Key takeaways
- Life, medical card and critical illness cover come from Great Eastern Life’s Life Planning Advisors; car and fire insurance sit with Great Eastern General; Great Eastern Takaful is a separate company.
- In Malaysia only people registered with LIAM can sell life insurance. Check on LIAM’s Know Your Agent page, or call the Great Eastern careline on 1300-1300 88 to confirm.
- We could not find a public Great Eastern ranking of agents by service. Its 2025 Top 200 advisor list covers only 200 people and does not by itself show how well they follow up after the sale.
- Judge service with 7 questions: whether they learn about you first, review your existing policies, explain exclusions, premium changes and surrender losses, have handled claims, and who looks after you if they leave.
- Great Eastern General stopped accepting new Individual Medical Insurance applications from 1 November 2026. For a new medical card, look at Great Eastern Life or Great Eastern Takaful.
- Pay premiums only to Great Eastern, never to an agent’s personal account, and never give anyone your password or OTP.
Step 1: which kind of GE agent do you need?
When people say GE agent, they can mean agents of different companies. Decide what you want to buy first, so you find the right person.
| You want | Company and how to find an agent |
|---|---|
| Life, medical card, critical illness, savings, retirement | Great Eastern Life A Life Planning Advisor: see the advisor page or call 1300-1300 88 |
| Car, fire, travel insurance | Great Eastern General A general insurance agent: Great Eastern says to email gicare-my@greateasterngeneral.com or contact a branch, and it will assign one |
| Takaful plans | Great Eastern Takaful A separate company with its own agents |
A note on medical cards: according to Great Eastern’s notice, Great Eastern General stopped accepting new Individual Medical Insurance applications from 1 November 2026. Existing policies carry on with the same cover, renewals and claims. For new medical cover, look at Great Eastern Life or Great Eastern Takaful, so when you discuss a medical card, ask which company the plan comes from.
Step 2: how to check an agent is genuine
Whether you were referred by a friend or found the agent online, these checks take about five minutes and are worth doing before you buy.
- See the agent card and agent code. Note down the name and code for the next steps.
- Check LIAM. Only people registered with the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) may promote and sell life insurance. LIAM’s Know Your Agent page offers online verification, and you can call 03-2691 6168 if you have trouble.
- Call Great Eastern. The careline on 1300-1300 88, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.15pm, can confirm whether someone is a Great Eastern agent.
- Pay premiums only to Great Eastern. Use JomPAY, e-Connect or auto-debit, and never transfer to an agent’s personal account.
- Keep your password and OTP to yourself. Great Eastern also warns never to share them with anyone, including people who claim to represent the company.
Great Eastern’s website also lists its 2025 Top 200 qualified advisors, which you can use as a reference. The list only covers 200 people, so not being on it doesn’t mean someone isn’t a genuine agent. To verify identity, use the steps above.
Step 3: 7 questions that show whether service is good
You can ask these at the first meeting. Listen for specific practices rather than polished answers.
| Ask the agent | How to read the answer |
|---|---|
| 1. Will you learn about my situation first? | Good: Asks about your family, income, loans, existing policies and budget Be careful: They push a plan as soon as you sit down |
| 2. Can you look at my existing policies, including other insurers’? | Good: Agrees, and explains overlaps and gaps Be careful: They only criticise the old policy and tell you to replace it |
| 3. What does this plan not cover? | Good: Raises exclusions, waiting periods and deductibles unprompted Be careful: They only talk about what is covered |
| 4. How could the premium change later? | Good: Explains which parts aren’t fixed and how the premium may be adjusted Be careful: They say it never rises but can’t show it in writing |
| 5. How much do I lose if I surrender early? | Good: Opens the benefit illustration and shows the surrender value year by year Be careful: They only talk about returns |
| 6. How many claims have you handled yourself, and how does it work? | Good: Can describe the documents, who follows up and common problems Be careful: They tell you to call the hotline yourself and can’t describe any experience |
| 7. If you leave the business, what happens to my policy? | Good: Explains that the policy stays in force and you can ask for a new servicing agent Be careful: They avoid the question |
Ask two or three agents the same questions, on the same budget and the same cover needs. The differences show up quickly.
Warning signs to watch for
- Pressure to sign today: they say the offer disappears tomorrow, or won’t let you take the papers home.
- Promises of sure profit: they only talk about returns, not cover, risk or surrender losses.
- Payment to a personal account: premiums should go only to the insurer.
- Telling you to leave out your medical history: you need to declare it honestly, or a later claim may be affected.
- Telling you to cancel an old policy for a new one: without working out the surrender loss or mentioning new waiting periods.
- Filling in the health questions for you: and asking you to sign without reading them.
New individual life and medical policies usually have a free-look period of about 15 days, as explained in the guide on buying from an agent, a bank or online. If something feels wrong after you buy, contact the insurer quickly.
How to read Great Eastern agent reviews and Google reviews
Independent rankings of individual agents are hard to find online, so it helps to know what each source can and can’t tell you.
| What you see | What it shows and what else to check |
|---|---|
| Company awards or a Top 200 list | The person meets the company’s qualification Also check: Ask separately about after-sales service and claims |
| The agent’s own website | The agent’s own account of their details and practices Also check: Verify with the agent card, LIAM and the careline |
| Google reviews | What clients say Also check: Look for recent reviews that mention claims and follow-up, not just stars; a handful of reviews tells you little |
| A friend’s referral | Real experience Also check: Ask what actually happened when they claimed or needed the agent |
Already hold a Great Eastern policy? You can change agent
Yes. When an agent leaves, the policy stays in force, but nobody is following it up. Call 1300-1300 88 to ask for a new servicing agent, or tell Great Eastern which agent you want.
The steps are in what to do if your agent left. Careline numbers, email and branch addresses are in the Great Eastern customer service guide.
Want someone to look at your policies first?
I’m Lulu Loke (陆佩婷), a Great Eastern Sales Manager, agent code 6385556, serving Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. You can ask me the 7 questions above, then ask other agents and compare.
- A policy review is free, including policies from other insurers. You don’t need to buy anything, and I won’t push you to switch.
- I reply on WhatsApp myself, quickly and usually the same day.
- At claim time I tell you which documents are needed, check the forms and follow up until Great Eastern decides. I have helped clients with about 110 claims.
To be upfront: I’m paid by insurer commission, and the new products I can recommend are Great Eastern’s. This is my own description, not an independent rating. My details and a link to my Google reviews are on this page.