The Transport Ministry is willing to study the need of airline companies in the country to offer additional insurance coverage to their passengers to protect them in case of any untoward incidents abroad.

Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ministry was prepared to do so if there was a request from the stakeholders.

He said the matter should be scrutinised as it involved extra costs, besides the fact that most airlines were already offering travel insurance coverage to their passengers.

"We have to study it first to determine the cost for all airlines. We cannot just implement it in haste, we have to study the case. Right now, all airlines are offering travel insurance coverage for their passengers."

He said this to reporters after attending the High-Level Committee meeting on the Security at Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex at the Malaysian Border Control Agency (Aksem) Complex here today.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and was also attended by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed and Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Baharom.

Yesterday, a Malay daily reported that a study on Malaysians' travel trend found that only 34.6 per cent of Malaysians would take travel insurance coverage when travelling abroad or to a challenging location.

That means only three to four in every 10 Malaysian travellers had insurance coverage for themselves and their families in case on any untoward incidents during their trips or while staying in foreign land.

-- BERNAMA