No-fault insurance long overdue
CAP congratulates the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail for proposing that the no-fault liability scheme be implemented.
Such a scheme is long overdue. We had as far back as the late 1970s and in the early 1990s, called for the introduction of some kind of no-fault motor insurance to benefit consumers. The idea behind no-fault insurance is to get accident victims compensated as quickly as possible.
New apartment owners extorted by developers’ agents/contractors!
The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) has received countless complaints since 2008 via anonymous letters, telephone calls, letters of complaint and even read in our mainstream media, letters written by hapless flat and condominium owners, highlighting the tactics used by developers’ agents/contractors to force new owners to renovate their units at exorbitant charges.
Household debt in Malaysia – Is it sustainable?
According to the Bank Negara’s Annual Report 2010, Malaysia’s household debt at end of 2010 was RM 581 billion or 76% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). The Bank claimed that the household debt is still manageable because of income growth, high levels of savings and favourable employment opportunities.
However, if we look at household debt from the point of disposable income then the picture painted is worrisome because it reveals that households are spending about half of their income to pay off their debts.
Sending of unsolicited messages to mobile phones must be stopped
Short messaging service (SMS) is one of the medium of communication being used commonly nowadays by hand phone users. However SMS can also be used to commit crime and fraud by various parties. Mobile phones are now being blasted with so many unwanted or unsolicited short messages. Unsolicited messages include advertisement-linked messages, contest winning messages, pornographic messages and so on.
Critical illness insurance policy puzzles consumers
One of the problems with the critical illness policy is that it is being sold by agents who give policyholders the wrong impression that the coverage is wider than it really is. (A critical illness policy is one that pays out a lump sum upon confirmation that the policyholder has been diagnosed with one of the illnesses or conditions covered under the policy)
For example, the agent assures the policyholder that cancer is one of the critical illness covered but does not explain that it has to be the “right “cancer.
