A 55-year-old with hypertension and a thyroid condition on file was repriced to RM 1,140 a month. On the open market she was effectively unswitchable — any new application would have been underwritten against two declared conditions and either loaded, excluded, or declined. She converted within her existing insurer under the BNM’s interim measures, with no medical questionnaire and no switching fee, and came out at RM 800 a month.
The saving was RM 340 a month. The thing that actually mattered was that a switch was possible at all.
What Is the Conversion Right, Exactly?
Under BNM’s interim measures for MHIT policyholders, every insurer operating in Malaysia must:
- Offer at least one alternative MHIT product at the same or lower premium than your current repriced plan
- Process the switch with no additional underwriting — no new medical declaration, no health questionnaire, and no new waiting periods on conditions already covered under your existing plan
- Charge no switching fees
The products were required to be available by end of 2025 — insurers that did not have a suitable one had to build it. This is a live right, not a 2027 proposal, and it is separate from MediAsas. We set out the full mandate in what your insurer must offer you.
The trade-off is real: the alternative product will typically carry a co-payment, a deductible, or both. You are exchanging cost at the point of claim for a lower monthly premium.
Why Was Underwriting the Whole Ballgame Here?
Because at 55 with conditions on file, the usual advice — shop around, compare insurers — does not apply.
Her file carried hypertension diagnosed at 49 and a thyroid condition diagnosed at 52. Both were declared, both were covered under her existing policy, and both had long since cleared their waiting periods. That is a strong position inside her current policy and a very weak one outside it.
Any new application elsewhere would have been assessed against her health as it is today at 55. The realistic outcomes were a premium loading, permanent exclusions on the two declared conditions and anything connected to them, fresh waiting periods on everything, and repricing at entry age 55 for the rest of her life. A decline was also on the table.
This is the trap that catches people in their fifties: the premium becomes unaffordable at exactly the age when the policy becomes irreplaceable. The conversion right exists specifically to break that trap. It is the only mechanism available that lets someone in her position move to a cheaper structure without submitting to underwriting. See our post on waiting periods and pre-existing conditions when switching insurers for what the alternative would have cost her.
What Did the Conversion Change?
| Before conversion | After conversion | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly premium | RM 1,140 | RM 800 |
| Cost-sharing | None | 15% co-insurance, capped RM 2,500 per policy year |
| Annual limit | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Hypertension and thyroid cover | Covered | Covered — no new exclusions |
| Waiting periods | Served | Served — no restart |
| Entry age basis | Original | Original — preserved |
| Medical questionnaire | — | None required |
| Switching fee | — | None |
We chose the 15% co-insurance option over the 5% one deliberately. At 5% the premium saving was smaller, and her worst-case annual exposure was already comfortable against her savings. The RM 2,500 annual cap is a known, bounded number — and co-insurance is waived entirely for emergency accident cases, outpatient kidney dialysis, outpatient cancer treatment, and treatment at government facilities.
Her worst possible year is now RM 800 × 12 + RM 2,500 = RM 12,100, against RM 13,680 in premiums alone before the conversion. She is better off even in a year where she claims to the cap.
Where Do People Lose This Right by Accident?
Three ways, all avoidable.
They cancel first and ask questions later. The conversion right applies to a live policy. Surrender it and you are an applicant, not a policyholder — and at 55 with conditions on file, that is a different universe. Roughly 340,000 Malaysians surrendered medical insurance between 2024 and mid-2026, and a portion of them had this right available and unused.
They accept “there’s nothing we can do” from the first person they speak to. Front-line service staff do not always know the interim measures exist. The mandate is on the insurer, not on whoever answers the phone. Ask again, in writing, naming BNM’s interim measures for MHIT policyholders.
They are quietly moved onto a new policy instead of a conversion. A new proposal form with a health declaration is not a conversion. It restarts waiting periods and reprices at current age. If a health questionnaire appears at any point in the process, stop and ask which mechanism you are being processed under.
How Do You Exercise It?
- Confirm your policy is still in force. Do not cancel, do not let it lapse, do not stop paying while you negotiate.
- Write to your insurer — email is fine, and creates a record — requesting the alternative MHIT product available to you under BNM’s interim measures for MHIT policyholders, at the same or lower premium, with no additional underwriting.
- Ask for the full comparison in writing: premium, cost-sharing structure and its annual cap, annual limit, room and board entitlement, and explicit confirmation that existing conditions remain covered with no new waiting periods.
- Check the reset basis on any deductible offered — per policy year or per admission. Our comparison of cost-sharing structures explains why this is the number that decides a bad year.
- Verify no health questionnaire is involved. If one appears, you are on the wrong path.
- If you are told the option does not exist, contact BNMLINK on 1-300-88-5465, which handles consumer queries on the interim measures directly.
- Get written confirmation of the effective date and of the preservation of your entry age and served waiting periods.
A policy review will identify which alternative your insurer is obliged to offer before you make the call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I switch to a cheaper plan if I have pre-existing conditions?
Within your current insurer, yes — under BNM’s interim measures the switch requires no additional underwriting and no new waiting periods on conditions already covered by your existing plan. Switching to a different insurer is an entirely different matter: that is a new application, fully underwritten against your current health, with fresh waiting periods and likely exclusions.
Is the conversion option the same as MediAsas?
No. The conversion right is available now, from your existing insurer, under BNM’s interim measures. MediAsas is a new standardised product expected from January 2027 that every insurer must offer, with a RM 100,000 annual limit on the MediAsas Teras. They are separate mechanisms, and the conversion right does not require you to wait.
Does converting cost me anything?
No switching fee applies under the interim measures. The cost is at the point of claim — the alternative product will typically carry a co-payment, a deductible, or both, so you take on a defined share of future hospital bills in exchange for the lower premium. Check the annual cap on that share before deciding.
What if my insurer says no alternative product is available?
Ask again in writing, naming BNM’s interim measures for MHIT policyholders. Insurers were required to have a qualifying product available by end of 2025, including building one if they did not already have a suitable option. If you still get no answer, contact BNMLINK on 1-300-88-5465.
Should I convert or just keep paying the higher premium?
If the higher premium is genuinely affordable and your household claims frequently, staying put is defensible. If the premium is straining your finances, convert — because the alternative most people reach for is cancelling, and at 50 or above with conditions on file, cancelling is close to irreversible. Convert while the policy is live; you cannot exercise this right after it lapses.
Have a question that wasn’t covered here? Our advisors at FINNO. offer free, no-obligation consultations — no hard sell, just honest answers about what’s right for your situation.