i.   Spreading out the Tabarru’ charges and contribution revision quantum*

The revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution will be spread out during the interim period^ where at least 80% of the Takaful participants are expected to experience Tabarru' charges and contribution increment of less than 10%. The revision will be re-assessed after the interim period ends and may be higher or lower than current projection based on effectiveness of cost-containment strategies that will be put in place.

^The interim period is defined as the MHT repricing exercises commencing in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

ii.  Temporary pause for the revision of Tabarru' charges and contribution*

For Person Covered aged 60 years old and above who participated under the minimum plan, i.e., lowest room & board within the range of medical plan offered (refer to FAQ 3), the revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution will be temporarily paused for one year. The revision will resume on the subsequent year with consideration of interim measures.

*This is not applicable if the revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution is due to change in age band

iii.  Reinstatement of Certificate

Takaful participants with MHIT certificate that was lapsed or surrendered in 2024 due to the medical repricing exercise can write in to request for reinstatement request and will not be subject to additional underwriting requirements.

iv.  Alternative MHIT Product Offerings

There are alternative MHIT product offered by GETB as additional options for medical plans that are being repriced. 

There revised tabarru' charges and contribution rate (factoring in the interim measures) will take effect on the following date:

Note:

• For i-Medik Asas (J22-J25) with certificate anniversary between 1 to 31 January 2025, excess Tabarru’ charges will be refunded to you subsequently.
• For i-Great MediCare (0727) with certificate anniversary between 1 January to 9 February 2025, excess Tabarru’ charges will be refunded to you subsequently.
  

You may refer below for the list of medical plan and their corresponding minimum plan:

• i-Medik Rider: Room & Board 100

• i-Medik Xtra Rider: Room & Board 150

• i-Medik Xtender Rider: Room & Board 150 with RM60,000 deductible

• i-Medi Rider: Room & Board 150

• i-Medik Asas: Room & Board 150

• i-Great MediCare: Room & Board 200

• i-Great MediMax: Room & Board 150

• i-Great MediHarapan: Room & Board 150

For Age Next Birthday (ANB) 60 and above with minimum plan

For person covered aged 60 years old and above with minimum medical plan selection, temporary pause on the revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution will apply for 1 year from your certificate anniversary.

After this 1 year pause, on your next certificate anniversary, the repricing exercise will resume. The revised Tabarru’ charges and contribution will factor in the spread of repricing quantum during the interim period

For Others

The revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution increment will factor in the spread out of repricing quantum during the interim period. The revision will take effect on your next certificate anniversary. 

For ANB 60 and above with minimum plan

For person covered aged 60 years old and above with minimum medical plan selection, temporary pause on the revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution will apply for 1 year from your certificate anniversary. We will notify you on your eligibility via WhatsApp or other written medium and you can disregard the communication pack received earlier. We will send the updated communication pack once the repricing for your certificate resumes.

In the meantime, we recommend that you continue paying your contribution as advised to ensure your certificate stays inforce. Excess Tabarru’ charges (if any) will be refunded to your certificate or credited to your bank account (whichever applicable, depending on your plan).

For Others

The revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution will factor in the spread of repricing quantum during the interim period. The revision will take effect on your next certificate anniversary that falls between 1 January – 28 February 2025.
 
If you have received the communication pack on the medical repricing exercise, we will send a revised communication pack to you and notification on this in due course.

In the meantime, we recommend that you continue paying your contribution as advised to ensure your certificate stays inforce. Excess Tabarru’ charges (if any) will be refunded to your certificate or credited to your bank account (whichever applicable, depending on your plan).

For ANB 60 and above with minimum plan

For person covered aged 60 years old and above with minimum medical plan selection, temporary pause on the revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution will apply for 1 year from your certificate anniversary in 2024 to your next certificate anniversary in 2025. Excess Tabarru’ charges (if any) will be refunded to your certificate or credited to your bank account (whichever applicable, depending on your plan).

We will continue to charge the revised Tabarru’ charges or contribution increment as prescribed in the medical repricing communication pack or based on the option that you have submitted to us. We recommend that you continue paying your contribution as advised to ensure your certificate stays inforce.

For Others

For ANB 60 and above with minimum planFor person covered aged 60 years old and above with minimum medical plan selection, temporary pause on the revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution will apply for 1 year from your certificate anniversary in 2024 to your next certificate anniversary in 2025. Excess Tabarru’ charges (if any) will be refunded to your certificate or credited to your bank account (whichever applicable, depending on your plan).

We will continue to charge the revised Tabarru’ charges or contribution increment as prescribed in the medical repricing communication pack or based on the option that you have submitted to us. We recommend that you continue paying your contribution as advised to ensure your certificate stays inforce.

For Others
We will continue to charge the revised Tabarru’ charges or contribution increment as prescribed in the medical repricing communication pack or based on the option that you have submitted to us. We recommend that you continue paying your contribution as advised to ensure your certificate stays inforce.

