Along with other insurers, AXA has launched it's "multi-pay" critical illness plan.
This plan is made up of 3 main components: Critical Illness Coverage, Diabetes Care Program, and Death Benefit.
Let's look at them individually to see if this plan lives up to its namesake.
Critical Illness Coverage claiming up to 600% of sum assured
This plan covers Early, Intermediate, Advanced Stage Critical Illness, Special Conditions, and Juvenile Conditions.
To draw the line in the sand, here is the maximum claim limits:
"each" is the keyword here
How it works:
If diagnosed with any of the listed critical illness, 100% of the sum assured will be paid out.
Subsequent claims is where it gets tricky, but here's a clearer sequence:
This plan is the First in market to offer coverage for re-diagnosed cancers, recurrent heart attacks, and stroke AT ANY STAGE.
Other multi-pay CI plans do not cover for re-diagnosed^ cancer, recurrent heart attack/stroke at early stages despite its high likelihood of happening! They typically only cover advancement of same CI or different CI diagnosis to form their multi-pay feature.
^would like to take this opportunity to note one of the things we often advise our clients, CI is always definitions based. Re-diagnosed cancer is different from recurrent cancer.
AXA Super CritiCare's policy wording
This CI coverage allows multiple claims with payouts up to 600% of sum assured.
Specific Organs Only: This plan only offers carcinoma in situ of specific organs only. Many insurers has moved on and cover whole body.
AXA's current offering only covers a wider range of specific organs. For this, we wished AXA would include to cover whole body.
Special/Juvenile Conditions Coverage
If Life Assured is being diagnosed with special conditions or juvenile conditions, there is an additional 10% benefit capped at $25,000 per condition.
Maximum times claimable:
Special Conditions - 5 times
Juvenile Conditions - 3 times
Policy will be in force even after the maximum claimable is being paid out.
Diabetes Care Programme to Fight the War!
Not the clinically accurate term but in short, Diabetes is when the body either produces insufficient insulin or does not respond to insulin, resulting in high amounts of sugar in blood.
A few years back, Singapore is number 2 in the world for highest proportion of diabetics amongst developed nations.
This prompted Ministry of Health in 2016 to start a War on Diabetes.
Despite the war efforts are felt around us in our daily consumerism, diabetes is still one of the top reasons people visit polyclinics.
Diabetes is a chronic disease and, if not managed well, can deteriorate steadily to cause devastating complications such as blindness, nerve damage, kidney failure, heart disease and limb amputation.
Under this benefit, if life assured is diagnosed with diabetes, they can undergo the six step diabetes care programme worth $2,500 per annum to keep the conditions in control.
This programme is automatically renewable, as long as the annual blood reports shows that the life assured is still afflicted with diabetes throughout the policy term.
This benefit does not affect the sum assured amounts under this policy.
While it is a lifelong condition, diabetes can be kept in control with active health management.
In our daily lives, we have come across many afflicted with diabetes, and we are pleased to see more and more insurers underwriting plans to offer some coverage for diabetes.
Death Benefit
Upon death of life assured, the plan will pay a lump sum $10,000 regardless of sum assured of the policy.
Policy will subsequently be terminated.
To put into perspective, AIA Power Critical Cover's death benefit is the combination of 100% of coverage amount less any CI benefits paid plus $5,000.
This part, we think AIA did better.
Premiums for Male, age 30, non-smoker
To give a better understanding of premiums overall. Here's the premiums for this plan for a male, age 30, non smoker.
Annual premiums of $631.19 is quite competitive.
Compared to AIA's Power Critical Cover (PWCC) of similar offering but premiums are $1,014.08, after AIA Vitality Discounts).
In all fairness, AIA PWCC has a 'life' plan option that offers coverage till 100 years old, this option has some guaranteed cash values on surrender less amounts previously claimed.
However, due to having cash values and coverage till 100 years old, premiums becomes very expensive, annual premiums are above $3,000 annually payable till 100 years old.
Comparisons with other Multi-Pay CI Plans
AXA enters the fray with this Super CritiCare Plan which we think is a welcomed addition.
Premiums are very competitive (not factoring in AIA's Life Plan).
The favourite feature is the coverage for re-diagnosed cancer at any stage which is something not offered by other insurers at the moment.
For example, under AXA, life assured can make 2 claims of early stage cancer (subject to meeting the waiting time and re-diagnose definitions).
As oppose to Aviva or Tokio Marine plans where once the early stage cancer is being claimed, it cannot be claimed anymore.
Critical Illness is always definitions-based. It is these one or two words difference that changes the coverage of the whole plan.
Termination Clause
Another thing not often mentioned is the termination clause and what causes the policy and cover to end.
The policy will not terminate even if all benefits (except death benefit) is being claimed so long policy is in force.
Should the worse happen, and all 600% has been claimed, the policy will still payout $10,000 to defray the cost of final expenses.
Conclusion and What's Next
More and more Singaporeans over 60 are being afflicted with chronic diseases.
A local study found that the proportion of older adults with three or more chronic diseases from 2009 to 2017 nearly DOUBLED!!!
Like it or not, the odds are stacked against us, and getting ourselves covered will eventually help reduce the financial burden to deal with these chronic diseases.
Given our aging population, it is best to get yourself covered.
This plan can be a standalone or added in as a rider to certain life plans.
Should you wish to find out if this plan is suitable for you and your needs, do speak to us.
Last updated on June 8th, 2020 at 10:18 pm