Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad (PAMB) has launched its free financial protection plan, PRUkasih, for urban low-income residents in the Pasir Gudang and Johor Bahru areas.
PRUkasih provides its members with housing and food allowances, and provides financial assistance in case the family’s breadwinner passes away. To-date, 847 families from PPR Taman Cendana and PPR Tebrau have joined the program. PRUkasih also provides members with an opportunity to gain income by empowering them to educate and encourage their fellow community members to register.
The program is a public-private partnership between the insurer and various government agencies and NGOs, such as Yayasan Generasi Gemilang, the National Council of Welfare and Social Development Malaysia, and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.
”As an insurer, our mission is to provide financial freedom and peace of mind for all Malaysians, which includes the urban low-income community in Malaysia,” said Fiona Liao, chief brand officer of PAMB. “It is our hope that PRUkasih will act as a financial hand-up during times of need as families learn to cope with a sudden loss of income. This is also in support of the Government’s initiatives in alleviating poverty in the country.”
According to the Khazanah Research Institute’s State of Households II Report, over 50% of
Malaysia’s urban households did not have any savings and only two in every 10 households would be able to survive for less than three months in the event of income loss. Central bank data also reveals that low-income groups in most states in Malaysia face a higher inflation rate, with highly urbanized low-income groups experiencing the largest rise in cost of living.
PAMB plans to expand the program to 50,000 households by 2018, with the continued support of its partners in the government and private sector.
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