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In Singapore, an average of 41 people are diagnosed with cancer everyday. 1 in 4 people here may develop cancer in their lifetime. The likelihood of developing critical illnesses such as cancer, severe heart attacks, stroke or kidney failure may not be as rare as we might believe. By purchasing a critical illness insurance plan, we give ourselves the assurance of a financial safety net. And having the peace of mind that we will be supported when we need it most — is invaluable.

What is critical illness insurance?

A critical illness insurance (CI) plan insures you in the event that you are diagnosed with a critical illness and supports you throughout your recovery stage. Most CI insurance plans cover 36 common critical illnesses including:

Major cancers
Heart attack
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Stroke and kidney failure
Parkinson’s disease
Major head trauma
Major organ transplantation

Your insurance company pays a lump sum when you are diagnosed with these common ailments, allowing you to cover expenses such as treatment and hospitalisation fees, as well as for essentials such as rent and food, if your source of income is terminated.

A CI plan is not the same as term life insurance, which covers permanent disability and death. Neither is it the same as medical insurance or hospital & surgical insurance, which usually covers minor surgeries and specialist healthcare. This coverage is specifically for medical diseases or emergencies that can result in hefty hospital bills over an average recovery period of 5 years. This can be purchased separately or as an add-on to a current term life plan, called a rider.

There are many misconceptions surrounding critical illness insurance plans. You might assume that youth protects you from cancer or that your current medical and hospitalisation plans cover you when you are diagnosed. These lull you into a false sense of assurance, dissuading you from adequately protecting yourself and your family.

Why do I need critical illness insurance?

Disregarding the possibility that you might develop a critical illness can be a costly mistake.

Should you be diagnosed with such a disease, holding on to your job can prove to be difficult. Your energy is depleted as you go for repeated treatment sessions and adjust to the effects of therapy. Without an income, your savings are drained, paying for hospital bills and sustaining these costs may not be possible over an extended period.

This is where a comprehensive critical illness insurance plan comes in, proving to be an absolutely vital lifeline, tiding you through this difficult stage of recovery. With this coverage, you have the financial capability to pay for your medical bills without going into debilitating debt. If your loved ones depend on your income, having a CI insurance plan is essential in safeguarding your well-being as well as theirs.

What to consider when taking critical illness insurance?

Taking a critical illness insurance plan is a long-term financial commitment and requires careful consideration of your budget, coverage required and family medical history. Comparing the different CI plans available, the illnesses they cover you for and the final compensation amount, would bring you a step closer to deciding on a plan that’s right for you.

A study done by Life Insurance Association (LIA), and as reported by Straits Times, found that an average working adult has insurance plans that only cover them for 20 per cent of their needs should they be diagnosed with a critical illness. LIA recommends that a working adult with a single dependant requires an average of $739,000, nine times their annual salary, in order to have their needs fully covered. Different insurers provide various critical illness packages with different coverage terms. Choose one that addresses your vulnerabilities.

What types of critical illness insurance plans are available?

Decide from several types of CI insurance plans: Late stage or early stage CI plans, single-pay or multi-pay CI plans.

Traditional CI plans, or late stage plans, cover the insured only if their disease is at an advanced stage, and are also known as basic or conventional CI insurance plans. Early CI plans, however, provide coverage when diseases have been detected at an early stage, allowing one to be financially supported early on.

Single-pay CI plans only cover the insured once, paying them a total lump sum just that once, regardless if they suffer relapses or other critical illnesses later in life. Multi-pay CI plans, however, cover possible future relapses and if a second critical illness develops. While these types of plans have higher premiums, they provide the insured with greater coverage over a lifetime.

Learn more about Expat Insurance’s critical illness coverage

Life can take unexpected twists and turns. To guard against such uncertainties, Expat Insurance emphasises the importance of including a critical illness insurance plan in your suite of insurance policies. Speak to our agents to understand your current insurance plans and how our expat health coverage can fill any gaps you might have. Protect yourself and your loved ones with us.

