As parents, the well-being of our families and children is our main concern. We naturally cherish time together and do our utmost to nurture and protect them.
However, not everything is within our control. Unexpected events can have a sudden and far-reaching impact on our everyday lives. It is difficult to predict when something untoward will happen.
What is within our control is the ability to take steps to prepare for such circumstances, particularly medical emergencies that can have profound financial consequences.
That’s where insurance plans such as Income’s Enhanced IncomeShield, an Integrated Shield Plan, comes in, helping to safeguard against life’s uncertainties and reducing the financial burden it can have on the family.
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What is an Integrated Shield Plan?
In Singapore, all Citizens and Permanent Residents are fortunate to be covered by MediShield Life. This is a basic health insurance plan by the Ministry of Health that protects against large hospital bills. MediShield Life is administered by the Central Provident Fund Board and premiums are paid out of the MediSave account.
While MediShield Life offers basic health insurance, its coverage can be expanded with a MediSave-approved Integrated Shield Plan such as Income’s Enhanced IncomeShield.
Enhanced IncomeShield is a medical and hospital insurance plan that builds on MediShield Life to provide even greater protection for you and your family in the event of an unfortunate situation that requires hospitalisation and treatment.
Here are some reasons to consider signing up for Income’s Enhanced IncomeShield for the entire family.
1. Increase Your Yearly Claimable Amount
As a parent, it is hard to predict just how much will be needed for unexpected hospitalisation medical expenses, whether for yourself or for your loved ones.
That’s where MediShield Life comes in. It is designed to cover large hospital expenses and selected outpatient treatments. MediShield Life benefits are based on Class B2/C bills to keep premiums affordable and have a maximum claim limit of $150,000 per year.
With Enhanced IncomeShield, you can increase the maximum claim limit by up to $1.5 million each policy year.
This provides greater assurance that medical and hospital costs are taken care of even if it exceeds the MediShield Life claim limits; for example, if you have to stay in the hospital for a prolonged period of time.
2. As-charged Coverage for Selected Benefits1
Hospitalisation, ward and treatment charges can rack up quickly. When there is a medical emergency in the family, the last thing you want to have to worry about is taking care of the cost of treatments.
MediShield Life has daily limits of $800 per day in a normal ward2 and $2,200 per day in the Intensive Care Unit2. There are also claim limits on treatments such as radiotherapy and implants.
With Enhanced IncomeShield, you can enjoy as-charged coverage1 for selected inpatient and outpatient hospital treatment expenses.
Instead of having to worry about topping up the payments if the bill exceeds the MediSave limits, you can rely on Enhanced IncomeShield to reduce out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Three Tiers of Plans for Different Needs
We all have different financial and medical needs. That’s why Enhanced IncomeShield has three different types of plans, designed to provide a range of coverage for your family’s needs.
Enhanced IncomeShield Preferred: This popular plan allows you to upgrade your ward entitlement to standard room in a private hospital or private medical institute and choose to have any doctor treat you. The limit in each policy year is also boosted from MediShield Life’s $150,000 to $1.5 million.
Enhanced IncomeShield Advantage: This plan has a limit in each policy year of up to $500,000 and supports a stay in a Class A ward and below in a restructured hospital.
Enhanced IncomeShield Basic: You can use this to increase the limit in each policy year up to $250,000 and it supports a stay in a Class B1 ward and below in a restructured hospital
You can refer to the full list of benefits for the different tiers of Enhance IncomeShield plan here.
4. Pay for Premiums with MediSave
You will also appreciate that the premiums for Enhanced IncomeShield can be paid for using your MediSave account, up to certain MediSave withdrawal limits. This reduces the amount of cash that you will have to pay for the premiums to enjoy enhanced coverage.
For families, this is especially welcomed since Enhanced IncomeShield can also be purchased for your children, providing coverage for the entire family.
