Author’s Blurb: Life insurance is something that I see as a privilege to many, if I’m being honest. Not everyone can afford to set aside a sum of money each month to pay an insurance premium for something that doesn’t immediately benefit them.
Epost is a Sabahan startup founded in 2018 that provides end-to-end e-commerce and logistics services in the domestic and international spheres.
Some of its customers
include Digital China Holdings, Shopee, Yunda Express, BGO Taiwan, and more.
Now, the team has
decided to launch a new value added service called Epost Protect, under which
they will be offering general and life insurance coverage products to the Malaysian
public.
To accomplish this, they’ve partnered with Sabah Credit Corporation’s proprietary e-payment system called Sabah Pay and BIB Insurance Brokers Sdn Bhd.
For those wondering if
it seems a little farfetched, Tobin explained, “Epost is a logistics company,
but we are also a platform for multiple transaction categories that are relevant
to consumers.”
He believes that
companies like Epost will be the ones who can provide insights into the daily
lives of consumers. Therefore, they’re looking at insurance as a complementary
service that they can provide to their customers.
This is important,
since he shared that there has been a significant inquiry into life insurances
as well, especially during the MCO.
“Through the
collaboration with Sabah Pay, we believe that this is a good opportunity for us
to work together to provide Malaysians with a convenient digital platform to
purchase insurance products,” he told Vulcan Post.
Working Towards A
Shared Goal
In terms of the demand for buying life insurance in Malaysia, it’s still a little lacking, with Bank Negara Malaysia targeting a 75% penetration rate in 2020.
Currently, the penetration
rate is only at 55%. In an interview with former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng,
he said that pricing and affordability were the main reasons for the low
penetration rate.
Tobin shared, “With this, we hope that with the launch of Epost Protect, we are able to bring up the numbers closer to the intended target.”
He also noted that in
the recent months, there has been a high surge in demand for life insurance.
Traditionally, insurance agents will have to meet up face-to-face with customers
to explain life insurance policies, and this is where Epost sees its advantage
as they can now easily reach out to customers online.
Access to obtaining
the life insurance is also made easier via the usage of e-wallet Sabah Pay for
payment of the insurance premium.
While there’s been no
in-depth research done on e-wallet penetration in Malaysia, Tobin is confident
that e-wallets are here to stay, and this is enough reason for him to believe
that they’re making a move in the right direction with their collaboration with
Sabah Pay.
This has also given
Epost the chance to support Borneo’s tech initiative, and Tobin said that they
definitely plan on more collaborative initiatives with Sabah Credit Corporation
in the near future.
Sabah Pay was launched
in collaboration with Boost about two months ago, and a while after that, Boost
began offering life insurance through its platform too.
It was a free Prudential life insurance with a special COVID-19 coverage for verified Boost Premium Wallet Users, limited to the first 200,000 enrolments and with a coverage duration of only up until April 30, 2020.
On the other hand,
Epost Protect is not a COVID-19 specific life insurance nor limited to the MCO
and COVID-19 pandemic in its coverage duration.
Accessibility &
Affordability Are Key To Inclusion
Epost Protect is open
to all Malaysians via Sabah Pay, and Tobin shared that they’re definitely targeting
West Malaysian customers too.
“As Epost Protect is
currently still in its first phase, we will collect more data to analyse the
take-up rate and attitude for both East and West Malaysia in order to better
understand the consumers’ behaviour effectively,” he added.
While it’s now only
available via Sabah Pay, the team plans to work with other e-wallets in Malaysia
too, with Sabah Pay serving as a good entry point.
This will make it more
accessible to users, which is one of the keywords Tobin used to describe Epost
Protect. The other one is affordability, and he shared a few examples of their
average premium rates per annum.
For a product called HLMT
i-Hospital Care, it’s RM250 a year, and for HLMT i-Salam, it’s RM150 a year. Of
course, the rates will be different depending on your entry age, but will
remain level throughout the coverage term (which also can differ from person to
person).
To raise awareness and
usage of Epost Protect, the team is pushing the service towards existing Epost
users throughout Malaysia, and they’re also promoting it through Sabah Pay’s
traffic and users.
Through their
partnership with BIB Insurance Broker Sdn Bhd, Tobin also said, “We will work
towards architecting new products that would be more efficient and affordable for
consumers, giving them the needed coverage and not products that are not
relevant to personal or specific needs.”
Bottom Line: As an East Malaysian myself, I always feel a sense of pride when I see developments from that part of our country. I personally think that they aren’t given enough attention by West Malaysians in general, so it’s always a pleasure for me to share their work and achievements.
- You can read more about other Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Epost