Insurance & Costs of having and raising a child

Aviva is better. Too bad, I MR already...

(10-06-2013, 06:04 PM)opmi Wrote: Aviva is better. Too bad, I MR already...

You can still purchase from Aviva even though you have MR. You are under military reserve list. Drop them an email, they will explain to you if you are keen to buy the insurance.

For those who are considering the SAF Aviva Group Term, you may wish to inform yourself of the query raised in post #327 of this thread, which to my understanding remains unanswered.

Contacted Aviva for quotation for the income disability policy but bad news is the agent who called me told me that they no longer offer the policy. So the only provider left is GE?

(24-06-2013, 10:09 AM)Satchmo Wrote: Contacted Aviva for quotation for the income disability policy but bad news is the agent who called me told me that they no longer offer the policy. So the only provider left is GE?

Did Aviva gave any reasons for stopping that policy? Yes, GE is the last one. However, i think Manulife has one but terms are slightly different. Manulife gave out a lump sum upon income disability.

(24-06-2013, 10:24 AM)Bibi Wrote:

(24-06-2013, 10:09 AM)Satchmo Wrote: Contacted Aviva for quotation for the income disability policy but bad news is the agent who called me told me that they no longer offer the policy. So the only provider left is GE?

Did Aviva gave any reasons for stopping that policy? Yes, GE is the last one. However, i think Manulife has one but terms are slightly different. Manulife gave out a lump sum upon income disability.

AIA also have. My agent trying to sell it to me early this year.

http://www.aia.com.sg/en/individuals/pro...isability/

It seems that income disability policy is similar to term policy, however the pay-out is pegged to the monthly benefit and not a lump sum. Anyone can point out other differences between the 2 policies?

Also, I would like to ask a hypothetical situation. Is it possible for an insurance provider to stop providing an insurance plan to its existing policyholders. This is after noting that Aviva has stopped offering this policy, what happens if it decided to terminate providing this policy, what will happen to people holding such policy?

(24-06-2013, 03:13 PM)CY09 Wrote: It seems that income disability policy is similar to term policy, however the pay-out is pegged to the monthly benefit and not a lump sum. Anyone can point out other differences between the 2 policies?

Also, I would like to ask a hypothetical situation. Is it possible for an insurance provider to stop providing an insurance plan to its existing policyholders. This is after noting that Aviva has stopped offering this policy, what happens if it decided to terminate providing this policy, what will happen to people holding such policy?

From what I know, the insurer need to maintain the policy till the term ends, and there is no "guarantee renewal clause" in the policy. Annual renewal plans like Aviva SAF Group Insurance will terminate once Aviva or SAF decides not to continue.

(24-06-2013, 03:13 PM)CY09 Wrote: It seems that income disability policy is similar to term policy, however the pay-out is pegged to the monthly benefit and not a lump sum. Anyone can point out other differences between the 2 policies?

Also, I would like to ask a hypothetical situation. Is it possible for an insurance provider to stop providing an insurance plan to its existing policyholders. This is after noting that Aviva has stopped offering this policy, what happens if it decided to terminate providing this policy, what will happen to people holding such policy?

Income disability policies are TOTALLY different from term life policies.

Term life policies are binary in nature i.e. either you are dead or totally and permanently disabled (TPD), in which case your beneficiary gets the payout, or you are not, in which case there is no payout. There is no waiting period - show the death certificate/doctor's certification of TPD, and the insurer is obliged to pay ASAP. Once claimed, the policy expires.

Income disability depends on the specific terms of the policy. Some pay once you cannot do your regular job, others pay only when you cannot do ANY job, others use a combination. Some pay a percentage of the lost income i.e. the difference between your regular pay and your current pay. Others pay a fixed lump sum. The waiting period can vary from 45 to 90 days. The policy does not expire as long as premiums are paid and can be claimed multiple times over a lifetime i.e. every time you suffer an injury and cannot work, you can claim.

Because the odds of "only" getting injured are MUCH higher than actually dying, income disability is actually very useful. However most insurers in Singapore have modified their terms over time to make the policies much less attractive, so it is even more important to read the terms and conditions carefully e.g. some place an absolute limit on the payouts, or have a low % of lost income coverage, or both. Some also place heavy restrictions on recreational activities.

As has been noted, some insurers no longer offer such policies. If this is the case, existing policyholders can still continue, but there will not be any new policyholders. Translation: it was a good deal for the customers, but not such a good deal for the insurer, so they are dropping the product.

Thanks for the explanation. Was reading the AIA policy posted and it mentions that the death benefit is 12x monthly income but it notes that "4 Death Benefit is applicable for standalone policy only". Anyone knows the meaning behind it?

Secondly, if I am right, in the event that an individual has TPD, one is unable to work and thus disability income benefits will kick in. Hence if an individual has a disability income policy similar to what AIA is currently offering, term life is not that important (since TPD event is covered by disability income policy, in my opinion). Using this exercise, it points to me that one should get disability income first, followed by term. Next, one should only get term if he/she has a huge financial liability on hbalance sheet. Of course, I am assuming that the terms of coverage for disability income and term are the same which is definitely not true as you have pointed out sometimes recreational events are not covered. (the devil is in the detail).

To summarise my understanding, the general difference in term and disability is that 1) the premium paid for term is a lot lower, 2) its easier to claim and it provides a large sum payout in an unfortunate event, 3) disability income covers the events of getting injured while term doesn't