5. Option to Enhance Coverage with Riders
You can add on a rider to your Enhanced IncomeShield plan for even greater benefits and keep your out-of-pocket expenses on hospital bills affordable. Having a rider also reduces the co-payment that you will have to pay.
If your insured child3 gets warded, you will be glad to know that a rider covers up to $80 per day3 for the cost of an extra bed for you to sleep over at the hospital with your child.
Other benefits include additional coverage for outpatient cancer drug treatments listed on the Cancer Drug List (CDL treatments), as well as selected cancer drug treatments not listed on the CDL (non-CDL treatments) with the additional cancer drug treatment benefit4,5.
Enjoy 20% Off First-Year Premium Till 31 December 2023
From now till 31 December 2023, Income has a promotion where you can get 20% off your first-year premium (on the main plan only and for the additional private insurance coverage portion) on selected health insurance plans!
What’s more, this promotion also applies to the IncomeShield Standard Plan, an alternative insurance plan that complements MediShield Life coverage with a limit in each policy year of up to $200,000.
This current promotion from Income is a great opportunity to enjoy savings while gaining greater peace of mind that you and your family are financially protected in the event of unexpected medical situations. Policy and promotion Terms and Conditions apply^.
If you have not already considered a health insurance plan, don’t put it off. Find out about how you and your family can get protected with Income’s Enhanced IncomeShield or IncomeShield Standard Plan.
This feature is brought to you by Income.
1 Income will reimburse the eligible hospitalisation cost you have incurred, subject to deductible, co-insurance, admission of ward class, benefit limits and any other policy terms (including exclusions).
2 An additional claim limit of $200 per day applies for the first two days.
3 For a maximum of 10 days each hospital stay. The insured child must be aged 18 years or below during the stay in the hospital under the insured child’s policy.
4 The benefit limit is based on a multiple of the MSHL Limit for the specific cancer drug treatment. Refer to the Cancer Drug List (CDL) published at go.gov.sg/mohcancerdruglist for the applicable MSHL Limit. MOH may update this list from time to time. The cancer drug services benefit limit (if applicable) is based on a multiple of the MSHL Limit for cancer drug services. Refer to the MediShield Life Benefits published at go.gov.sg/mshlbenefits for the applicable MSHL Limit.
5 For outpatient cancer drug treatments not on the CDL, Income covers only treatments with drug classes A to E (according to LIA’s Non-CDL Classification Framework). Refer to https://www.lia.org.sg/media/3553/non-cdl-classification-framework.pdf for more details. LIA may update the list from time to time.
^For full promotion terms and conditions, please refer to https://www.income.com.sg/promotions/health-promotion
Enhanced IncomeShield is available as a MediSave-approved Integrated Shield Plan for insured who is a Singapore Citizen or a Singapore Permanent Resident. This applies as long as the insured meets the eligibility conditions under MediShield Life. If the insured is a foreigner who has an eligible valid pass with a foreign identification number (FIN), Enhanced IncomeShield is not available as an Integrated Shield Plan.
This article is for general information and should not be relied as financial advice. All opinion and information in this article are solely those of Little Day Out. Little Day Out is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all information and intellectual property used in this article. Income is not responsible to any party for this article. You should seek advice from a qualified advisor if in doubt. Buying insurance that are not suitable for you may impact your ability to finance your future insurance needs. Precise terms, conditions and exclusions of the plan are found in the policy contract. This plan is underwritten and issued by Income.
The precise terms, conditions and exclusions of these plans are specified in their respective policy contract. All of Income’s products are developed to benefit our customers but not all our products may be suitable for your specific needs. If you are unsure if a product is suitable for you, we strongly encourage you to speak to a qualified Income insurance advisor. Otherwise, you may end up purchasing a product that does not meet your expectations or needs. As a result, you may not be able to afford the premiums or get the insurance protection you seek. If you find that this plan is not suitable after purchasing it, you may terminate it within the free-look period, and obtain a refund of premiums paid.
This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Protected up to specified limits by SDIC.
Information is correct as at 8 November 2023.