You can write in to us until 31 December 2025 to apply for interim measures due to affordability concerns. It will take effect after your point of application and next contribution due date of your Takaful certificate. Excess Tabarru’ charges (if any) will be refunded to your certificate or credited to your bank account (whichever applicable, depending on your plan).

The repricing exercise uses a staggered approach to ensure fairness and sustainability for both your primary and secondary medical coverage.

Repricing is triggered based on the claim experience of each rider separately. This means the repricing of your primary plan is independent of your secondary plan, and vice versa.

This approach helps manage contribution adjustments gradually and ensures that each plan reflects its own claim experience, providing clear and transparent communication on future changes.

You may request to reinstate your Takaful certificate within one year from the date of surrender or lapse without additional underwriting. For reinstatement made before 31 August 2025, the waiting period will be waived. However, there will be no coverage provided during the lapse or surrender period. The application can be submitted in writing and uploaded to the customer’s portal i-GET In Touch or by email/letter sent to i-greatcare@greateasterntakaful.com.

Once your certificate is reinstated, the revision of Tabarru’ charges and contribution as per the interim measures will take effect immediately.

The interim measures are only applicable to Takaful certificates that are affected by repricing in year 2024, 2025 and 2026.  

The interim measures aim to provide immediate relief to Takaful participant, but the reality is that the Takaful contribution / Tabarru’ charges and contribution will require material adjustments in the near future unless systematic changes are implemented across the healthcare eco-system.

As the current Takaful contribution and Tabarru’ charges are insufficient to accommodate rise in healthcare costs and medical inflation, we may need to intensify cost containment initiatives, as part of the industry’s commitment to provide accessible, affordable and effective healthcare.

Yes, you may discuss with your Takaful Advisor to explore the following options:

• Maintain the current contribution – You may write to GETB to request an opt-out from the contribution increment. Please note that your certificate sustainability will be impacted, and the certificate may lapse earlier if the cash value is insufficient to cover the revision of Tabarru’ charges;
• Downgrade your medical plan to a lower coverage plan to have lower Tabarru’ charges;
• Switch to another medical plan with co-payment options;
• Reduce sum covered for the basic plan and/or other rider(s); or
• Cancel other rider(s) / supplementary benefit(s).However, please be reminded that any changes to your Takaful benefits will have an impact on the sufficiency and comprehensiveness of your protection.

Note:
(i) List of available medical plans with co-payment option:

• i-Medi Shield Rider
• i-Medi Shield Step Up Rider
• i-Medi Shield Link Rider
• i-Medi Evolusi Rider
  
  

(ii) Underwriting will be waived and the waiting period will not apply when switching to a new medical plan with similar or a lower Room & Board (R&B) limit (except for switching to i-Medi Evolusi Rider, as it provides higher Overall Annual Limit across all plans). . However, underwriting will be required and waiting period will apply if you switch to a new medical plan with a higher R&B limit and/or Overall Annual Limit.

(iii) Switching option is only applicable for the following products:

• i-Medik Rider & i-Medik Xtra Rider: Option to switch to i-Medi Shield Link Rider
• i-Medi Rider & i-Medi Step Up Rider: Option to switch to i-Medi Shield Rider or i-Medi Shield Step Up Rider or i-Medi Evolusi Rider

The rates for medical plans are structured in tiers based on your attained age. The increase may be a result of increase in rates when your age has reached to the next age band.

The increase in Tabarru’ charges increase will be staggered accordingly and you may need to perform contribution top up to ensure the sustainability of your certificate.

Revision of Tabarru’ Charges (i.e. repricing) is mainly driven by deteriorating claim experience due to rising medical costs, increase in diagnosis of chronic or lifestyle diseases which leads to a higher frequency of people seeking healthcare treatments, increase in doctor’s fees or laboratory charges and new/more advanced medical treatments and prescription of drugs. 

As claims are paid from the Tabarru’ Fund, the rising trend of claims has reduced the Tabarru’ Fund considerably and it may not be sufficient to cover future claims. Tabarru’ charges for respective medical plan will need to be revised to ensure its sustainability. Without the medical repricing exercise, Tabarru’ Fund may deplete and it poses a real risk that it will be difficult to pay future claims

Takaful is based on the Tabarru’ concept where a portion of the contribution collected is donated to the Tabarru’ Fund to pay for claims.

As a result, all Takaful participants will be affected to esnure the Tabarru’ Fund will be able to sustain the claim payouts for all Takaful participants. This is aligned with the concept of mutual cooperation concept to help one another in the event of misfortune regardless whether you have made a claim before or otherwise.

To cater for the increased contribution, below are some of the actions that our affected customer will need to take.

You are advised to monitor your contribution payment status through our self-servicing platform (i-Get In Touch) as in the guide provided in the link below to ensure all contributions paid are up to date.

https://igetintouch.greateasterntakaful.com > View Certificate Details > Contribution Information

For customers with certificate anniversary in 2024

Please refer to the link below:

You can refer to your repricing communication pack - Authorisation Form (Under Option 3) to identify the plan that is applicable to you. 

The utilisation rate, average claim amount and medical inflation for the impacted products are as below.

Traditional Plan

Investment Linked Plan