E-hailing group says current insurance framework is outdated, costly and unfair to flexible earners.
PETALING JAYA: Gabungan eHailing Malaysia (GEM) has called for a national review and reform of Malaysia’s additional e-hailing insurance framework, citing rising premiums, unequal access to daily insurance models and growing financial pressure on gig workers.
The advocacy group said the current framework is becoming increasingly disconnected from the operational realities faced by Malaysia’s gig workforce, particularly part-time and multi-platform drivers.
GEM stressed that it supports strong insurance protection mechanisms for both passengers and drivers, describing insurance as a key pillar of public trust and safety within the e-hailing ecosystem.
However, GEM chief activist Jose Rizal said recent increases in additional e-hailing insurance premiums have placed disproportionate financial burdens on drivers who operate only occasionally.
“For many drivers, e-hailing is only a part-time source of income, with some working only several days a week or month. However, they are still required to pay for a full year of insurance coverage regardless of how often they operate,” he said.
According to Rizal, the current system makes e-hailing less profitable and less accessible as a flexible source of income.
“A driver who operates occasionally should not be forced into cost structures designed for full-time commercial use. This creates financial inefficiency and imposes obligations that are often disconnected from actual economic activity,” he added.
GEM also expressed concern over what it described as uneven access to daily insurance arrangements across different e-hailing platforms.
The group claimed that while some operators currently benefit from flexible daily insurance structures, other compliant platforms remain excluded from similar access due to limitations in cooperation between insurers and newer market players.
According to GEM, this creates structural inequality that affects both driver mobility and healthy competition within the industry.
“When access to daily insurance is selectively available, drivers become commercially trapped within certain ecosystems. Switching platforms becomes financially irrational, not because of service quality or commercial preference, but because structural insurance limitations effectively lock participation into selected operators.
“This undermines healthy competition and creates conditions that may unintentionally encourage concentrated market dominance,” the group said.
GEM also confirmed that it is currently engaged in ongoing discussions with Bank Negara Malaysia to explore more sustainable and practical solutions to the insurance challenges faced by gig workers.
The organisation said the discussions reflected growing recognition that gig economy insurance frameworks must evolve alongside Malaysia’s digital labour transformation.
“We appreciate the openness and seriousness demonstrated by Bank Negara Malaysia in engaging with the realities faced by gig workers. These discussions are critical because sustainable reform requires regulatory innovation, actuarial recalibration and policy courage from all stakeholders,” Rizal said.
Among the reforms being discussed are broader industry-wide access to different e-hailing insurance models, fairer approval mechanisms for operators, usage-based insurance frameworks, cross-platform insurance portability and the long-term development of a standardised national gig insurance model.
Rizal said Malaysia is now at a critical point in shaping the future of digital labour protection.
“The gig economy has matured more rapidly than expected. We now face a choice: either modernise our systems to reflect economic reality or allow outdated structures to suppress innovation, weaken worker welfare and distort competition,” he said.
