Getting started with insurance

[BBCWatcher]

Bigfoot90, another possible choice your wife has is to maintain continuous Integrated Shield plan coverage using NTUC's Enhanced Income Shield C plan with their "Assist" rider, I'd suggest. That C plan is designed to cover Singapore public hospital stays in B2+ ward and below.

For women, B2+ ward works well since KK Hospital offers it. There really isn't much B2+ ward consistently available in the other public hospitals from what I can tell. KK Hospital's B2+ ward is, just as you might expect, in between B1 and B2 wards. Like B1 ward it has air conditioning, and that's huge. B1 has 4 beds per room, B2+ has 5 beds per room, and B2 has 6 beds per room. B1 offers a patient-directed choice of doctors (among those available), while B2+ and below do not -- the hospital assigns the doctor(s).

Anyway, the point is that it's an affordable Integrated Shield plan that provides reasonable, non-lavish coverage. She'll have to check NTUC's policy wording, of course, but to my knowledge there's no lapse in coverage if she were to leave Singapore for 90 days or longer. There would be a termination of coverage if she loses (or terminates) her PR status.

Please bear in mind that any carrier switch is going to result in a pre-existing condition reset. But that's another possible reason why that B2+ ward plan could be a good fit for a "loosely attached" PR.

 

[Tesla8]

Bigfoot90, another possible choice your wife has is to maintain continuous Integrated Shield plan coverage using NTUC's Enhanced Income Shield C plan with their "Assist" rider, I'd suggest. That C plan is designed to cover Singapore public hospital stays in B2+ ward and below.

For women, B2+ ward works well since KK Hospital offers it. There really isn't much B2+ ward consistently available in the other public hospitals from what I can tell. KK Hospital's B2+ ward is, just as you might expect, in between B1 and B2 wards. Like B1 ward it has air conditioning, and that's huge. B1 has 4 beds per room, B2+ has 5 beds per room, and B2 has 6 beds per room. B1 offers a patient-directed choice of doctors (among those available), while B2+ and below do not -- the hospital assigns the doctor(s).

Anyway, the point is that it's an affordable Integrated Shield plan that provides reasonable, non-lavish coverage. She'll have to check NTUC's policy wording, of course, but to my knowledge there's no lapse in coverage if she were to leave Singapore for 90 days or longer. There would be a termination of coverage if she loses (or terminates) her PR status.

Please bear in mind that any carrier switch is going to result in a pre-existing condition reset. But that's another possible reason why that B2+ ward plan could be a good fit for a "loosely attached" PR.

I think this reply is for me not bigfoot90. Thanks BBCWatcher.

 

[bigfoot90]

Extremelly informative. Thanks for sharing BBCwatcher

 

[haven11]

hmnnn... one thought came up here --> sidetrack. If your wife's PR is dependent on you, that may be less impact for residency. If she has her own merit for PR, I was not aware of any duration requirement to stay in Singapore as a PR (I think the encouraged hearsay is 2-3 out of the 5 years)... even if there is an overseas job posting assignment per say, you should be back with local job to ensure renewal (based on experience but every case may be different... Is there some rule about 90day travel concerns PR-ship that I am not aware of...?

back to main track of insurance, I thought that the hospitali/surgical policies is not term dependent. Most of the time, premiums and terms get revised (almost every year?) as long as approved by MOH. So if the plan is to get hospital/surgical coverage in Singapore for future, the premium is only affected by her age and loading for pre-existing condition at point of policy inception - whether policy payment begins today or future, premium remains the same in future (unlike level term). Someone please verify my understanding? I had always thought so....

That also brings up the part if your wife is overseas more often, then perhaps she should take up the local (wherever she is spending most time) and take foreign travel insurance when she is in Singapore?

Your wife has a bigger problem in that scenario: her Re-Entry Permit (REP) is unlikely to be renewed if she is no longer a de facto resident of Singapore. The Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is the agency that handles REP renewals, and not-so-coincidentally ICA knows exactly how often and for how long a PR has been outside Singapore. If your wife is outside Singapore when her REP expires, her PR status ends.

