Top Life Insurance Providers in Singapore

There comes a time in life where you start managing your finances and a portion of this may involve insurance. Depending on your lifestyle and needs, there are many types of insurance policies available for your home, vehicle, health and life. Insurance policies not only offer financial protection and coverage, it also offers a peace of mind in the event of an emergency. 

What is covered under life insurance?

Life insurance policies provide a lump-sum payment or death benefit to beneficiaries in case of demise or permanent disability of the insured. As the coverage may vary between insurance plans and insurance providers, it is important to be aware of the terms and conditions covered under the plan.

Some common deaths cases covered are natural death and death due to accidents. There are plans that offer coverage for pre-existing illnesses as long as it is declared during your purchase. Death cases which are typically not covered by the life insurance plans are death under the influence of alcohol or drugs, murder due to criminal activity or suicide.

Top Life Insurance in Singapore

Here is a list of some of the top life insurance in Singapore:

How does a life insurance work

It is a form of financial safety net to protect you and your family against the risk of financial losses. There are various types of life insurance available in the market. The most common types of life insurance are term life and whole life. While the death benefits are fairly similar, there are some key differences between the two insurance plans. 

Term life insurance

For a premium amount, term insurance provides insurance protection over a fixed period of time without any savings or investment feature. It pays a lump sum in an event of death or total and permanent disability of the insured within the stipulated period. You can decide on the number of years your policy term covers before you purchase the plan.  

Some insurance firms have guaranteed renewals available for certain policy terms and after an expiry date. Typically the premium paid for term life insurance is more competitive than whole life insurance, but this may increase with age upon renewal. Unlike whole life insurance, the sum assured is fixed and remains the same throughout the term period. 

Whole life insurance

As the name suggests, whole life insurance offers you death or disability coverage for your entire lifetime or in some cases up to age 100 or 120. Some whole life insurance plans also provide a multiplier effect on the sum assured up till a certain age limit. 

Premiums typically start higher than term life insurance to build up cash value or surrender value. Although the cash value is lower than the assured sum, it provides the insured cash payout at the point of withdrawal or if they decide to surrender their policy. Most whole life insurance have surrender fees imposed during the first 10 to 15 years of the coverage. If you are in need for cash, you can consider making a partial withdrawal. But do note the amount will be deducted from the policy’s death benefit. 

Things to look out for before signing up for a life insurance policy

When choosing which life insurance to get – there are no hard and fast rules. The primary reason most people get life insurance is for protection and financial support to surviving beneficiaries in case of emergencies. However, life insurance plans may not make sense for everyone. 

Compare the different types of plans available in the market and seek advice from a trusted financial advisor before making a decision. Here are some key things to look out during your selection. 

Affordability

Buying a life insurance plan is a long term commitment. It is important to find one that meets your coverage requirements without placing additional financial burden. Before committing, consider situations where you may lose your source of income and if you are able to afford the insurance premium under such circumstances. Deferred payments may result in a late payment interest fee or worse, termination of the policy. 

Insurance premium payment schedules

You can decide how often to pay the insurance premium based on your budget. The most common options are on an annual or monthly basis. Depending on the insurance company, there may be discounts offered for annual payments.

Insurance claim process

Before the insurance company can process the payout, beneficiaries are required to file a claim and provide the necessary supporting documents within 30 days of the event. As the claims handling process varies from each insurance firm, do check on the procedures involved when filing for a claim. Read the terms and conditions of the coverage carefully to avoid situations where your claim is denied. You may also want to avoid insurance companies with a reputation for complicated claims handling.

Coverage duration

Assess your coverage needs before deciding on the duration of the insurance policy. This is dependent on a few factors such as your lifestyle, financials and most importantly, age. Online life insurance calculators are a quick way to estimate the recommended amount of insurance coverage based on your needs. 

Tips to lower your life insurance premium

Here are some tips to help you save on your life insurance premium cost:

Don’t wait to buy

At times, we are bombarded with other financial commitments until buying insurance becomes last in priority. However, insurance premiums do not wait for anyone. As the premium increases with age, it is advisable to start investing in a life insurance policy once you start earning. The sooner you buy, the lower the rates.

Take care of your health and weight

Obesity, smoking, problem drinking and history of medical issues can increase your premium. Premiums may even double or triple as insurers view these as potential risks to your life expectancy. Maintain a healthy lifestyle and pay a lesser premium. You don’t only save money, you also get other benefits like better immunity and better self-esteem.

Tax relief

You can claim for your annual premium paid for your life insurance policies if you meet certain conditions. To check on your eligibility, you can refer to the IRAS website on the conditions to qualify for the life insurance relief.

Editor’s Note:

While every precaution has been made to ensure the accuracy and fairness of this listing, we acknowledge that they may be inaccuracies. Therefore, we urge you to contact the service provider above for the correct information and/or contact us with the correct information.

If you are a service provider and wish to be featured in this listing (MediaOne reviews are read by hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans), please contact us at [email protected]. There is no charge! Please allow us up to 3 working days to review before adjusting the information or including your entry.

Author Bio

Tom Koh is widely recognised as a leading SEO consultant in Asia who has worked to transform the online visibility of the leading organisations such as SingTel, Capitaland, Maybank, P&G, WWF, etc. Recently he was instrumental in consulting for a New York-based US$30B fund in an US$4Bn acquisition. Tom is a Computational Science graduate of the National University of Singapore. In his free time he performs pro-bono community work and traveling.
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