to an anti-competitive agreement.

PIAM said it is disappointed with the proposed decision issued by MyCC on Feb 22 against PIAM and the 22 general insurance companies, which concluded that the parties had infringed the Competition Act 2010.

The issue is in relation to the agreement reached between PIAM and the Federation of Automobile Workshop Owners' Association of Malaysia (FAWOAM) on the hourly rates and spare part prices chargeable for commonly used vehicles including Proton, Perodua, Naza, Nissan, Toyota and Honda.

"PIAM has always worked in the best interest of the consumer and in full compliance with the directions of its regulator, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)," the association said in a statement today.

"The PIAM-FAWOAM agreement was reached on BNM's directive to resolve significant consumer complaints regarding repair times in the motor insurance industry," said PIAM.

The association said it will be obtaining legal advice to defend its position that this was not an anti-competitive agreement.

Yesterday, MyCC chief executive officer Datuk Abu Samah Shabudin said PIAM and the members had fixed the parts trade discount at 25% for Proton, Perodua, Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Naza vehicles and 15% for the Proton Saga BLM model.

They had also fixed a labour rate of RM30 per hour for PIAM Approved Repairers Scheme workshops.

Under the law, MyCC is allowed to impose a financial penalty of up to 10% of the worldwide turnover of each enterprise.