OK, leaving that important issue aside, your wife is perfectly free to maintain Integrated Shield plan coverage as long as she is a PR, and no matter what her travel and residence patterns. Ordinarily a "loosely attached" PR would consider keeping some level of Integrated Shield continuous coverage, most probably a public hospital plan. For example, she could maintain public hospital A ward coverage with Prudential's PRUshield Plus. I took a look through their policy document and see nothing that would prevent a "loosely attached" PR from obtaining coverage in Singapore. Maybe Great Eastern's policy wording is different?

 

[haven11]

thanks bigfoot + snooze
1. hmnn.. ok maybe pru tripleprotect vs aviva
2. thanks I was not aware of "change by notification" even for riders, I had thought it was applied to ci standalone policies only. the CI difference between standalone and rider is mostlikely amount/duration cover & premium then right?
3. ok thanks for confirm DI level. AIA seems to be expensive in everything...
4. I forgot to mention she has her own foreign CI + medical policy. assuming I had assumed DPS mostly for the cradle situation (I googled avg service $8-10K in SG)...
5. yes. I was trying to see if premium is considered exp or not... surprised how snooze got 270 for dtpd + ci + di until 70yo! which product pls?
I also included 1300 (from MA) for prushield in my calc to gauge how much I really spend for insurance cover... ie. can I afford in future when cost rises in mid 40s...
6. snooze --> you meant you're using DIY but no claim experience? or just typo and you are NOT on DIY?

thanks learning and clearing up more here...

1. most insurance companies will follow suit each other when one has a new product launch. you could check out Manulife's Ready Completecare or Prudential's Prutriple protect. usually the different policies from each company will be similar with slight differences.

2. company has the right to increase CI rider premium with 30 days notice provided. but honestly, I've not seen this happen before. the reason they put this clause is probably due to the fear that if suddenly one year, an absurd amount of people start to get CI and the company experiences overwhelming CI claims.

3. DI is usually leveled once locked in.

4. i believe the question here is weather your wife has any financial liabilities that needs to be addressed and if yes? would $46k to the age of 65 be enough? if the answer is no, then there is a protect gap. (do take note that DPS doesn't cover for CI)

5. to really answer this question, you'd need to do a proper financial analysis. spending habits, liabilities and for how long the policy term lasts all play a part. your concerns and priorities will also be needed to be taken into consideration.

6. at least not me. haha

hope this helps.

 

[bigfoot90]

thanks bigfoot + snooze
1. hmnn.. ok maybe pru tripleprotect vs aviva
2. thanks I was not aware of "change by notification" even for riders, I had thought it was applied to ci standalone policies only. the CI difference between standalone and rider is mostlikely amount/duration cover & premium then right?
3. ok thanks for confirm DI level. AIA seems to be expensive in everything...
4. I forgot to mention she has her own foreign CI + medical policy. assuming I had assumed DPS mostly for the cradle situation (I googled avg service $8-10K in SG)...
5. yes. I was trying to see if premium is considered exp or not... surprised how snooze got 270 for dtpd + ci + di until 70yo! which product pls?
I also included 1300 (from MA) for prushield in my calc to gauge how much I really spend for insurance cover... ie. can I afford in future when cost rises in mid 40s...
6. snooze --> you meant you're using DIY but no claim experience? or just typo and you are NOT on DIY?

thanks learning and clearing up more here...

Hi haven11

1. Prutriple protect will cover you up to an age of 75yo max, payouts are up to 300% sum assured. (covers both ECI and CI)

Aviva MPCI will cover you up to 99yo max, payouts are up to 300% sum assured (covers both ECI and CI) and an additional up to 300% sum assured is claimable for first-time or re-diagnosed cancer, heart attack or stroke. so technically speaking, this policy can claim up to 600% provided the conditions are met.

