This post was written in collaboration with Singlife. While we are financially compensated by them, we nonetheless strive to maintain our editorial integrity and review products with the same objective lens. We are committed to providing the best recommendations and advice in order for you to make personal financial decisions with confidence. You can view our Editorial Guidelines here.
During the circuit breaker months, I had been spending most of my waking hours at home, and only leaving the house for necessities. It almost felt surreal, as many things had come to a slowdown due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak.
Even my own physical activity saw a double-digit decline.
Singapore has since progressed to Phase 2 of the circuit breaker, and there’s more hustle and bustle as retail outlets open for business and dining in (with safe distancing measures) is now allowed.
However, as our economy (and my physical activity) slowly rouses, one thing’s for sure — the money in my Singlife Account policy continues to work hard for me.
Well, if you’re not on board yet, the Singlife Account is an insurance savings plan which allows you to save, spend, earn and be insured.
It offers up to 2.5% p.a.^ returns. Return is calculated daily and credited on a monthly basis. There is no lock-in period for your Singlife Account policy. This means you have full access to your money and you can make a withdrawal at any time without any fees incurred.
Singlife Account provides life insurance cover for death or terminal illness. There’s also a limited-time offer of retrenchment cover. You will receive a payout up to S$10,000 over 3 months if you are retrenched.
You can even apply for a complimentary Visa debit card, and there are no FX fees on overseas spend.
Everything’s on the Singlife App, so it’s easy to track your returns, stay up to date with your transactions and FAST transfer money in and out from your Singlife Account.
To get started, you only need to fund an initial premium of S$500 into your policy, and keep your account value above S$100 to continue earning returns.
Let’s take a closer look at its features:
Savings element
Every small step goes a long way to achieve your aspirations in life. Scaling your saving goals may seem like a tall order and Singlife Account is here to make your money work harder for you.
You get:
- 2.5% p.a.^ returns on first S$10,000
- 1% p.a.^ returns on amounts above S$10,000
- No returns for amounts above S$100,000
Life insurance cover
Each Singlife Account policy provides life insurance cover for death or terminal illness, up to 105% of the account value.
This makes a Singlife Account policy a useful complement to your existing life insurance policy.
Retrenchment cover
Having been in the workforce for over a decade, I’ve seen my fair share of older colleagues, peers and even fresh grads losing their jobs due to retrenchment.
Sadly, it’s not that they didn’t ace their jobs… this could be due to role redundancies or the company cutting costs in difficult times.
The Singlife Account provides a limited time offer retrenchment cover based on your Singlife Card spend to help the individual or his/her family tide through a period with no income. This is especially important for the sandwiched generation — those among us who have both little ones and older folks to support (because kena “kiap” in between, you know?).
With the unpredictability of life, every little bit helps!
Flexibility and liquidity
As mentioned earlier, the good thing about the Singlife Account is that there’s no lock-in period. You can apply for the Singlife Account plan by funding an initial premium of S$500, and just keep your account value above S$100 to keep earning returns.
No worries about missing out on the returns if you need to make a big ticket purchase — returns are calculated on a daily basis and credited monthly to your account value.
You can even apply for a complimentary Visa debit card, and there are no FX fees on overseas spend.
Mobile app for on-the-go transactions
Living in this digital age, almost everything is in our mobile phone — ibanking apps, social media, movies, games, and so on. So it only makes sense that we can access our insurance information and make transactions on the go as well.
There’s actually a term for insurance companies that are riding the digital wave — insurtech (insurance technology). And Singlife is one such company that places great emphasis on technology to benefit its customers.
The Singlife App is really handy for managing my Singlife Account policy. I can check my transactions on the go, make FAST transfers, and so on.
A financial institution you can trust
Even when buying life insurance from a big name or trusting a friend’s recommendation, it’s always good to check that the company is a trusted financial institution.
Singlife is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a life insurance company, and all Singlife policies (including the Singlife Account) are protected up to specified limits by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Singlife was also named as one of the emerging 50 on the Fintech 100 list in 2018, which announces the world’s “top 50” and “emerging 50” companies that are transforming the financial services industry in the areas of digital payments, lending, insurtech and neo-banking.
And for the Fintech100 list released in 2019, Singlife rose to #40 on the list.
Singlife has good financial standing with attractive capital injections, as judged by a panel that includes senior partners from H2 Ventures and KPMG. Singlife is also backed by industry-recognised leaders, namely IPGL (Holdings) Limited, Sumitomo Life, Aflac Inc. and Aberdeen Standard Investments.
They have secured a US$90 million investment from Sumitomo Life Insurance — a major life insurance in Japan in 2019 and that brings their total funding to date to US$153 million.
Singlife has been rolling out insurance plans since 2017 that include term life, critical illness (CI), cancer, endowment and universal life.
Consider upsizing your protection with other Singlife solutions
According to the Life Insurance Association Singapore’s press release of the Protection Gap Study 2017, as a general rule of thumb, economically active adults in Singapore require an average CI coverage of approximately 3.9 times their annual income to be adequately insured and financially supported in their recovery. On the other hand, approximately 9 – 10 times annual income would be the average protection coverage required in the event of death.
If you accumulate a lot of wealth but have no protection, it takes but 1 mishap for a huge chunk of your hard-earned money to be spent .
To put it bluntly, if you’re not protected against the what-ifs in life, then you may have neglected the basic aspect of your planning.
Singlife Account provides you with life insurance coverage that pays up to 105% of the account value in the event of death or terminal illness. You can also upsize your protection with Singlife’s term life insurance that can get you covered for up to S$2,000,000 at affordable premiums, so that you are adequately covered for unfortunate events in life.
With Singlife’s critical illness insurance, you will receive a lump sum payout if you suffer from one of the covered critical illnesses, such as cancer, heart attack, kidney failure and stroke.
In addition, Singlife’s cancer insurance can protect you and your loved ones from the high financial costs of cancer, and you can start as low as $7.10 a month+ for a $60,000 cover.
Ready to start protecting you and your family?
Find out more about the Singlife Account plan as well as Singlife’s other insurance solutions now.
^2.5% p.a. returns on first S$10,000 | 1% p.a. returns on amounts above S$10,000 | There are no returns for amounts above S$100,000. | Crediting rates (returns) are not guaranteed.
+Quote is based on 30 year old male, non-smoker, Cancer Plan with 10 years policy term
The information is meant for your general knowledge and does not regard any specific investment objectives, financial situations or particular needs any person might have and should not be relied upon as the provision of financial advice.
Protected up to specified limits by SDIC.
This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Information is correct as at 29 June 2020.
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