Life-insurance firms supporting customers in deferring premium payments: Association
The Life Insurance Association Singapore assures the public that life insurers have been engaging customers on the deferment of their premium payments.
We thank Mr Ee Teck Siew for his letter, “Deferment of premium payments during Covid-19: Insurance firms must buck up” (April 20).
These are unprecedented times, and we thank Singaporeans for their understanding and patience as the life insurance industry administers the new premium payment deferment scheme to support customers who are facing difficulties.
Life insurers have made multipronged efforts to inform and engage customers who are seeking to defer their insurance premium payments. These include:
Briefing financial advisers on the Extension of Grace Period (EGP) scheme, and how they can reach out and best offer help to their customers
Providing on the insurers’ websites information on the EGP scheme as well as electronic submission forms to request a deferment
Further sharing information via other communication channels, such as email, digital applications and social media platforms
Submissions are handled individually to understand the circumstance of each customer better.
Each insurer sets the assessment criteria. In this regard, insurers are committed and doing their best to sustain service standards and response times even during the circuit breaker.
We assure individuals whose EGP submissions have been accepted that deductions for April will be reversed if they included April within the selected premium deferment period in their submission.
Also, no interest charge will be applied on deferred premium payments as part of a commitment by the industry for relevant policies, in solidarity with customers during these challenging times.
Individual life insurers have also provided their customers with additional support. These initiatives include free access to telemedicine services, free supplementary Covid-19 insurance benefit, other financial relief schemes as well as activities promoting healthy living during the circuit breaker.
We encourage individuals seeking more information to visit the websites of life insurers, call customer service hotlines, or contact their financial advisers.
We are confident that in pulling together, we will get through this together.
Have views on this issue or a news topic you care about? Send your letter to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.