The hustle culture of Singapore can have us feeling stretched sometimes. Needing to keep up and maximise every waking hour of the day can get to the best of us. According to a study by Kisi, Singapore is the second most overworked country in the world. Sometimes, the intensity and pace of our work can dictate our habits and lifestyle, leading us to fall into the trap of eating unhealthy or neglecting our relationships. When this happens, it’s necessary that we pause for a second, take a step back and reassess what’s important. Dedicating time to the essentials would put our minds and bodies in a healthy state—keeping us content and humming along.

How do you live a healthy lifestyle?

Leading a healthy life starts in the mind. We need to ask ourselves a few important questions. What’s important to me and how do I set aside time for it? What habits or activities do I need to remove from my life right now? By re-orienting ourselves and adopting greater self-awareness, we’re able to put things into perspective. Through reflection, we also remind ourselves of the value of rest and balance. Adopting a few methods like eating well and exercising regularly allows us to thrive.

Adequate rest and sleep

A good rest is absolutely vital to living a fulfilling life. A lack of sleep can have dire consequences to our health over a period of time, negatively impacting our mental well-being and also increases the chances of developing cardiovascular diseases or chronic illnesses like diabetes.

We should not be feeling guilty or shameful if we’re not doing anything productive while we rest. It’s important that when we’re resting, we completely switch off and leave work at the desk. Having seven to eight hours of sleep every day makes us feel rested the next day, allowing our bodies and minds time to process information, memories and emotions. We’re sharper, more energetic, and motivated to achieve our goals.

Fit in exercise

Exercise provides us with a host of benefits. Apart from keeping us trim and fit, it lets us sleep better, improves our mood and increases our energy levels. With some tweaks to our schedules and lifestyle we can incorporate exercise into our lives, no matter how busy our days may be.

Plan your week ahead and block out an hour, three to four times a week, to exercise. In this way, you can plan your work, dinners and other appointments around your exercise schedule, making it a priority. Joining a boxing or pilates class, would liven up your routine and also make it a regular part of your week, helping you quickly build a habit. Try to also add fitness into your commute and day: if it’s a short journey, skip the bus and walk instead or take the stairs instead of the elevator or choose to cycle to work.

Prepare nutritious meals

Sometimes eating healthy can take a backseat when we’re busy and stressed. We skip meals, overeat, eat at odd times of the day or eat processed foods too often. Doing this occasionally might be inevitable sometimes, but having this be our lifestyle can be detrimental.

To get ourselves back on track, we can first start off with small changes to our diets. Instead of processed, white bread, we can choose to have whole grain bread. Instead of eating late suppers, we can eat early and at regular times. Once we’ve achieved some mastery over our eating habits, we can start making our own meals and experimenting with meal prep. This allows us full control over what we eat.

Make time for your relationships

Humans are built to connect and having quality relationships is vital to us living happy, comfortable lives and increases our life expectancy by 50%. Knowing that there are people we can count on to feel seen, heard and loved gives us the strength to weather life’s challenges. When your workload is heavy and our plate is full, it’s easy to neglect our friends and family. Be conscious when this happens and dedicate a few quality hours each week to them. Schedule a hike or a weekend brunch and be fully present when you’re there with them.

Build a healthy life with a few simple steps

Prioritise living a healthy, fulfilled life that balances the different factors. Cultivating healthy habits like eating well, getting enough quality sleep, taking health care seriously and nurturing fulfilling relationships with others in the expat community, makes for happy individuals. Take a step further to safeguard your health and give yourself a sense of assurance with medical insurance. When you build a healthy life, you hold the reins to your future.

For companies in Singapore, insurance program remarketing is generally conducted for 2 reasons:

(a) to check that the company’s current health insurer is still offering competitive cover and pricing. In this case, the insured may have no real intention of changing insurers unless they receive a significantly better quotation.

(b) with genuine intent to change health insurers. The company may be looking to significantly improve the cover for their employees or obtain substantial premium savings. Often it is triggered by dissatisfaction with the current insurer.

Assuming that you are working with an insurance broker, this article will guide you through remarketing your group health insurance program effectively. If you are not currently using a broker, you may need to perform the following tasks listed yourself. Here are 7 practical tips to get the most out of a remarketing exercise for your company.

1. Set clear goals

Firstly, consider what you want to achieve and discuss it with your broker. Goals could include:

(a) Testing the market to ensure the competitiveness of your program

Whilst you may be generally happy with your current health insurance cover and insurer, premiums tend to increase each year due to medical inflation. It always pays to check that your program is still competitive both in terms of benefits and pricing.

