Private health insurers to allow policyholders to switch to new riders without additional underwriting
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Insurers will be facilitating transition of their policyholders to new riders without any additional underwriting.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
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SINGAPORE - Private insurers are supportive of new rider requirements which will see patients bearing a larger portion of hospital bills, and say that for those who intend to switch to new riders in 2026 can do so without additional underwriting.
On Nov 26, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that new riders sold from April 1, 2026, will no longer be allowed to cover the minimum deductibles
In addition, those on the new riders would need to pay a larger portion of their bills, as the co-payment cap will be doubled to $6,000.
As a result, rider premiums are expected to go down significantly.
So, while patients will pay more when they have to go to hospital, this will generally be offset by lower premiums each year, so they end up paying less overall.
A spokeswoman for the Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA) said the industry supports MOH’s initiatives, which aim to “manage rising claims costs and ensure the long-term sustainability of Singapore’s health insurance portfolio”. LIA is the trade association of life insurance product providers and life reinsurance providers.
She added that IP insurers will facilitate a transition to the new riders without additional underwriting for new rider buyers coming on board before April 2026.
Existing rider policyholders, or those who intend to upgrade or downgrade their riders during this transition period, will also be able to switch to new riders without additional underwriting.
Underwriting refers to the insurer’s assessment of an applicant’s risk profile, which will be used to determine the premiums payable and scope of coverage. In certain cases, insurers may include new exclusion clauses, or even reject the application.
LIA encouraged policyholders to proactively consult their financial advisers to review their existing insurance coverage, and to ensure their plans continue to align with their long-term healthcare needs and budgets.
IP insurers studying if existing riders will remain, adjusted or phased out
Seven years ago, when MOH imposed the 5 per cent co-payment requirement
Nevertheless, Integrated Shield Plan (IP) insurers subsequently adjusted their older riders to incorporate the co-payment requirement.
MOH’s latest requirements similarly will only be imposed on new riders, and the decision on what will happen to existing riders, which are commercial contracts between insurers and their policyholders, is left to the insurers to decide.
The Straits Times reached out to all seven IP insurers that sell riders on top of the IPs, and asked for their plans regarding the existing rider products.
None of the insurers can confirm detailed plans at present.
AIA chief marketing and healthcare officer Irma Hadikusuma said if there are any changes to the coverage of their IP riders, AIA will notify their policyholders at least 31 days in advance, to ensure they have ample time to prepare and make informed decisions about their coverage.
A spokeswoman for Great Eastern said that existing rider policyholders will continue to enjoy the benefits under their current plans, and can choose to switch to the new riders any time after the products are launched.
HSBC Life’s chief health officer Manu Tandon said HSBC will continue to assess the rider plan, and will provide existing policyholders with advance notice for any policy changes.
Emphasing that there is no immediate impact to existing riders, Income Insurance chief customer officer Dhiren Amin said the company will continue to assess if changes will be needed to keep the healthcare insurance sustainable for their policyholders, and will inform them of policy changes.
Echoing LIA’s call for policyholders to discuss insurance coverage with their financial advisers, Dr Sidharth Kachroo, Prudential’s chief health officer, said that existing rider policyholders can still choose to retain the current rider, or to switch to any existing Prudential riders.
Raffles Health Insurance (RHI) is currently assessing the situation and will update policyholders in due course.
“An important part of the assessment is the affordability of private healthcare insurance over the longer-term for policyholders, to ensure they have the appropriate coverage when it is required”, said RHI’s general manager Ben Siah.
Ms Helen Shen, group head of products for Singlife, said that the company understands that some policyholders may be worried about their coverage, and that it is committed to being transparent about any changes.
“We will update with more details on our new product after careful study of the requirements and the impact they will have on policyholders”, said Ms Shen.
Currently, a 40-year-old policyholder has to pay around $3,400 in premiums each year for a private hospital IP and rider, and a 60-year-old policyholder pays about $9,500 each year.
MOH has observed that the number of people with riders declines with age, and that older age groups are less likely to have riders. A similar phenomenon has been observed for IP ownership.
With premiums of new riders expected to be 30 per cent lower compared with existing highest-tier riders, more rider policyholders might decide to switch to the new riders, which would mean IP insurers could collect less in premiums.
Mr Alex Lee, president of the Singapore Actuarial Society, however, believes that more policyholders switching to new riders need not necessarily mean more losses for the insurers, if the insurers also see a corresponding decline in claims payouts.
Looking at the trends of how IP and rider premiums have risen in recent years, he noted, it would seem that getting people to pay “some meaningful amount of healthcare cost out of pocket” does seem to influence consumers’ choices of where they seek treatment and what services they consume, which in turn helps to control healthcare cost.
Hence, the requirement for riders not to cover the minimum IP deductibles should, in the medium to long term, help dampen cost increases in the private sector, said Mr Lee.
