AIA Berhad, a leading insurer in Malaysia, said that it will be making ex-gratia payments to the next-of-kin of Malaysia Airline (MAS) Flight MH17 passengers who are customers of the company, regardless of the special restrictions.

Its Chief Executive Officer Bill Lisle said the company on an exceptional basis had decided to waive all special restrictions or exclusions for death due to terrorism, war, or warlike situations, in the policies as it knows that the claims are genuine.

"In the aftermath of the unfortunate MH17 tragedy, we stand ready to provide any assistance to the families of those onboard the flight," he said in a statement.

Lisle said affected policyholders' personal accident policies would also be payable in this instance.

AIA, he said had contacted family members to offer their assistance as well as make delivery of the claim cheques and gather details on the beneficiaries, where required over the past two weeks.

Family members can also contact AIA at 1300-88-8860 / 70, 24 hours a day or e-mail members@aia.com to find out more about any AIA insurance policy purchased by their family member(s) on the flight.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.