(b) Managing costs / reduce premium

Companies often budget for a 10% increase in medical insurance premiums. When business is good, they may accept an incremental increase. As medical costs generally increase from 7-12% per annum, 10% is not a bad rule of thumb.

However, this does not factor in claims experience. Your broker should provide you with claims updates at least every quarter. If your claims are on track to exceed the premium, you may face an increase of far more than 10%.

Another factor is that different insurers have different approaches to underwriting (how they determine their premiums). Some insurers apply age-banding while others do not. As your workforce changes and ages, your insurer may become less competitive. This, alongside deteriorating claims experiences, are common reasons for deciding to remarket a health insurance program.

(c) Improving the coverage for your employees

To remain competitive and retain or gain market share, the health insurance market is dynamic and always changing in Singapore. With new benefits and products launched, your insurance broker should be keeping you informed of these changes. You should also be notified when there is an opportunity to improve the benefits that your employees enjoy.

Research consistently shows that a robust health insurance plan can be used by employers to attract, engage and retain talent – something that most employers in Singapore identify as a challenge. The benefits that you selected 2 or 3 years ago when buying your group health insurance may no longer be as attractive. A remarketing exercise is thus a good way of benchmarking the benefits on offer and enhancing your plan.

2. Partial or whole market exercise?

Do you want a whole market or just a partial market exercise? There are pros and cons to each.

A full-market exercise involves soliciting quotations from all eligible health insurers. While this requires far more time and work, it ensures that you will generate maximum competition and choice. Do note to avoid conducting a full-market exercise every year as the various insurers may tire of not winning your business. They will begin to decline to quote as a result, which defeats the purpose of a full-market exercise.

A partial-market exercise, as the name suggests, involves obtaining quotations from a selection of insurers rather than the whole market. This is a useful mechanism to check that your current health insurance program is competitive in terms of cover and pricing. Your broker should strategically select the insurers to include based on their product, pricing, and flexibility. With a knowledgeable and capable insurance broker, a partial market exercise will deliver many of the benefits of a whole market exercise.

The ideal remarketing strategy combines both approaches: A full-market exercise every 3 years, with strategic, partial market exercises in the 2 intervening years.

3. Agree on a timeframe

With that said, the timeframe will be determined largely by whether you choose a whole market or a partial market exercise. Bear in mind that even when using an insurance broker, there is still a lot of preparatory work needed from you, the client.

Based on the chosen remarketing exercise, the process can take an average of 3-4 months from start to finish. Either way, your broker should be holding a pre-renewal strategy meeting with you 3-4 months in advance of your program expiry date.

Give yourself 2-3 weeks to finalise the employee census data and obtain the up-to-date claims data from your insurer.

Ideally, you want to allow 4 full weeks for your broker to be negotiating with Insurers, especially for the whole market exercise. Your broker will usually have 3 or 4 discussions with each insurer as part of the negotiation process and this takes time.

Factor in 1 week to consider the collated quotations and recommendations presented by your broker and for clarifications.

You should be communicating your choice of insurer to your broker no later than 2 weeks before expiry so that the cover can be confirmed comfortably ahead of time.

4. Conduct the remarketing exercise

Moving forward, your broker will drive this next phase of the process and they have a lot of work to do. As mentioned, you should allow 4 weeks for this phase. Make sure they provide you with regular updates on their progress so that you do not receive any surprises.

A good broker will already know the strengths, weaknesses, and competitive advantages of every insurer and product. They will use that knowledge to good effect when negotiating and generating competition. If all they are doing is acting as a postbox for the insurer’s quotations, you may want to consider looking for a new broker. A broker’s job is always to add value and bring to the table, services, or insights that you do not have access to yourself.

5. Compare results

This part can be confusing, especially if you chose the whole market exercise which may entail reviewing the quotation details of 10 or more insurers. However, as an insurance policy is essentially a legal contract, avoid taking shortcuts on this comparison. Do your due diligence to understand what is covered and what is excluded in each quotation.

In fact, your broker can help to present the quotations in a format that makes it easier for you to make your decision. This would normally come in the form of a comparison table. Your broker should highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each quotation and provide their recommendation for your insurer along with a clear explanation of their reasoning.

