ARTICLE

4 Things about critical illness definitions in Singapore

2021 dot 7 min read
Critical Illness Coverage
(Photo by Rui Xu on Unsplash)
Critical illness insurance plays an important role in providing a financial safeguard for you and your loved ones. In the event you are diagnosed with a critical illness, you will receive a lump sum payout from the policy.
 
This payout is typically meant to tide you through daily living expenses during your recovery, at a time when you may not be able to work and earn a salary, as well as give you additional options to seek medical treatments or complementary therapy.
 
Such lump sum payouts enable you to protect your and your loved ones' way of life without eating into savings and investments earmarked for other important expenses.
 
For those purchasing critical illness insurance from 26 August 2020 onwards, you will be looking at an updated set of definitions for the standard list of 37 critical illnesses. This was announced by the Life Insurance Association (LIA) on 29 August 2019, under its Critical Illness Framework 2019.
 
Here are four things you should understand about the changes contained within LIA's Critical Illness Framework 2019.

1. Changes effective from 26 August 2020

While all critical illness insurance sold in Singapore will have to comply with the new set of definitions from 26 August 2020, this is the cut-off date, rather than a starting date.
 
This means that insurers cannot sell critical illness policies with the old definitions after 26 August 2020, which were last defined in 2014. However, some insurers may have already started providing critical illness insurance adhering to the new definitions before 26 August 2020.
 
You should look at your policy documents and/or speak to your AIA Consultant or Insurance Representative to understand which definitions are used in your critical illness insurance plan.

2. What are the changes made to critical illness definitions?

Under the new Critical Illness Framework 2019, definitions of 21 critical illnesses were revised, while the names of 14 critical illnesses were enhanced to better reflect the intent of the coverage.
 
Here's the list of changes to the standard list of 37 critical illness under the Critical Illness Framework 2019:
 
No.Critical IllnessesName Changed?Definitions Changed?
1Major CancerYesYes
2Heart Attacks of Specified SeverityNo ChangeYes
3Stroke with Permanent Neurological DeficitYesYes
4Coronary Artery By-pass SurgeryNo ChangeNo Change
5End Stage Kidney FailureYesNo Change
6Irreversible Aplastic AnaemiaYesYes
7End Stage Lung DiseaseNo changeNo change
8End Stage Liver DiseaseNo changeNo change
9ComaNo ChangeYes
10Deafness (Irreversible Loss of Hearing)YesYes
11Open Chest Heart Valve SurgeryYesNo Change
12Irreversible Loss of SpeechYesYes
13Major BurnsNo ChangeNo Change
14Major Organ/Bone Marrow TransplantationNo ChangeNo Change
15Multiple SclerosisNo ChangeYes
16Muscular DystrophyNo ChangeYes
17Idiopathic Parkinson's DiseaseYesYes
18Open Chest Surgery to AortaYesNo Change
19Alzheimer's Disease / Severe DementiaNo ChangeYes
20Fulminant HepatitisNo ChangeNo Change
21Motor Neurone DiseaseNo ChangeYes
22Primary Pulmonary HypertensionNo ChangeNo Change
23HIV Due to Blood Transfusion and Occupationally Acquired HIVNo ChangeYes
24Benign Brain TumorNo ChangeYes
25Severe EncephalitisYesYes
26Severe Bacterial MeningitisYesNo Change
27Angioplasty & Other Invasive Treatment for Coronary ArteryNo ChangeNo Change
28Blindness (Irreversible Loss of Sight)YesYes
29Major Head TraumaNo ChangeYes
30Paralysis (Irreversible Loss of Use of Limbs)YesNo Change
31Terminal IllnessNo ChangeNo Change
32Progressive SclerodermaNo ChangeYes
33Persistent Vegetative State (Apallic Syndrome)YesNo Change
34Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with Lupus NephritisNo ChangeYes
35Other Serious Coronary Artery DiseaseNo ChangeYes
36PoliomyelitisNo ChangeYes
37Loss of Independent ExistenceYesNo Change
You can examine the details of each of the 37 critical illnesses on the Critical Illness Framework 2019, comparing to the 2014 version, on LIA's website.

3. Updating of definitions under LIA's Critical Illness Framework 2019 can lead to better industry outcomes

Standardised Critical Illness definitions provides greater transparency for consumers to assess and compare different insurance plans.
 
It also reduces discrepancies in claim assessments, where one insurer may provide a payout while another rejects a payout. This way, consumers can rest assured that claims assessment will be similar regardless of their chosen insurer.
 
Nevertheless, insurers can continue to set their products apart by extending coverage for more medical conditions and stages of illness progression, beyond the standard list of 37 critical illnesses, so you still need to fully understand the full benefits of any critical illness insurance you are purchasing.
 
For example, plans such as AIA Absolute Critical Cover (ASCC) offers wide coverage for 187 conditions that go beyond critical illnesses, including 150 multi-stage critical illnesses.

4. New definitions under the Critical Illness Framework 2019 can benefit policyholders

While the majority of changes made was to provide clarity to the definitions of coverage to severe stages, some changes led to expanded benefits for the insured. This includes:
 
  • Allowing claims under "HIV Due to Blood Transfusion and Occupationally Acquired HIV" for those who suffer from Thalassaemia or Haemophillia to be fair to the group, as these groups were previously denied claim.
  • Adjusting the "Blindness (Irreversible Lost of Sight)" condition to the legal definition of blindness of 6/60, from previously 3/60

Review your critical illness coverage requirements – and don't rush to buy

The latest critical illness definitions offer both pros and cons for policyholders. Check with your insurer on coverage options available to you.
 
Before purchasing critical illness insurance, you should also understand how much coverage you need. You can look to LIA's 2017 Protection Gap Study – Singapore as a guide, which recommends having enough coverage to last for an assumed critical illness recovery period of five years. 

Share

https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://www.aia.com.sg/en/health-wellness/healthy-living-with-aia/4-things-you-need-to-understand-about-the-changes-to-critical-illness-definitions
https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=113869198637480&href=https://www.aia.com.sg/en/health-wellness/healthy-living-with-aia/4-things-you-need-to-understand-about-the-changes-to-critical-illness-definitions&display=popup
mailto:?subject=4 Things to Understand About Critical Illness&body=Understand the changes to critical illness definitions with these 4 key insights. Stay informed about your insurance coverage. https://www.aia.com.sg/en/health-wellness/healthy-living-with-aia/4-things-you-need-to-understand-about-the-changes-to-critical-illness-definitions

Related articles

ARTICLE
Most common types of cancer in Singapore, and what you can do to protect yourself icon ARTICLE 6-min read
ARTICLE
How AIA closes your critical illness protection gap icon ARTICLE 7-min read

Recommended products

Get in Touch

*Please select an option
*Name is required
*Please ensure that you mobile number starts with 8 or 9, up to 8 digits.
Please select the right country code.
*Please fill in a valid email address
Are you an existing AIA Singapore customer?*
last 4 characters
Please provide last 4 characters of your NRIC / Passport / FIN no.
*Your date of birth is required

Area of concern

*Please select an option
Only required if Others is ticked
Please specify an area of concern

Please provide your consent by ticking on the checkbox below:*

*Please tick consent before submission
*Please verify the reCAPTCHA and tick the check box before submission

Thank you for your request.

We will do our best to respond to you as soon as possible.
error icon
*Form submission error