(do take note that existing medical conditions, smoker or non-smoker, sum assured and policy term will all play a part in the premium.)

2. you're right to say that the differences between standalone and riders are the amount/duration cover and premium. between getting a standalone or adding a rider to your current plan or getting a whole new CI plan would depend on your current insurance portfolio. do take note that CI riders are usually accelerated. meaning that making a CI claim would eat into the sum assured for death and TPD.

3. haha, thats why there's many other companies to compare.

4. by foreign CI and medical policy you mean she has a term or life policy as well as a hospital plan?

5.yes snooze please share! i'm also curious! haha

 

[mSnooze]

thanks bigfoot + snooze
1. hmnn.. ok maybe pru tripleprotect vs aviva
2. thanks I was not aware of "change by notification" even for riders, I had thought it was applied to ci standalone policies only. the CI difference between standalone and rider is mostlikely amount/duration cover & premium then right?
3. ok thanks for confirm DI level. AIA seems to be expensive in everything...
4. I forgot to mention she has her own foreign CI + medical policy. assuming I had assumed DPS mostly for the cradle situation (I googled avg service $8-10K in SG)...
5. yes. I was trying to see if premium is considered exp or not... surprised how snooze got 270 for dtpd + ci + di until 70yo! which product pls?
I also included 1300 (from MA) for prushield in my calc to gauge how much I really spend for insurance cover... ie. can I afford in future when cost rises in mid 40s...
6. snooze --> you meant you're using DIY but no claim experience? or just typo and you are NOT on DIY?

thanks learning and clearing up more here...

1. If you getting Multiple Paying CI, Aviva and Manulife is better.
2. For CI, most company only offers it as a rider to main plan, unless you are getting Multipaying/ Early CI, then you can buy them as standalone. You can do all under one plan as well instead to save even more cost.
5. The quote i roughly generate from Aviva.
6. I meant I am an IFA agent myself so I buy my own insurance don't have to use 3rd party sites.

 

[haven11]

thanks msnooze n bigfoot...

 

[lush321]

Hiii, Ive some questions.. I am a 45yr old working mother with 3 young kids. Husband works in Msia and doesnt earn a lot. Ive the following insurance:

- ILP with 100k death & TPD and 110k CI
- Simple life plan that just covers Life and TPD for 100k
- H&S plan
- Aia woman's wisdom for 25k

The above were bought many many yrs ago. My ILP is losing $ and is getting more expensive to provide the same cover as I grow older and my agent friends have been recommending me to terminate it.

I need a good Term Life to provide for my dependents (children + aged parents) should anything happen to me and also to provide some funding for my property (pte apartment with 600k left to pay).However I did a Health Screening 3mths back (bad timing i know). Results were generally fine but 1 area was flagged out, there were calcifications in chest area. I asked the GP who said its common for woman > 40ys to get that so nothing else needs to be done. I asked my Agent cousin who said that underwriters are likely to load me or exclude this condition as nowadays underwriters are very strict. What do u all think? Ive actually sounded out an insurance company who imposed a 100% loading on me because of this. Which is so expensive!

Have anyone tried Direct insurance. I was checking online forums and they were saying that the cheapest is to get from companies like Etiqa.. they dont have agents thus that reduces the charges by quite a bit.

Thanks in advance .

 

[Financegeek]

Hi,
Before termination of ILP, do make sure your term plan is already in place. To ensure some form of protection.

- best to do a review on your current funds in the ILP
- apart from life and CI good to look into your early critical illness coverage too.

DPI is slightly cheaper, however, they are very simple policies, and can be lacking.
If you’re looking at a more comprehensive coverage, best to speak to an advisor.

Underwriting differs between companies, I work in a independent FA, no obligations.

I would be able to assist you to get a preliminary underwriting for different companies. I work with 13 different life insurers.

