Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Switching of PMI ( IncomeShield, PruShield, SupremeHealthshield, My Shield, HealthShield, etc )


Every now and then, many policyholders will switch their PMI ( IncomeShield, Prushield, Healthshield, SupremeHealthshield ) from one insurer to the other.

For easy reference, there is a comparison of plans between all insurers at Ministry of Health website at http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/hcfinancing.aspx?id=11222

You can download the pdf file that will show you the comparison of benefits between insurers, though it was updated in February 2009, it should be updated next year. But this can be a reference as most insurer would have made some minor improvements over the time.

At any one time, only one "Shield Plan" is allowed, thus cancelling each other out during a switch.
My advice is -
1. Choose an appropriate plan
2. Look at options for downgrade at latter part of life ( FROM SAME INSURER)
3. PLEASE DO NOT SWITCH WHEN ONE HAS EXISTING CONDITION, BY SWITCHING WITHOUT DECLARING, IT FALLS UNDER NON DISCLOSURE, AND CAN RESULT IN DISPUTE IN CLAIMS.

My personal comment is, when a plan is switched to the other company, it is counted as new business and add on to the company's overall total, in the insurers' quest for positioning, if insurers are fighting for positioning in the industry. So you find that some will suddenly do a promotion campaign for the plan. Sorry that I am mentioning this including Income but you will see that NTUC Income promotes the IncomeShield whole year round as we believe that this plan is the basic needs of everyone. Of course the other more more valid reason is that there need to be a good base to sustain the plan.

My personal conviction is PMI ( Private Medical Insurance or Shield Plans ) are basic needs for all, and all should have at least a Shield Plan, as I have always shared. Whichever Shield Plan you have, just ensure you know the benefits and are comfortable with it. DO NOT SWITCH ONCE THERE IS EXISTING CONDITION LIKE HYPERTENSION OR DIABETES ALREADY SET IN. AND PLEASE DECLARE ALL HEALTH CONDITIONS IF YOU WANT TO SWITCH.