Last Updated: 23 October 2026
If your employer gives you a medical card, you’re covered by a group medical insurance policy. RinggitPlus’s 2025 Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey found that 15% of 3,113 respondents rely solely on company medical cover, while 43% have no medical insurance at all.
A company plan is a good start, but it has limits. To decide whether you need your own card, check what your company plan covers and how much it pays. Then check what happens to your cover when you leave your job.
How Company Medical Insurance Works
Your company policy runs for one year at a time. Your annual limit is the most the insurer will pay in a policy year. It resets when the next policy year starts. This may not be on 1 January. Some plans don’t cover health conditions you had before joining. Tokio Marine’s group plan excludes them for the first 12 months, and Berjaya Sompo’s group plan excludes them for as long as you’re covered.
Your company plan may also cover GP visits at panel clinics. Your own medical card mainly pays for hospital stays and treatment before and after you’re admitted. Only some cover GP visits.
| Company Medical Insurance | Your Own Medical Card | |
| Who owns the policy | Your employer | You |
| Who sets the limits and terms | Your employer, with one plan for each job category, reviewed at every renewal | You choose the plan, annual limit, room and board and deductible |
| When cover ends | When you leave the job or your employer stops the plan | When you stop paying or reach the plan’s maximum cover age |
| Who pays the premium | Your employer, priced on the group’s ages and claims | You, priced on your age at each renewal and your health when you apply |
| Clinic visits | Often included through panel clinics | Only on some plans, as the focus is hospital cover |
| Family cover | Only if your employer includes dependants | Separate policies or a family plan |
What You Pay If Your Company Cover Isn’t Enough
Insurance Services Malaysia’s 2024 claims data shows that half of all medical claims were RM5,695 or less, and three in four were RM10,069 or less. But one in 100 was above RM55,225. If your company plan has a RM20,000 annual limit, a bill that size would leave you paying at least RM35,225 yourself. You could pay more if earlier claims have already used up part of your annual limit or some charges aren’t covered.
Some plans also make you pay a share of the rest of the bill when you take a more expensive room. Berjaya Sompo’s group plan, for example, makes you pay 20% of your other covered costs, such as surgeon fees and hospital supplies. If those come to RM10,000, you pay RM2,000 on top of the room difference.
Your Employer Can Change Your Medical Cover
Your company cover can change even if you stay in the same job. When the policy comes up for renewal, your employer chooses the plan and benefits for the next year.
It may lower the limits, switch insurers or stop covering your spouse or children. It may also add a co-payment, where you pay part of each covered bill.
In November 2025, the Malaysian Employers Federation reported that employers were reviewing policy limits and introducing co-payments as medical insurance premiums rose. RinggitPlus’s 2025 survey found that 22% of policyholders switched to a cheaper plan, reduced their cover or cancelled a policy because of higher premiums.
At each renewal, ask HR for the new schedule of benefits. Check whether your limits, your share of the bill or your family’s cover have changed.
Your Company Cover Ends When You Leave Your Job
If you move into freelance or gig work, you won’t have a company plan at all.
Waiting until you’ve left to buy your own plan can mean gaps in cover. New plans don’t cover illnesses during a waiting period. A condition you developed while on your company plan may also be excluded as a pre-existing condition.
If you’re planning to leave, buy your own plan while your company plan still covers you. The new plan’s waiting period then runs while you’re still covered.
Plan For Medical Cover After Retirement
If you retire at 60, you may need medical cover for about 20 more years. DOSM’s 2026 estimates show that men who reach 60 can expect to live another 18.9 years on average, and women another 21.7 years.
Your own medical card can cover you after you retire, but it has age limits too. Check both the oldest age you can apply and the age when cover ends. These limits differ between plans:
- GREAT Health Direct accepts new applicants up to age 50 next birthday and provides cover until age 80 next birthday. “Age next birthday” means the age you’ll turn on your next birthday.
- SOMPO Health accepts new adult applicants up to age 60 and guarantees renewal up to age 100, subject to the policy’s terms.
- MediAsas accepts new applicants up to age 70 and provides cover up to age 85. Its nationwide launch in January 2027 was confirmed in Budget 2027. Final features and pricing will be announced before launch.
GREAT Health Direct and SOMPO Health premiums increase with age. Buying early doesn’t lock in today’s price. If you buy while you’re still healthy, more plans will accept you.
What To Check In Your Company Plan
Check your benefits handbook or ask HR the questions below.
| What To Ask | What It Tells You |
| What’s the annual limit? | How much of a big bill you’d pay yourself |
| When does the annual limit reset? | Which claims count against the same year’s limit |
| What’s the room and board limit per night? | How much you’d pay each night in a more expensive room, and whether you’d also pay a share of the rest of the bill |
| Which conditions does the plan exclude? | What the company plan won’t pay whatever the limit |
| Does the plan cover GP visits at panel clinics? | Whether you’d pay clinic bills yourself once you leave |
| Are my spouse and children covered? | Whether your family needs plans of their own |
| Is there a co-payment on the company plan? | How much of each bill you already pay yourself |
To decide whether you need your own card, start with how much of a hospital bill you might pay yourself, and whether you could afford it. If your spouse or children aren’t covered, work out what cover they need too. Think about how you’d keep medical cover if you leave your job or retire.
