INSURER Aviva is adding two key features to its MyShield hospitalisation plan - the first of their kind in Singapore.
It is doing away with medical declarations when customers sign up for the policy.
And it is extending coverage to certain pre-existing illnesses after a five-year waiting period or 'moratorium'.
British insurer Aviva yesterday announced that it will apply what the industry calls the 'moratorium underwriting' concept to its MyShield plans, as part of a series of policy enhancements.
No premium increases apply.
As a result, applicants for its MyShield plans will no longer need to declare their medical history when they sign up, but will instead be given instant approval. This is on the condition that they are not employed in certain occupations and have not been rejected for health or life insurance previously.
The more significant change is one relating to a patient with a pre-existing illness which has, as far as he is concerned, disappeared. Under the change, subject to conditions, if he signs up for the plan, and the illness returns after a five-year absence, it will be covered.
These enhancements are industry firsts for Shield plans in Singapore, said Mr Christopher Crowe, Aviva's assistant general manager for employee benefits and health care. Shield plans are hospitalisation plans that are part of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme.
The concept of moratorium underwriting is widely used in countries such as Britain, he added. It addresses certain bugbears that the public have about getting health insurance.
One is that pre-existing illnesses are permanently barred from coverage, even after an individual no longer has symptoms or needs treatment for many years.
'Let's say an individual has suffered from a medical condition, and had treatment for that condition, and as far as he's concerned, it's gone away.
'Traditionally, you may find that an insurer may place an exclusion on that particular condition, and it would never be covered,' said Mr Crowe.
Under the MyShield changes, some pre-existing conditions would, for the first time, be covered if the insured person fulfils certain conditions.
For five continuous years from the coverage start date, he must not have:
Experienced symptoms;
Sought advice or tests from physicians, specialists or alternative medicine providers; or
Required or received treatment or medication.
There is, however, a list of pre-existing illnesses that are permanently excluded from coverage. These include stroke, kidney failure and all forms of cancer except skin cancer.
Any new illnesses remain covered from the day the insurance takes effect. There will be no increases in premiums resulting from these enhancements, and the enhanced plan applies to both new and existing policyholders, said Aviva.
About 100,000 existing MyShield policyholders will be automatically upgraded to the enhanced plan, said Aviva.
The new benefits apply to existing customers from Oct 1.
The five-year moratorium is considered to begin from the date the plan took effect or from its reinstatement date.
In 2005, when private insurers started to offer enhanced plans under the CPF Shield umbrella, Aviva was the first in Singapore to offer Shield payouts on an 'as charged' basis, meaning that there are no sub-limits on specific benefits such as room and board, only an annual limit.
