KUALA LUMPUR: By the end of this year, well-behaved drivers who do not break any traffic laws could benefit from discounts when they renew their motor insurance.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the new 'safe driver discount' mechanism, which is currently being developed with the help of the Malaysian Automotive Insurance Association (PIAM) was in the final stage of development.
He said the ministry was aiming to implement it by this year.
"There has been some delay. We wanted to roll it out, but there were some technical issues that needed to be settled," said Loke at the launch of Digi's Road Safety Programme 2019.
Loke told The New Straits Times that the initiative would 'hopefully' be introduced before the end of the year.
"Things are not fixed yet, but I am pushing for this year.. We are working on that..," he said.
Loke said some insurance companies were already on board with the initiative.
He added that such an initiative would eventually result in lower insurance premiums, as good behaviour would lead to lower accident rates.
"If we can reduce accidents, premiums will also go down," he said.
It was reported last year that the Transport Ministry was considering a merit system to reward well-behaved motorists with vehicle insurance discounts, on the condition that they do not break any traffic laws in a year.
According to PIAM, in 2017 motor insurance claims paid out by the industry amounted to RM5.38 billion, which worked out to RM14.7 million per day for property damage, bodily injury and vehicle theft by all motor insurers.
Serious accidents on the road resulted in large claims involving death and injuries, said the association.