Most people would agree that insurance protection is an invaluable component of financial planning. By having the right level of insurance protection, we can go about our daily lives, assured that our loved ones are financially protected if we suffer an accident or an illness that prevents us from providing for their future.

Both the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) certainly understand the importance of having adequate insurance coverage. Since July 2016, they are providing all full-time national servicemen (NSFs) and operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) with free group term life and group personal accident insurance coverage, as long as they are on official duties.

How Much Free Insurance Coverage Do NSFs And NSmen Receive?

To begin, all NSFs and regulars will automatically receive S$300,000 of Group Term Life and S$300,000 of Group Personal Injury coverage under the Core Scheme. The group insurance coverage is underwritten by Singlife and provided by either MINDEF or MHA, depending on the organisation that the national servicemen are serving with.

Under the Core Scheme, coverage is automatically applied as long as servicemen are serving their full-time national service and during official duties. Regulars and NS volunteers will also enjoy the coverage during their period of service. Pre-existing medical conditions are also covered under the Core Scheme.

Additional Group Insurance Coverage Under the Voluntary Scheme

For those who wish to enjoy a higher level of coverage or continue with coverage even when they are no longer in active full-time service, they can choose to purchase additional insurance coverage through the Voluntary Scheme. For just S$0.17¹ per day for S$1,000,000 (group personal injury) and S$0.83² per day for S$1,000,000 (group term life insurance), these are one of the cheapest plans in the market. There is also no underwriting required for the first S$300,000 sum assured for the group term life insurance, and no underwriting required for the group personal injury plan.

The Voluntary Scheme is available for all NSFs, NSmen, Regulars, Public Officers working with MINDEF or MHA, volunteers, and affiliate members, including employees from DSTA, and MINDEF and MHA related organisations. Individuals in MINDEF Reserve are also eligible to purchase insurance coverage as long as they are below age 40 (for specialist rank and below) and age 50 (for officers and key appointment holders).

The main plans that you can purchase under the Voluntary Scheme is similar to the Core Scheme – 1) Group Term Life and 2) Group Personal Injury.

Group Term Life: Under the Group Term Life policy, you can purchase coverage of up to S$1 million. For those aged 65 or below, monthly premiums are at an affordable S$0.83 per day. Get up to S$1 million coverage for death and total permanent disability. Find out more about the additional benefits of this plan from the product brochure here.

Group Personal Injury: Under the Group Personal Injury policy, you can purchase coverage of up to S$1,000,000. It costs just S$0.17 per day for S$1,000,000 coverage against accidental injuries and fractures. You can find out the exact details for the personal injury coverage in the product brochure here.

For both these plans, it’s worth noting that your spouse and children can also be covered at the same rate as long as you (the MINDEF or MHA member) are an insured member. Your spouse can also continue with the plan in the event of your death.

Boost Your Coverage With Additional Riders

A rider is an insurance policy provision which adds additional benefits on top of the main insurance plan. It provides additional insurance coverage and is tied to the main plan.

The Singlife MINDEF & MHA Group insurance policies allow insured members to enhance coverage with 4 optional riders. These include the Living Care and Living Care Plus (both critical illness riders), Disability Income and Outpatient Medicare.

Living Care: Living Care provides additional coverage of up to S$500,000 against 37 critical illnesses, paid out in a lump sum upon diagnosis of the critical illness. Monthly premiums are based on your age. For example, individuals from the age of 31 to 35 will pay S$2.70 per month for a S$50,000 coverage, while someone who is at age 41 to 45 will pay S$4.50 for a coverage of S$50,000. You can find out the full details of this policy in the product brochure.

Living Care Plus: Living Care Plus is an early-stage critical illness policy, providing additional coverage of up to S$500,000 against 10 early critical illnesses including early cancer. Premiums are based on your age and start from S$1.05 per month (for those aged 25 and below, S$50,000 coverage). Full details of the policy can be found here.

Disability Income: Disability Income provides you with the security of regular income if you are no longer able to work due to disability, up to the age of 70. Annual coverage is based on 50% of your monthly basic salary, multiplied by 12, up to a maximum annual benefit of S$120,000. Coverage costs S$3.35 per month per S$10,000 annual coverage for those under 26 and premiums increase as you become older. Full details of the policy can be found here.

Outpatient Medicare: Outpatient Medicare provides you with benefits for outpatient consultations and treatments. Insured members can choose from two plans; Plan A (annual limit: S$1,000) or Plan B (annual limit: S$500). Annual premiums range from S$188 to S$339.

^Notes

^{1. Premium shown is based on monthly rate (rounding to the nearest cent) for an Insured Person, aged 70 and below at next birthday.}

^{2. Premium shown is based on monthly rate (rounding to the nearest cent) for an Insured Person, aged 65 and below at next birthday.}

^{The Singlife MINDEF and MHA group insurance policies are automatically renewed each year. You can cancel your cover at any point in time if you no longer think you need the coverage. None of the policies hold any cash value, so the premiums you pay are purely for the protection coverage that you are receiving. The Singlife MINDEF and MHA group insurance plans are an affordable way to ensure that we have basic insurance coverage for ourselves and our family. From just S0.832 a day (S$1,000,000 term life coverage) and S$0.171 a day (S$1,000,000 personal injury coverage), respectively, we will be hard-pressed to use cost as an excuse for not having sufficient insurance coverage.}

^{Article was originally published on DollarsAndSense. Article information is correct as of 26 January 2023.}