The company yesterday launched i-Early Payout CriticalCare (i-Epcc), a product attached to i-Great Damai, which is its pioneer investment-linked product launched in December last year.

i-Epcc is a takaful plan that pays at the early stages of various critical illnesses. While other critical illnesses plans only pay between stage three and four, i-Epcc plan starts paying in stages between 25 per cent and 50 per cent from stage one to stage two depending on the illness.

“With today’s advancement in medical technology and the awareness on early screenings and regular check-ups, critical illnesses are likely to be detected at a much earlier stage.

“With early treatment, the survival rates for many of these critical illnesses have improved,” chief executive officer Mohamad Salihuddin Ahmad said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

“With i-Epcc, customers are given a payout at early stages, hence enabling them to seek early medical treatment,” he added.

Great Eastern Takaful is a new joint-venture takaful unit formed by Great Eastern Holdings Ltd and Koperasi Angkatan Tentera Malaysia Bhd.

It offers two products, i-Great Damai, which provides comprehensive protection with affordable contribution, and i-Great Abadi that focuses on investing money to grow its customers’ wealth.

The takaful operator is leveraging on Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd’s existing agency distribution channel of over 17,000 agents.

Great Eastern Takaful currently has 5,000 qualified takaful agents.