At Expat Insurance, we apply our own assessment mechanism for the insurers that we deal with, scoring them on everything from their flexibility to their turnaround times and claims performance. We include these scores in our comparison tables to help our clients make their choice. In our experience, most brokers do not do this in Singapore.

6. Give formal instructions

Once you have made your choice, you need to advise your broker in writing and instruct them to proceed to bind the cover.

As mentioned above, you should aim to inform your broker of your decision at least 2 weeks before the expiry date so that they can complete the placement and ensure contract certainty. They will request formal confirmation from the insurer that cover is in force and provide a copy to you.

7. Communicate the program details

Once the remarketing exercise is completed and cover is bound, one important step remains. If you have changed the cover or insurer, the new program needs to be communicated to your employees. Your broker can run these socialisation sessions, explaining the benefits and conducting Q&A.

To get started, use the below renewal timeline as a guide. Like any undertaking, how the exercise is conducted can have a significant impact on the results achieved. Carrying out a detailed and compliant remarketing exercise, however, can be time-consuming and labour-intensive. As this will involve approaching the insurance market and obtaining competitive quotations from a range of health insurers for comparison purposes, most companies would engage an insurance broker to oversee it.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at Expat Insurance today to find out how we can streamline this process for you.

The internet has revolutionised the way we communicate, share information and do business. It is an invaluable resource with a seemingly endless number of benefits. Unfortunately, it also poses risks that are difficult to quantify. The sheer volume of cyber risk exposures means that companies need to be proactive in mitigating these risks to prevent attacks.

In fact, 8 in 10 public and private sector organisations have attributed a rise of these attacks to working remotely from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s concerning is that as of 2020, cybercrime accounts for 43% of all crime in Singapore.

In order to protect your company from this growing threat, it’s important that you educate yourself on what a cyber attack looks like in order to take preventative measures against them.

Top cyber risks

As cyber threats continue to grow in frequency and severity, business leaders must be aware of the most pressing risks to their organisations. This includes:

Phishing attacks – This can come in the form of emails or text messages presumedly sent by trusted contacts. Under the guise of urgent claims, attackers lure users to click on malicious links that require sharing of sensitive company details.
Malware – Short from malicious software, malware is the umbrella term for cyber threats such as computer viruses and trojans. Once users click on these malicious codes, a file or program may be downloaded to enable hackers to access and manipulate company networks. It can be costly to recover from such attacks, potentially putting small businesses in a difficult position.
Ransomware – This type of cyber attack will employ encryption of company data such that employees are unable to access the information. Not only will a hefty ransom have to be paid to restore access, but companies will also have to answer to affected parties. It was reported that local ransomware cases increased to 154% in 2020 and it is possible that the number of cases in 2021 will be more than that.

Given these facts, it’s important that businesses take proactive measures to defend against cyber attacks.

5 tips to increase cyber security for businesses

1. Assess your existing security measures

Earlier in August 2021, nearly 73,500 patients’ data were affected in a ransomware attack on a private eye clinic. Where information such as identity card numbers and addresses can be compromised, it is crucial to evaluate your business’ current security measures ahead of time to steer clear from the aftermath of such attacks. That way, you are more aware of your vulnerabilities and can proceed to improve your weakest links accordingly.

Moving forward, the following changes can include implementing multi-factor authentication, setting up firewalls and keeping your infrastructure up-to-date, for example.

2. Reevaluate user access

With more employees working from home, your company should relook guidelines around their usage and be strict in order to protect sensitive business data. In fact, phishing and ransomware often exploit human error.

By allowing access to only the key staff, you can reduce risks and increase the resilience of your IT environment. Whether in the office or at home, remind your employees to ensure their network is secured with a strong password to prevent infiltration.

3. Educate your employees

With the above two steps addressed, it is crucial to ensure these employees are knowledgeable in spotting threats of cyber attacks. For example, there are some signs of identifying phishing emails. This includes misspelled domain names, fake email addresses and suspicious links.

Additionally, by conducting training and impromptu cyber attack simulations, your company can do the due diligence of improving your employees’ response time to handling such situations.

