Life insurers including Great Eastern and Prudential are offering a six-month grace period for premium payments to Singapore customers whose incomes have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
This comes as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Tuesday that holders of life and health insurance policies will be allowed to defer premium payments for up to six months while maintaining insurance coverage.
The Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA) said policyholders who are facing financial difficulties can apply for the grace period if their premium due date or policy renewal date falls between April 1 and Sept 30 (inclusive) this year. LIA members will then assess deserving cases appropriately.
Great Eastern, the insurance arm of OCBC Bank, confirmed on Wednesday night that it is offering the six-month extension to its Singapore customers holding life insurance policies.
In Malaysia, it is also offering a similar deferred premium payment programme for policyholders affected financially by the Covid-19 situation.
Meanwhile, Prudential Singapore chief executive Dennis Tan said: "With the extension of the grace period to pay premiums due, we hope customers will have peace of mind knowing that their protection and health needs will continue to be met."
Insurance is a financial safety net in times of crisis for many of Prudential's customers, he added.
As for general insurance - such as coverage for property and vehicles - both individuals and corporates can seek out instalment payment plans while retaining insurance protection, according to the MAS' media statement on Tuesday which also represented LIA, the General Insurance Association (GIA), the Association of Banks in Singapore and the Finance Houses Association of Singapore.
General insurers will work with affected customers to review the financial difficulties and impact in each case, and to consider suitable instalment payment plans or other options to reduce insurance cover, GIA said.
"Some insurers may offer customers flexibility in paying their insurance premiums using their credit cards, (including for) instalment payment plans," it added.
Great Eastern said on Wednesday that businesses that are its general insurance customers can apply for instalment plans.
As for Prudential, premiums have been lowered for its public hospitalisation plans, to "ensure that healthcare remains affordable".
With effect from Wednesday, premiums for PRUShield Plus - its base public hospitalisation Integrated Shield Plan - will be reduced by between 10 per cent and 31 per cent for the additional private insurance coverage portion.
This applies to nearly 90 per cent of Prudential's existing PRUShield Plus customers.
Separately, the insurer on Wednesday introduced a new supplementary hospitalisation plan, PRUExtra Preferred CoPay, which gives policyholders access to medical treatment at public hospitals and private hospitals under its PRUPanel Connect programme.
Premiums for this new plan are 30 per cent lower than for its existing private hospitalisation plan, PRUExtra Premier CoPay, for those aged 30, for example.
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