Budget debate: Consultations on insurance fair practices guidelines by end of this year
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Any differential treatment should be based on objective assessment of information relevant to the risks to be insured, rather than just the fact of a disability.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE - Consultations on the proposed guidelines for insurers to adopt fair and responsible practices towards people with disabilities (PWDs) and those with mental health conditions are expected to be done by the second half of this year.
Under the proposed guidelines, insurance applications from PWDs should be subject to the same underwriting policy and process applied to those without disabilities.
Any differential treatment should be based on an objective assessment of information relevant to the risks to be insured, rather than just the fact of a disability per se, said Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in a written parliamentary reply on Friday (March 4).
The scope of the proposed guidelines has also been extended to include promoting fair and responsible practices towards a broader range of customers, he added.
This means the guidelines will cover other types of financial institutions, transactions and customers.
Workers' Party MP Leon Perera (Aljunied GRC) had asked for an update on the proposed guidelines, which were expected to be finalised by June last year, according to a January 2021 parliamentary reply, and the reasons for the delay.
Responding on behalf of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Mr Tharman said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) expects financial institutions to deal fairly with all their customers, including PWDs and those with mental health conditions.
Following feedback and concerns raised by PWDs, MAS and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) have engaged insurers to ensure that they do not deny PWDs insurance or charge higher premiums unless these can be justified from a risk perspective, he added.
He said that MAS had also carefully reviewed individual cases that had been highlighted to it, to ascertain whether insurers had treated PWDs fairly.
"The reviews have not found unfair underwriting practices in these cases. However, the insurers could have better explained underwriting outcomes to applicants in some instances," he said.
The Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA) has emphasised this to its member insurers, who are committed to ensuring clearer communication, said Mr Tharman, who also chairs the MAS board of directors.
While MAS did not find any unfair underwriting practices, it will codify the fair principles of insurance underwriting into transparent guidelines for insurers, he added.
Mr Tharman said MAS and MSF have continued to engage individuals and groups representing PWDs and those with mental health conditions.
He added: "We are also working with the insurance industry associations to provide more guidance and assistance to these individuals on their insurance purchases.
"For example, LIA is developing a consumer guide to raise awareness and enhance transparency of insurers' risk assessment approach towards health insurance underwriting."
