Singapore Insurance

So what is the difference between coinsurance and deductible? These two terms will probably pop up when you are thinking of buying a hospitalisation insurance plan (or termed as health insurance in some countries) or what is also known as an integrated shield plan in Singapore. Well, a simple way to understand it is to treat the coinsurance and deductible as money that you will have to pay for your medical bills even though you have insurance coverage. The reasons coinsurance and deductible exists is probably to keep the cost of insurance low and affordable while preventing individuals from exploiting the medical system and the insurance coverage they enjoy. A deductible is similar to what is the known add excess in motor insurance. This basically means the amount of money you will have to pay FIRST before the insurance company allows for any claims. For example, if the deductible is stated as $2000, and your hospital bill is also $2000, you don't get to claim any money since y...

As stated in its benefit illustration, PruWealth is a participating regular premium endowment insurance plan.  Unlike other endowment plans, PruWealth is meant to be long term wealth accumulator that matures only when the life assured turns 100 years old.  That means the plan does not mature in your typical 20 to 30 years that is common in other endowment plans.  Of course, that depends too on the age you are when you purchased the plan. Some interesting features of this endowment plan are as follows: There are various options of premium paying terms ranging from 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years. This basically means it is a limited pay plan where you just need to pay regular premiums for a certain number of years and can stop paying thereafter. Death benefit will always be higher than the amount of premiums put in.  This is typical of any endowment plan so I won't elaborate any further.  Surrender value comprises both guaranteed and non-guaranteed component...

I received a letter from Finexis that said someone from the company will contact me regarding my lapsed AXA FutureProtector.   The matter of fact is this: I was offered FutureProtector free of charge and that was the reason why I took it up. After the free offer from Finexis, AXA apparently lodged a complaint due to the high number of lapse cases and wanted to claim some money back from Finexis. I wonder how this will pan out as I have not intention to continue with the AXA FutureProtector. Maybe they will offer me another free one year trial? =)

Motor insurance losses down It seems like Motor insurance underwriting losses are down for 2009. The underwriting loss for 2009 was $44.5 million compared to the $214 million in 2008. With a lower underwriting loss, consumers can expect a less drastic rise in motor insurance premiums for their cars. Insurance premiums will most probably stabilise and even if they do increase, will be by a lesser quantum compared to the previous year. This news will definitely be welcomed by motorists. A lot however still needs to be done to make sure that the motor insurance claims regulatory framework is closely monitored to ensure that nobody abuses the system.

I finally received a letter from AIA regarding the recent news about Prudential's potential takeover. Dear XXXX, As you have probably seen in the news, AIG has entered into a definitive agreement to sell AIA to Prudential for approximately US$35.5 billion, subject to Prudential's shareholder approval, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. AIA is a strong and successful organisation today because of our focus on meeting your needs, supported by a dedicated agency force, distributors and professional employees. We understand Prudential and AIG are devoted to preserving the AIA brand and its commitments. We would like to assure you it is business-as-usual for us and our focus will continue to remain on you, our customer. We will continue to provide you with products and services that meet your needs now and into the future. There are no changes to the policies you have with us and all policyholder obligations will be honoured. If you have questions, please do no...

AIG bids farewell to its Asian arm AIA as a takeover by Prudential takes place. British insureer, Prudential, will offer up to US$35 million dollars for AIA. The deal will be settled through cash, paid through a rights issue by Prudential and also through AIG taking a minority stake in the British insurer. Prudential stepped in after AIG announced that it was intending to IPO its Asian arm. Analysts had previously forecasted that the IPO would raise 10 billion dollars. AIG had earlier intended to auction off 49 percent of its Asian arm after the financial crisis but that failed as it did not receive any suitable offers. Prudential will double its size by this deal.

Good news to all Medisave Account holders. Patients can now use Medisave to pay for private care abroad from next month onwards. This is limited to 12 hospitals and medical centres in Malaysia. However, patients will still have to be referred by two Singapore group centres first before they can seek treatment. The treatment has to be day surgery or in-hospital admissons. The two groups are Health Management International and Prakway Holdings. The referral centres for both are situated at Balestier Clinic and Health Screening Centre and East Shore Hospital respectively. This move would give Singaporeans more choice when it comes to seeking medical treatment overseas. The only question now is whether Medishield insurance coverage would also be extended to help pay for the bills overseas.