Life insured can now have coverage amount fully restored after 12 months and make multiple claims for all stages of critical illnesses up to 300% of coverage amount with AIA Triple Critical Cover

 

Singapore, 18 August 2016 – More than 9 in 10 (94%) find it challenging to purchase another Critical Illness (CI) plan following a CI diagnosis, even though more than 2 in 5 (41%) are looking to purchase another CI insurance plan, revealed in the AIA Health Matters Survey 2016 released by AIA Singapore.

 

Accordingly, as part of AIA Singapore's 85^th anniversary celebration, the company today launched AIA Triple Critical Cover, a CI plan with a 'Power Reset' feature which fully restores the critical illness coverage amount to 100% after 12 months have passed from the previous claim. This is the first time in the market such a feature is offered for all stages of CI, even for early stage CI.

 

Complementing this, the life insured can make multiple claims for 104 critical illness conditions across all stages - early, intermediate and major - for up to 300% of coverage amount1.

 

Additionally, the AIA Triple Critical Cover Life plan offers guaranteed cash value. The life insured may choose to hold the plan to maturity at age 100 or discontinue their plan after age 75 or on the 60th policy anniversary, whichever is earlier, and receive cash value even if they do not make a CI claim.

 

"In Singapore today, the average sum assured from critical illness plans will cover us less than halfway through the treatment time required before the condition stabilises, an important gap that needs to be bridged. AIA Singapore is filling this gap with AIA Triple Critical Cover which is inspired by and supports resilient Singaporeans who celebrate life and simply don't believe in giving up.

 

"3 in 4, when diagnosed with a critical illness, stop working partially or fully, found our study. No matter what happens, they want to focus on recovering, and more importantly, come back stronger to continue building a future for themselves and their families. It is this enduring resilience that we seek to emulate with AIA Triple Critical Cover. AIA Singapore will continue protecting Singaporeans even after they have made a critical illness claim1 so that they can look to their future with confidence. This is AIA Singapore's promise to customers for them to lead healthier, happier, better lives with their families," said Ms Ho Lee Yen, Chief Marketing Officer of AIA Singapore.

 

"The majority of patients are financially unprepared for cancer treatment and are shocked that modern chemotherapy and targeted therapy can cost so muc

 

Besides the physical strain of undergoing treatments, patients also worry about the risk of being diagnosed with other critical illnesses such as heart attack or stroke, and yet another extended period away from work which will worsen their financial situation. There is a greater need to help these individuals so they are not only able to fight the illness but, just as importantly, look forward to living life without the worry of being in debt indefinitely," said Dr Wong Nan Soon, Consultant Medical Oncologist at OncoCare Cancer Centre Singapore.  

 

It is essential to stay insured after the diagnosis of critical illness as survival rates are high. Taking the most common cancer in women as an example, more than 7 in 10 breast cancer patients survived at least 5 years, with the highest survival rates of 80 to 90 per cent among women who discovered the cancer early.2

 

Among respondents diagnosed with CI, almost all (97%) are worried that they may be diagnosed with another CI in their lifetime. At present, more than 1 in 3 (32%) are already diagnosed with more than 1 CI.

 

Overall, approximately 2 in 5 (41%) who have experienced first-hand the importance of adequate financial coverage for a CI condition, are looking to purchase another CI protection plan. However, more than 9 in 10 (94%) find it challenging to purchase another CI plan following the first diagnosis.

 

With the AIA Triple Critical Cover's 'Power Reset' feature, the life insured will have their critical illness coverage amount fully restored to 100% once 12 months have passed from the previous claim even for early stage critical illness conditions.

 

This is the first time in the market such a feature is offered for all stages of CI, even for early stage CI, unlike most CI plans which usually terminate once a CI claim is paid. When the life insured is diagnosed with CI, it also tends to be expensive or impossible to purchase another CI protection plan with the same coverage.

 

With the AIA Triple Critical Cover's 'Power Reset' feature, the life insured will have their critical illness coverage amount fully restored to 100% once 12 months have passed from the previous claim even for early stage critical illness conditions.

 

This is the first time in the market such a feature is offered for all stages of CI, even for early stage CI, unlike most CI plans which usually terminate once a CI claim is paid. When the life insured is diagnosed with CI, it also tends to be expensive or impossible to purchase another CI protection plan with the same coverage.