How To Use Your Own Medical Card With Company Cover
Your own medical card can help pay covered costs left after your company plan pays its share. Both plans can pay towards the same hospital bill, but you can’t claim the same cost twice.
One option is a medical card with a deductible. The deductible is the amount you pay before your own card starts paying. Some plans let payments from your company plan count towards it. A higher deductible can lower your premium.
How The Two Plans Could Share A Bill
Suppose your company plan has RM20,000 of annual cover left, and your own card has a RM20,000 annual deductible. For a RM50,000 bill:
- Your company plan pays the first RM20,000.
- Your own card pays the remaining RM30,000, within its limits.
This works only if both policies allow it and your insurer counts the company payment towards the deductible. All the charges must also be covered.
Your company plan may pay only RM15,000 because of a separate benefit limit. Then you may need to pay the other RM5,000 of the deductible yourself before your own card starts paying.
What Happens If You’re Admitted Again?
Check how often the deductible applies:
- If it applies per policy year, you pay it once for covered claims in that year. It resets when the next policy year begins.
- If it applies per admission, you pay it each time you’re admitted. If your first stay used up your company cover, you may have to meet the next deductible yourself.
Before buying, ask both insurers which plan pays first. Ask your own insurer whether company payments count towards the deductible and how often it applies.
MediAsas Fleksi Is Built For Company Cover
MediAsas Fleksi is one plan built to work with cover you already have. Under its pilot terms, it has a RM300,000 annual limit and an annual deductible of RM10,000 at preferred network hospitals or RM15,000 elsewhere. BNM’s example shows company cover meeting the deductible, with Fleksi paying the remaining covered costs. The pilot terms may change before the January 2027 national launch.
Budget 2027 announced a RM200 first-year MediAsas premium subsidy for each worker at small and medium businesses with fewer than 75 employees. The subsidy covers up to 50 workers per company. EPF members under 55 will also be able to pay MediAsas premiums from Akaun Sejahtera.
Who Pays The Deductible When Company Cover Ends?
You pay the deductible yourself. Before choosing a large deductible, ask whether you can lower it later and whether you’d need a new health check.
You can compare deductible options, takaful and standalone plans on RinggitPlus’s medical card comparison page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my company medical card cover pregnancy and childbirth?
It depends on your company’s plan. The Tokio Marine and Berjaya Sompo group policies RinggitPlus checked exclude pregnancy and childbirth.
Your employer may offer separate maternity benefits. Check your benefits handbook or ask HR whether these cover pregnancy care, childbirth and related complications.
Your own medical card may not cover pregnancy either. For example, GREAT Health Direct excludes pregnancy and childbirth.
Can I add my spouse and children to my company plan?
Yes, if your employer’s plan includes cover for family members, known as dependants. Ask HR who you can add and whether you need to pay extra.
The rules for children vary by policy. For example, Berjaya Sompo’s group policy covers unmarried children who aren’t working. They must be under 19, or up to 23 if they’re full-time students at a recognised institution in Malaysia.
Your family’s cover is linked to yours. It ends when you leave the job.
Can I claim tax relief on my company medical insurance?
If you pay part of the premium yourself, that payment may qualify for tax relief. For example, you might pay extra to add your spouse or children. If your employer pays the full premium, there’s no employee-paid portion to claim.
From Year of Assessment 2025, you can claim up to RM4,000 a year for education and medical insurance premiums. That’s one shared limit across your share of the company premium and any plans you buy yourself.
For your own plan, check your insurer’s annual premium statement. If your share of the company premium is deducted from your salary, ask HR for a record of those deductions.
What’s the difference between a standalone medical card and a medical rider?
Both help pay covered hospital bills. A standalone medical card is a separate policy for medical cover, with no investment part. A medical rider adds medical cover to a life or investment-linked policy.
On many investment-linked plans, the rider’s medical charges come out of the policy’s investment account each month. These charges increase as you get older.
Whichever you choose, ask how much the premiums or medical charges could rise over time. Then budget for keeping your cover. RinggitPlus’s standalone medical card page lists plans with no investment part.
What if I already have a health condition when I buy my own plan?
Tell the insurer or takaful operator when you apply, and answer the health questions fully and accurately. If you’re unsure what a question means, ask before you apply.
Having an existing condition doesn’t always mean your application will be rejected. Depending on the condition and plan, you may be offered cover with exclusions, a higher premium or a waiting period. Some plans have stricter rules. For example, GREAT Health Direct doesn’t accept applicants with pre-existing conditions.
Before accepting the plan, check whether your condition will be covered and on what terms. If you don’t take reasonable care with your answers, the insurer could reject a claim, pay less or cancel your cover. These rules come from the Financial Services Act 2013 for insurance and the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 for takaful.
How long before my own medical card starts paying?
Many plans cover accidents from day one, but illnesses have waiting periods. Takaful Malaysia’s MediKad and GREAT Health Direct, for example, apply a 30-day waiting period for illnesses and 120 days for specified illnesses. On GREAT Health Direct, these include high blood pressure and diabetes. A plan you buy just before you resign may not cover an illness that starts soon after.
