If you’ve looked at your payslip lately, you may have noticed a new PERKESO deduction — SKBBK, or Skim Kemalangan Bukan Bencana Kerja, better known as Lindung 24 Jam. It started on 1 June 2026, and since 8 July it’s become voluntary for local employees (still mandatory for foreign workers). The opt-out form went live on the PERKESO portal on 13 July.
So now a lot of people are asking me the same thing: “I already have my own insurance — should I just opt out and save the money?”
Fair question. But before you decide, it’s worth understanding exactly what this scheme does and doesn’t do, because it’s not quite the same thing as the policy you already hold.
👉 What SKBBK actually covers
SKBBK protects you against accidents that happen outside of work — at home, on the road (non-work travel), during your own time, anywhere in Malaysia, around the clock. That’s the gap it was built to fill: your existing SOCSO already covered work-related accidents, and this extends the same style of protection to the other 24 hours of your day.
The benefits are broader than most people realise. They include medical treatment at PERKESO panel clinics and government hospitals, temporary and permanent disablement benefits (income replacement if an injury stops you working), dependants’ benefits if the worst happens, a constant attendance allowance, physical and vocational rehabilitation, Return-to-Work support, education benefits for your children, and a funeral benefit of RM3,000.
👉 What it does NOT cover — and this is the key part
SKBBK is an accident-only scheme. It does not pay a cent for illness — no cancer, no heart disease, no stroke, no hospitalisation from sickness. And realistically, illness is where the majority of medical claims actually come from. SKBBK also pays at government-hospital levels and within PERKESO’s benefit formulas, which are meaningful but modest compared to a private medical card or life policy.
So how does it sit next to the insurance you already have? Think of them as different layers, not competitors:
- Your private medical card covers hospitalisation from illness and accident, usually at private-hospital rates. SKBBK doesn’t touch illness at all.
- Your life / critical illness policy pays a lump sum on death or a covered diagnosis. SKBBK’s death and disablement benefits work more like an ongoing income-replacement and dependants’ payout, on top of — not instead of — what your policy pays.
- SKBBK adds things many private plans don’t include: vocational rehab, Return-to-Work, and education benefits for dependants.
In other words, having private insurance doesn’t make SKBBK redundant, and SKBBK is nowhere near enough to replace private insurance. They’re designed to stack.
👉 The cost side
The contribution is 0.75% of your monthly wage, paid entirely by you. For most employees that works out to roughly RM15–RM45 a month. It stays at 0.75% for the first two years, rises to 1.0% for the following three years, and 1.25% from the sixth year onward. If you do nothing, you stay enrolled and the deduction continues by default. To leave, you must complete the Liability Release Declaration (Perakuan Pelepasan Liabiliti) on the PERKESO portal and give a copy to your employer — and note that filing it releases PERKESO and your employer from liability for any non-work accident afterward.
👉 So — keep it or opt out?
That genuinely depends on your situation, and it’s worth thinking it through rather than opting out on reflex:
- If you already have strong private accident and disability cover, SKBBK is largely duplicated protection — though the rehab, RTW and dependants’ features may still add something.
- If your private coverage is mostly a medical card and some life insurance (which is the common setup), SKBBK is filling a real gap: income replacement and dependants’ support after a serious non-work accident, at a very low cost.
- For younger employees or those on tighter budgets who haven’t built up much personal cover yet, RM15–RM45 a month for 24/7 accident protection is often worth keeping while you sort out the bigger picture.
The honest takeaway: don’t opt out just because you “already have insurance.” Look at what your existing policies actually pay on a non-work accident, compare it to what SKBBK adds, and decide from there. If you’re not sure what your current coverage really includes, that’s exactly the kind of thing worth a quick review.
Disclaimer: The content shared here is for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, and should not be relied upon as such. Everyone’s financial situation is different — if you have specific questions or needs, feel free to reach out for a personalised consultation.