Hit me up, could just have a chat over the phone, no obligations

Hiii, Ive some questions.. I am a 45yr old working mother with 3 young kids. Husband works in Msia and doesnt earn a lot. Ive the following insurance:

- ILP with 100k death & TPD and 110k CI
- Simple life plan that just covers Life and TPD for 100k
- H&S plan
- Aia woman's wisdom for 25k

The above were bought many many yrs ago. My ILP is losing $ and is getting more expensive to provide the same cover as I grow older and my agent friends have been recommending me to terminate it.

I need a good Term Life to provide for my dependents (children + aged parents) should anything happen to me and also to provide some funding for my property (pte apartment with 600k left to pay).However I did a Health Screening 3mths back (bad timing i know). Results were fine but 1 area was flagged out, there were calcifications in chest area. I asked the GP who said its common for woman > 40ys to get that so nothing else needs to be done. I asked my Agent cousin who said that underwriters are likely to load me or exclude this condition as nowadays underwriters are very strict. What do u all think? Ive actually sounded out an insurance company who imposed a 100% loading on me because of this. Which is so expensive!

 

[Advisor13]

Currently you’re lacking in death, ci & eci. If your concern is about death just get a term plan that covers death & tpd.

As ci & eci would be quite costly for your age. You can get a plan w just ci coverage, as eci would be high-priced as compared to ci.

For your ilp, you can get do a portfolios rebalancing and when your new ci, eci and etcetc.. are inforce. Cancel the coverage and make it into a full investment plan. And go on premium holiday if you do not wish to pay for it anymore.

Hope this helps.

Hiii, Ive some questions.. I am a 45yr old working mother with 3 young kids. Husband works in Msia and doesnt earn a lot. Ive the following insurance:

- ILP with 100k death & TPD and 110k CI
- Simple life plan that just covers Life and TPD for 100k
- H&S plan
- Aia woman's wisdom for 25k

The above were bought many many yrs ago. My ILP is losing $ and is getting more expensive to provide the same cover as I grow older and my agent friends have been recommending me to terminate it.

I need a good Term Life to provide for my dependents (children + aged parents) should anything happen to me and also to provide some funding for my property (pte apartment with 600k left to pay).However I did a Health Screening 3mths back (bad timing i know). Results were generally fine but 1 area was flagged out, there were calcifications in chest area. I asked the GP who said its common for woman > 40ys to get that so nothing else needs to be done. I asked my Agent cousin who said that underwriters are likely to load me or exclude this condition as nowadays underwriters are very strict. What do u all think? Ive actually sounded out an insurance company who imposed a 100% loading on me because of this. Which is so expensive!

Thanks in advance .

 

[BBCWatcher]

Currently you’re lacking in death, ci & eci.

Lacking any DII. Why didn’t you mention that?

 

[numbers]

Lacking any DII. Why didn’t you mention that?

may i enquire, usually for DII, is it best to insure up to the max possible age? i think some allows up to 65, some 60, some 55.

And is it good to have like escalating benefits?

 

[BBCWatcher]

may i enquire, usually for DII, is it best to insure up to the max possible age? i think some allows up to 65, some 60, some 55.

As a general rule I look at age 65 first, but there are some circumstances when an earlier term age can make sense. For example, if you’re expecting a large inheritance at age 59, then you might be able to self-insure from that point and thus an age 60 term makes sense. Or perhaps there’s a mandatory retirement age in your profession (there is or used to be for airline pilots), so you might align your DII to that age since you’re going to have to stop working in that profession then anyway.

The lower the terminal age, the lower the premium. However, you can reduce or end DII at any age if you reach the point where you can self-insure adequately. So I tend to prefer age 65 (“traditional retirement age”) for those reasons, then in one’s 50s and 60s decide whether to reduce or to end DII coverage. And that works pretty well, I think, since you’d probably want DII payouts to run as long as possible if you were actually collecting.

And is it good to have like escalating benefits?

I think so since inflation really exists (especially medical inflation), although bear in mind the premium is higher with that feature.