4. Upgrade when necessary

As the methods employed by hackers are becoming more sophisticated, you must always stay on your toes to defend your business against cyber criminals. With emerging threats, it is necessary to monitor your IT environment and upgrade your cyber security to block unwanted cyber attacks. Cyber security specialists can increase your cyber resilience, so you’ll want to make sure to choose an experienced provider to safeguard the protection of all your data.

5. Get cyber liability coverage

That being said, should your system fall victim to a cyber attack, the potential loss of data can negatively impact your business in Singapore. Experiencing a cyber attack can put any company in a tough spot and leave you at a loss of what to do next. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to protecting your business from cyber threats as every company has different needs. Ranging from first party to third party coverage, cyber risk insurance presents a smart precaution for companies to be prepared for the cost of any data breach.

Insurance providers like Expat Insurance can better guide your efforts in securing cyber and data protection while mitigating the risks. To learn more, simply get in touch with our team today.

The concept of work-life balance could be an illusory concept for most, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s now a lot harder to grasp realistically. It’s fairly uncommon to see individuals working long hours, even before the pandemic. But, today, employees all around the world are compelled to work remotely from home to ease the spread of the coronavirus. Prior to the pandemic, leaving the (physical) office on time worked in terms of boundary-setting between personal and professional life. The new normal necessitates a redefinition of work-life balance.

One of the pivoting factors include millennials making up 75% of the workforce by 2025. And, the other includes the more digital-facing world of work we are in today.

Why is achieving work-life balance necessary?

Having a healthy balance between the time spent at work and at home is necessary to be productive, engaged, and happy in both environments. A good balance lowers stress, reduces risk of burnout, and improves employee well-being and motivations at work. Harbouring excessive stress from overwork can also lead to physical effects such as chronic aches, heart problems, hypertension, and various other pains. Additionally, one’s mental health may also suffer over the long-term, contributing to an increased risk of depression and anxiety.

It is a fundamental right to preserve one’s health and well-being, especially during these trying times. Due to factors such as external pressure, increased workloads, and lack of communication, issues like burnout and stress at work are real problems that employers need to be actively cognizant of.

Is work-life balance harder to achieve during the pandemic?

Contrary to what many think, striking the balance is a lot harder than it looks. Many people were, rightfully so, under the impression that working from home would result in a greater amount of time to ourselves, more freedom, and flexibility with work schedules.

While this is true, it negates the fact that working with others in a completely digital environment is uncharted territory for many of us. Flexibility can be a boon if it is unmanaged – many employees have reported spending longer hours at their desk, working sporadically through the night, and feeling compelled to reply to work messages after office hours. If you’re home most of the time, and your office is at home, it can feel like you’re working all the time.

The blurring of boundaries between personal and professional lives here is the precursor to a diminishing work-life balance.

4 ways to achieve work-life balance as you work from home

Set up a dedicated workstation

Keeping your work and play areas separate can help you retain a sense of relaxation and joy that comes with a place of rest, and for many of us, that is at home. Working and watching movies in the same place can be debilitating, even distracting for most of us.

Because working from home looks set to be pretty common in the new normal, it’s essential that you invest in a home set-up. This includes an ergonomic chair, a desk, and a separate space from your living room, bedrooms, and play areas.

Commit to regular office hours

Working from home is much more likely to invoke the tendency to reply to work messages and emails after work. It starts with small tasks but over time, these become a surmountable load that chips away at your physical and mental well-being. By committing to regular work hours, you can look forward to “switching off” at the right time and properly unwind from work.

Incorporate regular exercise when the work day is over

We may be spending more time sitting and lounging around than usual in the new normal, given that places all around are still slowly easing restrictions. Moving your body, even for a short while, does wonders for your health. It restores the sense of balance and provides mental stimulation in other ways that can contribute to greater creativity, innovation, and problem-solving at work.

Make plans for the evening that doesn’t involve work

Not only does it help you effectively switch off from work, it also offers some sense of normalcy during this time. When everyone is home and your office space is also present there, it can be hard to break away from work. Revisiting old hobbies and passion projects such as knitting, reading, writing, and cooking can improve your health by bounds. You also have a reason to leave work on time.

