Six out of seven insurers raised premiums for Integrated Shield plans, riders in 2025
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
An Integrated Shield plan is optional health coverage provided by private insurance companies on top of MediShield Life.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – Citing pressures from rising claims, medical inflation and expanded benefits, all private insurers but one here offering Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) have increased premiums for most of these products or riders in 2025.
Out of these seven insurers, six saw their net claims surge by between 9 per cent and 27 per cent in 2024.
The six have changed the coverage of their IPs and riders this year. As a result, all six have confirmed they have increased premiums of their products in 2025, in response to queries from The Straits Times.
The exception is Raffles Health Insurance (RHI), which saw a decline of 18 per cent in net claims in 2024, though it posted underwriting losses.
RHI, which entered the IP market in 2018, does not intend to implement any changes to its IP products, including premium adjustments. This makes it the only insurer that did not raise premiums for two consecutive years, even after the two-year moratorium on IP premium increases ended on Aug 31, 2024.
All Singaporeans are insured under the national MediShield Life scheme, which covers expenses incurred for hospitalisation and certain outpatient treatments such as radiotherapy and kidney dialysis.
An IP is optional health coverage provided by private insurance companies on top of MediShield Life, typically to cover stays in A or B1-type wards in public hospitals, or private hospitals.
On top of the IP, insurers sell riders, which in general are meant to cover the patient’s share of the bill – the deductible and the remainder of the bill not covered by MediShield Life and IPs.
Ranging from $1,500 to $4,500 depending on age and ward class, the deductible is the fixed amount that a policyholder has to pay out of pocket in each policy year before receiving any payout from MediShield Life.
On the range of premium hikes in 2025, only Income Insurance and Singlife responded with specific figures. The remaining four did not provide figures when asked.
From Oct 1, Income’s average premium increase for IP plans was 4.5 per cent, while the average increase for its IP plans with riders was 10.8 per cent.
This comes after Income went from an underwriting profit of $16.1 million in 2023, to a loss of $49.5 million in 2024, despite raising premiums across the board in 2024.
The adjusted premiums “reflect expanded benefits and claims experience”, said Income chief customer officer Dhiren Amin.
Income’s enhanced benefits to most of its IPs from October largely mirrored the expansion of MediShield Life coverage
Singlife’s average premium increase across its portfolio was by “more than 10 per cent”, after it reported losses that more than doubled from $26.2 million in 2023, to $59.7 million in 2024.
From April 1, Singlife’s no-claims discount for its rider was raised from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, and it has included CTGTPs approved and listed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its coverage benefits.
HSBC Life, which also posted underwriting losses in 2024, adjusted premiums of its private hospital IP and rider in April “in line with industry standards”, said its chief health officer Manu Tandon. It also introduced premium discounts rewarding healthier lifestyle choices for one of its riders.
HSBC made changes in October to its IPs to introduce new outpatient and high-cost drugs benefits.
Prudential, which doubled its underwriting profit to $25.3 million in 2024, adjusted benefits to some of its riders in April to encourage policyholders to seek care from panel providers.
This includes waiving claims-based premium pricing – which would see premiums increase if one or more claims are made – if claims under the riders were from panel providers.
In addition, policyholders using non-panel providers pay up to $2,000 out of pocket before the rider covers 95 per cent of the remaining deductible costs, while panel provider users have the full 95 per cent of their deductibles covered immediately.
Dr Sidharth Kachroo, Prudential’s chief health officer, said the company adjusted premiums for its two private hospital riders from May 1.
Prudential also adjusted its IPs from Oct 1 to cover MOH-listed CTGTPs
AIA, which reported an underwriting profit of $7.2 million in 2024, revised the premiums for most of its IPs and riders from Oct 1.
This was to “reflect the increase in healthcare cost and claims arising from advancement in medical technologies, medical inflation and changes to the medical landscape”, said AIA chief marketing and healthcare officer Irma Hadikusuma.
The changes to AIA’s products were also largely to align with the expansion of MediShield Life coverage. It also lengthened the pre- and post-hospitalisation treatment coverage period at public hospitals for its IP, which covers up to private wards in public hospitals.
Great Eastern (GE), which turned around an underwriting loss of $44.9 million in 2023 to report a profit of $4.8 million in 2024, announced changes to its IPs and increase in premiums from Nov 1 “to keep our plans relevant and sustainable”.
GE’s product changes included outpatient benefits and CTGTP coverage. It also raised the coverage of proton beam therapy from $60,000 to $80,000 for its A-ward IP, and introduced stroke recovery benefits for its riders, among various changes.
GE’s new IP requires policyholders to shoulder more of their bills
In addition, GE launched a new IP product in November, which provides coverage across private and public healthcare “for cost-conscious customers, enabling them to save on premiums”.
A GE spokeswoman said the premium of the new IP without rider is about 44 per cent lower than the premium of GE’s existing IP without rider.
A policyholder would have to foot more of the deductibles for care at a private hospital – up to $6,000 out of pocket for individuals not exceeding 80 years old, compared with $3,500 under the existing IP. Policyholders above 80 years old will have to pay 1.5 times of the stated deductible for both the new and existing IPs.
The spokeswoman said this is a continuation of GE’s approach to ensure long-term sustainability, and to structure its products in a way that “encourages customers to be mindful of their healthcare consumption”.
“We understand that healthcare costs are rising, and affordability is top of mind for many in Singapore today, especially for those seeking treatment at private hospitals and specialist clinics,” she added.
In October, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung urged IP insurers to introduce alternative products that do not cover up to the last dollar, though he noted some already have such products.
He specifically pushed for IP products that do not cover deductibles so that policyholders shoulder more co-payment, hence instilling greater discipline in healthcare insurance claims. This will have a dampening effect on IP premiums, he said during a podcast interview with CNA.
Responding to Mr Ong’s comments, GE noted that it already has riders that do not cover deductibles. Its new IP product also offers “a practical way to balance affordability and quality, supporting long-term sustainability of healthcare costs for policyholders”.
Prudential has also sold riders for more than a decade that cover only 50 per cent of the deductibles.
Income’s Mr Amin expressed support for “the Health Minister’s call for right-sized coverage and more disciplined use of healthcare resources”, adding that Income currently has IPs and riders with a co-payment of 10 per cent, higher than the 5 per cent co-payment required by MOH
The Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA) encourages individuals to consult their financial advisers before making decisions about their health insurance coverage, and to periodically review their coverage based on their current and future needs, versus affordability.
“Individuals should be aware that insurance premiums will increase as one gets older, and that premiums can be adjusted upwards due to medical inflation. They can switch to a lower-tier IP or rider with lower coverage with the same insurer without additional underwriting
