Malaysian Insurer to Cover Infectious Diseases

A report from the Straits Times in Singapore notes that Malaysia’s INCOME has launched a new insurance coverage plan for Sars, birdflu, and a type of soil disease called melioidosis.

The report indicated that INCOME claims to be the first insurer to offer a plan that covers 13 infectious diseases. It also offers coverage for dengue fever, malaria, mad cow disease, the Nipah virus, anthrax infections, Japanese viral encephalitis, rabies, Legionnaire’s disease, the plague and yellow fever.

Last year, the insurance co-operative was the first to offer a plan that covered only Sars. It has reportedly sold about 5,000 of such policies so far, and expects to sell 200 policies of its new plan every month.