Improve your employees’ well-being with benefits insurance in Singapore

Employers need to care for their employees too. The best way to do so is to revisit the employee benefits insurance plan as priorities and needs shift in the future we face today. Elements such as off days, sick leave, and medical insurance are not the same as before. They may take on new meanings and definitely require some revision. A big aspect to consider incorporating into work hours is the option of flexibility – one that caregivers and parents could use as they adopt hybrid work models.

Get the advice you need from our team of experienced brokers.

Did you know that by 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above? This group could also be more prone to the five most common chronic medical conditions which include diabetes mellitus, hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke and heart attack.

It is no wonder the topic of active ageing has been on the rise in recent years. What does it mean exactly? It means that people are choosing to be more physically and mentally active as they grow older. The benefits of this lifestyle change can include less aches and pains, a longer life span, improved mental health, healthier relationships with others and an increased sense of meaning.

To support this approach, there are active ageing programmes (AAPs) designed to help seniors stay active, healthy and socially engaged. These are easily accessible in neighbourhoods across Singapore. In fact, a new active ageing centre was recently opened in Kembangan-Chai Chee to better provide social and health support to its more than 1,500 elderly residents.

But on your own, what can you do to protect your overall health and continue enjoying a high quality of life as you age?

5 Tips to Achieve Active Ageing

1. Having a healthy diet

Get a head start in active ageing by first focusing on what you eat. This is a key aspect that can minimise the risk factors of diet-related illnesses like hypertension, diabetes and osteoporosis. A well-balanced diet can ensure you get the nutrition your body needs to function optimally.

Especially as you approach 65 years old, it is crucial to eat more nutrient-dense food such as fish, lean red meat, tofu, rice as well as fruits. Incorporating a variety of foods in your everyday meals can help you feel stronger and more energised. Don’t forget to stay hydrated, which is vital in Singapore’s hot weather.

2. Prioritising mental health

When it is time to retire, it can be a difficult period of adjustment with the fear of not having enough to do and finding ways to stay engaged throughout the day. That being said, it is common to feel stress and anxiety as this next chapter of life approaches.

Additionally, if you have endured the pain of losing a loved one or don’t get to see family often, it can be especially tough on you during such periods. Combined with unexpected factors like the social isolation brought about by COVID-19, this can unknowingly take a toll on your mental health.

Before work is out of the picture, start planning for your retirement early so you can manage the transition better and look forward to enjoying the fruits of your labour. To proactively improve your mental well-being, doing the things you enjoy and staying connected with others through the AAPs in your vicinity can help tremendously. This can go a long way in warding off the depression that may come with ageing.

3. Exercise

Apart from your mental health, your physical health is equally important. In fact, 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity is recommended for adults and seniors. You can also opt for 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity as per the Health Promotion Board’s National Physical Activity Guidelines.

It was also recently highlighted that a surprising number of people are suffering from vitamin D deficiency in Singapore, including the elderly. By going outside to exercise, not only can you improve your strength and balance, but you can also get sufficient sun exposure required for your body’s Vitamin D production during this time. Starting with incorporating regular activity in your daily routine, you can delay or even prevent the common diseases.

4. Taking care of your teeth

With age, your gums are also more likely to recede, leaving your teeth and roots vulnerable to decay. Simple habits like brushing and flossing your teeth often can prevent painful toothaches and the discomfort of tooth loss. Through regular check-ups with your dentist, you can also avoid further dental complications and continue being in good oral health.

5. Checking in with the doctor regularly

Regardless of your age, it is important to stay on top of your health to prevent more complicated problems in the near future. Some chronic medical conditions like diabetes can be hereditary so you’ll want to make sure your doctor is aware of your family’s health history to detect the risks early.

Live Life to the Fullest with Expat Insurance

All the above tips are crucial when it comes to promoting active ageing from an early stage. With that in mind, it is important that we start preparing for our future well ahead of time.

In addition to medical insurance, it makes good financial sense to have dental insurance plans to cover all your needs. Should you require dental surgery or hospital treatment, Expat Insurance can provide coverage for a range of procedures so you have less to worry about. Especially for foreigners who are intending to settle down in Singapore for good, now is the time to plan to ensure a comfortable lifestyle in your golden years.

Make informed lifestyle decisions with Expat Insurance today. Feel free to get in touch with us to find out more.