Insurance giant AIA says it will honour the terms and obligations of its so-called "critical year" policies and has set up a special hotline at (65) 6248 8211 and a Web site, www.aia.com.sg, where customers can get information and register their questions. (Straits Times 21 Mar 2003) (A20)

  Singapore's largest motor insurer, NTUC Income, every month cancels 20 policies of clients who repeatedly make what it suspects are inflated or false repair claims. NTUC Income alone loses about S$12 million a year to fraudulent and inflated claims for the 220,000 vehicles that it insures. For the industry as a whole, with more than 900 accidents a day, the total is likely to be millions more. (Straits Times 18 Nov 2002) (4)

  Life Insurer American International Assurance (AIA) has given 650 of its agents who are involved in selling multi-level marketing (MLM) products an ultimatum to stop selling the products or face the sack. AIA also terminated the services of two of its top managers, Patrick WOON and David TAN early this month. (Straits Times 29 Aug 2002) (A20)

  200,000 of the 1.2 million people eligible for Eldershield, the Health Ministry-initiated long-term disability insurance plan, have opted out. However, slightly more than 1,200 have rejoined the scheme. Eldershield pays people who are disabled S$300 a month for up to five years. Those aged between 40 and 69 are eligible and will have the annual premiums deducted automatically from their Medisave accounts next month, unless they opt out before the September 30 deadline. (Straits Times 14 Aug 2002) (H9)

  About 1,000 of the 1,800 doctors here insured by troubled Australian company United Medical Protection (UMP) have turned to London-based Medical Protection Society (MPS), which already insures the majority of doctors here, for new policies on top of their UMP policies. UMP is under provisional liquidation and stopped renewing policies or accepting new members in Singapore in early May. (Straits Times 6 Jul 2002) (4)

  NTUC Income yesterday said that it expects to increase motor insurance premiums by 5 per cent or more a year for the next two to three years. The company, which insures about 230,000 vehicles or a third of the market, said a hike is needed because of the higher costs of spare parts and labour charges for repairs. Premiums have already gone up by 5 to 20 per cent this year, after the insurance industry suffered losses last year. (Straits Times 2 Jul 2002) (1)

  The Manpower Ministry has reversed an earlier ruling and awarded widowed mother of two Jenny KOH S$185,600 in mortgage insurance. The Ministry yesterday said its decision was based on a review of "the circumstances and the law". Madam KOH's husband, Mr YEE Poh Keen, 25, had died in a motorcycle accident last August - just three days before the couple could take legal possession of their four-room resale flat in Hougang. Shortly before his death, they took out a Central Provident Fund (CPF) Home Protection Scheme insurance policy to ensure they would be covered in the event of a tragedy. (Straits Times 25 Jun 2002) (1)

  One in three Singaporeans does not have a life insurance policy, and in this group, almost half said it is because they have "no money", a new survey by OCBC Bank shows. Another 44 per cent in this group said they do not find insurance important or are not sure. OCBC's survey, conducted in April 2002, polled 518 respondents, which were representative of the 2.35 million people here aged above 20. 76 per cent of the policy owners polled bought policies for protection, 51 per cent for retirement, 24 per cent to save for their children's education and 23 per cent for investment. (Straits Times 20 Jun 2002) (A17)

  Singaporeans aged between 40 and 69 who do not have a Central Provident Fund (CPF) account have been given until 15 Aug 2002 to open one if they want to buy a low-cost national insurance plan for the disabled. The account is for them to make contributions to the ElderShield insurance scheme which will be officially launched on Sept 30. The contributions end at age 65 but the coverage is for life. (Straits Times 17 Jun 2002) (1)

GG Not. No. 1427 date 30 May 2002 

  The collapse of United Medical protection (UMP), Australia's biggest health insurer, may affect about 1,800 doctors, or one in three who practise here, as they are insured with it. In the short term, they are still covered against malpractice claims, but if UMP folds, they may have to pay for any claims themselves, and the bill could run into millions of dollars. In Singapore, it is mandatory only for doctors in the public sector to have insurance. (Straits Times 3 May 2002) (5)