I also like the CPF LIFE Escalating Plan (and any other escalating life annuities you might) to take over from age 65+. DII should be a bridge into a reliable, adequate (or better) retirement income stream, so it’s also important to nail down that future baseline retirement income stream as soon as reasonably practical.

 

[numbers]

As a general rule I look at age 65 first, but there are some circumstances when an earlier term age can make sense. For example, if you’re expecting a large inheritance at age 59, then you might be able to self-insure from that point and thus an age 60 term makes sense. Or perhaps there’s a mandatory retirement age in your profession (there is or used to be for airline pilots), so you might align your DII to that age since you’re going to have to stop working in that profession then anyway.

The lower the terminal age, the lower the premium. However, you can reduce or end DII at any age if you reach the point where you can self-insure adequately. So I tend to prefer age 65 (“traditional retirement age”) for those reasons, then in one’s 50s and 60s decide whether to reduce or to end DII coverage. And that works pretty well, I think, since you’d probably want DII payouts to run as long as possible if you were actually collecting.


I think so since inflation really exists (especially medical inflation), although bear in mind the premium is higher with that feature.

I also like the CPF LIFE Escalating Plan (and any other escalating life annuities you might) to take over from age 65+. DII should be a bridge into a reliable, adequate (or better) retirement income stream, so it’s also important to nail down that future baseline retirement income stream as soon as reasonably practical.

With the incoming careshield Life, does it make sense to buy Disability income insurance? wouldn't the both of them have overlaps and thus we would be overpaying in some sense for the similar benefits?

 

[BBCWatcher]

With the incoming careshield Life, does it make sense to buy Disability income insurance?

Oh yes.

wouldn't the both of them have overlaps and thus we would be overpaying in some sense for the similar benefits?

No, not really. CareShield Life will only pay benefits if you are profoundly disabled, almost always permanently. That's because its definition of disability is a "3 out of 6 Activities of Daily Living" definition. If you cannot perform 3 or more ADLs, you get payouts for as long as that's true. (This is the same definition as "Total and Permanent Disability" clauses in most life insurance policies, so CSL is directly overlapping TPD.)

DII pays benefits after the waiting period, and up to the term age, when you are partially or fully unable to work due to disability. That's a much broader definition than the 3 out of 6 ADL definition, covering much more risk.

DII and CareShield Life should pair together quite nicely, actually. DII protects against income loss due to disability (mild or severe), while CSL will pay a little more when you're profoundly disabled and likely to incur higher expenses associated with that profound disability.

 

[numbers]

does it make sense to get critical illness plans that cover for life?

I have a term plan now up to 65 yr old, cover CI and TPD. But wondering after that if get critical illness, is the hospital plan enough to cover the costs...

 

[BBCWatcher]

does it make sense to get critical illness plans that cover for life?

If you’ve got significant holes in your medical insurance and cannot self-insure through MediSave and other assets, maybe, possibly, give some thought to it. It’s better to close those holes, though. CI is also not a substitute for DII, which in my view (and I’m not alone) is a much higher priority.

 

[saycheese]

Since we are on the topic of CI, how about early critical illness? Is it advisable to get it?

 

[numbers]

If you’ve got significant holes in your medical insurance and cannot self-insure through MediSave and other assets, maybe, possibly, give some thought to it. It’s better to close those holes, though. CI is also not a substitute for DII, which in my view (and I’m not alone) is a much higher priority.

cool, thanks! i have a private NTUC plan with a rider that covers 90% payment.

Only issue i see and also the reason why i mentioned CI till later ages past 65,70 is that policy can be changed at whim.

Look at current hospitalisation insurance, those that covered 100% can be overturned by government policy and soon everyone will need co-payment. Who knows in future they might overturn and say 50% payment by insured or 80% by insured....

That really spooked me and reconsider if i made the right choice of term life+CI till 65, and if I needed CI till whole life