Final Expense Is Not Death Benefit In Integrated Shield Plans

In Singapore, all of us citizens & Permanent Residents would have been enrolled into the Medishield Life as a compulsory program and a large proportion would also have signed up with an Integrated Shield Plan (ISP) through a private insurer one way or another. However, how many of us actually took the time to read or even understand 1 of the benefit known as "Final Expense" in the benefit table?

When I first read it, I thought it was actually some sort of death benefit like in most company insurances, whereby the insurer pays out a lump sum out of sympathy or goodwill to the deceased's family for the purpose of helping them in the completion of the final rites etc.

However, when my own relative passed on recently, then did I realised that this Final Expense was just a feature to waive the deductible or co-insurance, if one did not buy the cash riders. Here are the screenshots of 2 of Singapore's top insurers' table of benefits and definitions of the feature (click on image to enlarge):

NTUC Income updates on Incomeshield

With the incoming launch of Medishield Life, NTUC Income Singapore has made some changes to their health plans, Incomeshield. The amendments are as follow:

 1.  IncomeShield integration with MediShield extended from age 90 years old to 92 years old

In view of the on-going MediShield Life review, Ministry of Health (MOH) has extended the MediShield maximum coverage age from 90 years old to 92 years old, with effect from 1 March 2014. This is to ensure that insureds remain integrated with MediShield before the transition to lifelong coverage under MediShield Life.

With this interim extension, insureds covered under IncomeShield Integrated plans, who reach age 91 on or after 1 March 2014, will still remain integrated with MediShield as their policies will be automatically renewed.  

For policyholders who are currently not integrated with MediShield, this extension to 92 years old does not apply to them.

2.   Mandatory FIN (Foreign Identification Number) for IncomeShield insureds who are foreigners

Since November 2013, IncomeShield has ceased accepting new applications of insured with non-FIN identification.

As a follow-up to this, NTUC Income is working with CPF Board to write to existing policyholders with insureds who are foreigners with a non-FIN identification to get them to update Income with a valid FIN or NRIC for these insured.  

• NTUC Income will be sending letters in the 2^nd week of April 2014 to this group of policyholders.
• A copy of the letter will be carbon copied through email to the servicing adviser (if any).
• Once a copy of the FIN or NRIC identification of the insured have been received by NTUC Income, updates will be made to their policy records and to CPF Board records immediately.

This will identify any possible duplicate coverage under the Private Medical Insurance/MediShield Scheme. In the event where there is a duplicate coverage, necessary adjustments will be made to ensure that each insured has only one medical plan and overlapping premiums will be refunded to the payer accordingly.