  ElderShield, the disability insurance cover for Singaporeans aged 40 years and older, will kick off on Sept 30 this year. Under the scheme, they will get S$300 a month for five years, as long as they cannot do any of these activities without help - eating, bathing, walking, getting out of bed or going to the toilet. Premiums, payable from Medisave in their CPF accounts, start from S$146 a year for a 40-year-old man. Women pay premiums that are 28 to 41 per cent higher. This is because women live longer, and as a result more of them are expected to suffer from disabilities for a longer period, said Mr Moses LEE, Permanent Secretary at the Health Ministry. ElderShield is an opt-out scheme, so those who do nothing will automatically be covered. (Straits Times 16 Apr 2002) (1)

GG Not. No.825 dated 3 Apr 2002 

  The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday backtracked on a clause in the Insurance (Amendment) Act passed last October which would have required insurance brokers to give up the interest they earn on their clients' premiums. Singapore's financial regulator promised to reconsider the premiums clause after insurance brokers protested that the new law would eat into their already slim margins and lead to job losses. (Straits Times 13 Mar 2002) (S13)

  The insurance industry wants about new 300 insurance agents and financial planners to advise Singaporeans on personal investment, including which life-insurance policies and unit trusts to buy. At the end of 2001, there were more than 16,400 life-insurance agents in Singapore, compared with 15,538 in 2000. (Straits Times 11 Mar 2002) (H1)

  Vehicles involved in accidents have to send their vehicles to any of the 10 independent assessment centres (IAC) to be set up in about six months' time before repairs can be carried out. All the 36 motor insurers under the General Insurance Association (GIA), which insures about 700,000 vehicles in Singapore, will include this as a clause in insurance policies as these are renewed over the next 12 months. (Straits Times 22 Dec 2001) (3)

GG Not. No. 3479 dated 19 Dec 2001

GG Not. No. 3331 dated 3 Dec 2001

  ElderShield, the low-cost national insurance plan to help older people who become disabled, will start next September. Central Provident Fund (CPF) members who are between 40 and 69 years old will be covered automatically under this plan, unless they opt out. If they become disabled so that they need help with daily living activities, they will then be able to draw S$300 a month for up to five years. ElderShield premiums will be paid from Medisave accounts. Those who are not older than 55 when it is launched will pay premiums only until they are 65, but they will be covered for the rest of their lives. CPF members between 56 and 69 years old next September will have up to 10 years to pay. They will also receive a subsidy. Last year, 234,500 Singaporeans were 65 or older. This will leap to 798,700 by 2030 and more than 8 per cent will need help in daily living.(Straits Times 5 Dec 2001)(1)

GG.Not. No. 3317 dated 30 Nov 2001

GG Not. No. 3246 dated 26 Nov 2001

GG Not. NO. 3222 dated 22 Nov 2001 

  Insurance agents and investment advisors will not be made redundant under a new Financial Advisers Bill passed yesterday, as they will qualify automatically. And fears that investors may mistake an insurance agent for a financial adviser able to give comprehensive guidance on money matters should not be overplayed, Deputy Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong said yesterday. This is because the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) intends to require advisers to disclose their area of competency before they deal with the investing public, he added. (Straits Times 6 Oct 2001)(H12)

  SingTel Mobile has introduced an insurance plan called MobileShield to cover subscribers against theft, accidental loss or damage of mobile phones anywhere in the world - up to a maximum of S$1,300. The insurance cover will come gratis to SingTel Mobile's high-end Premium1500 subscribers, while other customers will have to pay S$2-S$3 a month. About 5,000 mobile-phone subscribers lose their handsets every month. (Straits Times 4 Sep 2001) (5)

  Singapore's insurance industry faces a dramatic shake-up with 4,400 agents set to leave in the next three years as part-timers are pushed out in an increasingly professional environment. The big shift to full-time professionals gained pace last year when no fewer than 2,117 agents fell by the wayside - a hefty 12% of the workforce. The number of agents peaked in 1996 at 19,545 but has since fallen 21% to 15,400 according to the Life Insurance Association of Singapore. (Straits Times 4 Jun 2001)

    The outflow of retirement savings from the CPF Special Account (SA) has turned into a flood, with S$1.6 billion withdrawn in the first quarter for investments in various assets, Central Provident Fund (CPF) figures released on 10 Apr 2001 show. Of the S$1.6 billion invested in CPF-approved products with low to medium risk, S$1.5 billion went to insurance-related products. The figures released on 10 Apr 2001 point to boom times for the insurance industry. (Straits Times 11 Apr 2001)