As the grave magnitude of COVID19 became clearer, insurers in Singapore have been quick to conceptualize insurance coverage for local residents.
These quick actions don’t just showcase that they are efficient enough to create appropriate policies for their customers, but also help to induce a calm state of mind and alleviate stress of customers.
Some insurers have offered free insurance policies specific to COVID-19 infections and conditions. Some provide them as a complimentary coverage for existing customers under certain policies. And some offer cheaper policies concerning the coronavirus that requires premiums to be paid immediately.
What is available really depends on the insurer in question offering the coverage.
Here is a list of some of the COVID 19 coronavirus insurance coverage plans available in Singapore.
NTUC
The most notable COVID19 extension on NTUC Income’s policies is the one for personal accident.
- $10,000 lump sum death benefit for 12 months
- $100 daily cash benefit for up to 30 days
NTUC is offering a myriad of additional covid19 coverage across their portfolio of products.
You can learn more about them here.
DBS and Chubb Covid-19 Hospital Cash
This is one COVID-19 health insurance policy that received a lot of publicity. This is partly because the bank and insurer acted fast and boldly to offer it for free to the general public.
Actually… they are only available to DBS/POSB customers. But since almost every person in SG is probably a customer of the bank in one way or another, it’s basically an offer to everybody.
Even dependents of applicants can be covered.
The main benefits for the insured are:
- 30 days free coverage
- $100 per day cash benefit for up to 14 days
- $1,000 lump sum payment for admittance into ICU for covid-19 complications
The offer was originally scheduled to end on 15 March 2020. But the sign up deadline was extended to 31 March 2020 due to popular demand.
More about the policy can be found here.
AIA Free COVID19 Special Coverage
AIA will be providing a special protection feature on eligible customers.
From the insurance company’s website, it states that what they deem to be eligible customers are:
“Eligible customers” refers to Life insured or policyowners who are Singapore residents and have an existing in-force individual life or accident and health insurance policy with AIA Singapore issued on or before 31 July 2020, and the policy is in-force at the point of claim. Please refer to our terms and conditions for details of eligibility and claim.
The two main coverage benefits of this rider are:
- $1,000 lump sum $1,000 hospitalisation income for admission to hospital
- $25,000 death benefit should death be a direct result of COVID-19
For eligible customers, the coverage term would be free for until 31 December 2020 or 30 days after the DORSCON level has downgraded to green, whichever is earlier.
The implication is that should the coronavirus outbreak extend beyond 2020, people should expect to pay a premium for the added protection.
Great Eastern
Great Eastern is another insurance company that has been very clear with what types of additional coverage they would offer to customers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With a diverse portfolio of products and customer profiles, it is not surprising to see that they have integrated various additional COVID-19 related benefits into their existing policies.
The most notable of which is probably the:
- $200 per day cash benefit for up to 60 days
- $20,000 lump sum payment for death due to COVID19
But it must be noted that different benefits can be found in all types of products such as life insurance, general health insurance, personal accidents, etc.
More about these terms can be found here.
AXA
AXA has been more specific in the types of coverage for COVID19 they would offer to customers. Eligibility can be quite specific to dates and recent travel history.
If you are a AXA client who has purchased some sort of health insurance or travel insurance policies with them, it is best that you check the details about your eligibility here.
Prudential
Prudential is an outlier in these times of uncertainty.
While other insurers are providing lump sum cash benefits for death, Prudential is providing lump sum claims for those who are quarantined.
You don’t need to die to receive a lump sum cash payment.
They also have a very generous daily cash benefit. The details are below:
- $200 per day cash benefit for up to 3 months
- $500 lump sum payment for quarantine officially issued under the Infectious Diseases Act
While the above benefits can seem generous, you should be mindful of the details and fine print to enjoy these coverage.
There are a lot of conditions and dates to be wary of.
You can read up about them here.
AVIVA
AVIVA is offering coronavirus coverage for their life and health policyholders.
However, there are a number of exclusions.
For example, customers on personal accident plans would not enjoy any additional benefits.
AVIVA customers are advised to check whether they qualify for any COVID19 coverage here.
Should you buy COVID-19 insurance?
When we consider that most Singapore residents would already have general health insurance policies and that the big insurers are providing complimentary coverage, it appears unnecessary to purchase a policy just for the coronavirus threat.
After all, the Singapore government has promised to provide free medical treatment for patients diagnosed with COVID19.
So the only desirable benefits of insurance policies is to obtain cash payments from hospitalization and death.
Whether additional purchases would make sense very much depends on how long before the virus spread gets under control.