 

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57% of individuals who purchase CI plans do so to provide financial support for themselves and their families if they were to be diagnosed with critical illness. However, on average, their sum assured is insufficient to protect themselves and their families. 

 

While MediShield Life and Integrated Shield Plans provide important pre-, during- and post-hospitalisation coverage, people often neglect to take into account other costs such as loss of income when they are diagnosed with a CI. This may impact their ability to pay for their home mortgage, children's education and other financial commitments.

 

In fact, 75% of those diagnosed with CI stop working fully or partially, and almost 1 in 2 (47%) of them are sole breadwinners.

 

The average sum assured from critical illness plans is below S$150,000. This amount would cover only 1.5 years of lost income in the event of a critical illness diagnosis,3 providing protection for less than half of the average 3.5 years of treatment required before the condition stabilises. Combined with in-hospital, post-hospital and other related costs, it is no surprise that 95% worry about the financial impact on their family members if they were to be diagnosed with a CI.

 

Taking all these factors into consideration, Singaporeans are strongly recommended to go through regular financial health reviews with their financial advisers to continually narrow the gap between their critical illness coverage and potential total cost of a CI diagnosis which includes medical bills and loss of income, among other expenses.

 

More than 9 in 10 (96%) agree CI protection from early to advanced stages is important or very important. This is because they want to be free of financial worries if they are diagnosed with CI (70%) and do not want to burden their family if they are diagnosed with a CI (59%).

 

The top 2 reasons for Singaporeans wanting to purchase an additional CI plan are that the CIs covered under their current plans are not comprehensive enough (53%), and that their coverage is only for major stage CI (40%) without protection for early and intermediate stages.

 

In response to this, AIA Triple Critical Cover provides coverage for 104 CI conditions through the early, intermediate and major stages. As compared to existing CI plans in the market that cover only major stage CI, AIA Triple Critical Cover provides more comprehensive coverage so that those diagnosed with CI not only recover but embrace life confidently as they look to the future.

 

Additionally, AIA Triple Critical Cover also provides coverage for 5 special conditions4 including osteoporosis and diabetic complications, for which AIA will pay out an additional 20% of coverage amount, up to S$25,000 per condition.

 

The plan also provides 100% of the coverage amount (less any critical illness claims paid) and $5,000 compassionate benefit in the unfortunate event of the life insured's death.

 

 

 

Life insured of AIA Triple Critical Cover may also opt to sign up for the AIA Vitality programme which supports Singaporeans on their health journey and also acts as a preventive measure to help reduce their risk of contracting some CIs.

 

AIA Vitality is the first-in-market science-backed wellness programme in Singapore. It provides the knowledge, tools and motivation to encourage individuals to take small steps to achieve their personal health goals.

 

Those who opt to become AIA Vitality members will enjoy 10% discount on premiums of their AIA Triple Critical Care plan in the first year. They will also receive up to 15% discount on future years' premiums as they get healthier and improve their AIA Vitality status.

 

AIA Singapore also recently enhanced the AIA Vitality benefits for its members, rewarding them with S$5 Cold Storage vouchers for exercising weekly. Other benefits include annual cashback for members achieving gold or platinum AIA Vitality status on the anniversary of their membership, discounts on items such as gym memberships, health screening packages and airfares as incentives and rewards for making healthier choices.

 

 

AIA Health Matters Survey 2016 was conducted by Nielsen in the first half of 2016 to better understand Singaporeans' perceptions and concerns on CI.

 

The study was conducted among 300 Singaporeans aged 30-55 years old, with monthly household income of $5,000 and above. Respondents were key or joint decision makers of personal life or health insurance products and owned a health, life or term insurance plan. Another 100 Singaporeans who are recovering or have recovered from CI were also surveyed.

 

Unless otherwise stated, all figures and percentages quoted in this release are from the AIA Health Matters Survey 2016.

 

 

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively "AIA" or the "Group") comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 49 per cent joint venture in India and representative offices in Myanmar and Cambodia.

 

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai almost a century ago. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$181 billion as of 31 May 2016.

 

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 29 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

 

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code "1299" with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: "AAGIY").