Singlife with Aviva Life Insurance Singapore — MoneySmart Review 2021

NOTE: Aviva is now Singlife with Aviva

Shopping around for life insurance policies can be quite tedious because there are so many insurance companies out there, each offering a seemingly confusing selection of plans.

This series is intended to help you understand at a glance the main life insurance offerings from Singapore’s major insurers so you have a better idea of which company’s agents to speak with.

This time, we’ll check out the life insurance offerings from Aviva Singapore.

Why consider life insurance from Aviva Singapore?

Aviva is a British insurance company with its main headquarters in London. It operates in several countries all over the world, including Singapore, Indonesia, India and China.

But if we didn’t tell you this, you’d probably know of Aviva as “that NS insurance company”. They’re the appointed insurer for MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance in Singapore. So anyone who has served NS would have been covered by them at that point.

Apart from covering NSFs and those working in MINDEF/MHA, Aviva Singapore is one of 7 MOH-approved companies providing Integrated Shield health insurance targeted at Singaporeans and PRs.

In short, Aviva is a sufficiently well-known brand for Singaporeans to feel comfortable purchasing life insurance from.

Aviva has both term and whole life insurance plans. Term life insurance plans are for those who just want life insurance protection (ie. a payout if you die) for a specific period of time without any wealth accumulation.

Meanwhile, whole life insurance plans are intended to offer lifelong or almost lifelong protection, while at the same time helping you accumulate cash value.

To learn more about the differences between the two, check out these MoneySmart articles:

• Life Insurance in Singapore — The Basics of Whole Life and Term Insurance
• Term Life vs Whole Life Insurance in Singapore — Which Is Better for You?

Aviva MyProtector – Term Plan II (term insurance)

Aviva’s signature term insurance plan is called MyProtector – Term Plan II. With a low minimum sum assured of $100,000 for death or terminal illness, this is one option if you’re looking for a cheap and basic term insurance policy.

One of the most important things to decide when buying term insurance is how long you need to be protected. MyProtector gives you a choice between coverage for 5, 10 or 11 years, or until the age of 85.

If you want more flexibility, there are several options you can pick.

• Guaranteed Renewal Option – Lets you renew your plan every 5 or 10 years without further medical underwriting
• Guaranteed Convertibility Option – You can swap the policy out for an endowment plan or whole life plan without further medical underwriting so long as you are under 65
• Guaranteed Issuance Option – Increase your coverage at certain milestone events such as graduation, marriage, divorce, the birth of a child or the purchase of a home

To beef up your protection even further, you can choose between these riders:

• TPD Advance Cover Plus II – Extends your coverage to total and permanent disability.
• CI Advance Cover Plus III – Covers you for advanced stage critical illnesses.
• MultiPay Critical Illness Cover IV – Covers you for early, intermediate and severe stage critical illnesses.
• Early Critical Illness Premium Waiver II – Waives future premiums if you are diagnosed with an early stage critical illness.
• Critical Illness Premium Waiver II – Waives future premiums if you are diagnosed with a critical illness.
• Payer Critical Illness Premium Waiver II – Waives future premiums for a someone else’s insurance plan you’re paying for if you get diagnosed with a critical illness.
• Payer Premium Waiver Benefit – Waives future premiums for a someone else’s insurance plan you’re paying for if you pass away, suffer from total and permanent disability or terminal illness.

Sample premium: $26.15 a month for 30-year-old male non-smoker with sum assured of $500,000 for 20 years.

Aviva MyProtector – Decreasing (mortgage insurance)

Aviva MyProtector – Decreasing is an insurance plan that’s meant to cover your liabilities like outstanding sums on your home loan if you die or get diagnosed with a terminal illness. The coverage term can be as short as from 10 years, and as long as up to age 99.

This plan is called “decreasing” because your sum assured decreases over time as you pay off more and more of your loan. When your debts have been fully repaid, your sum assured reaches zero and the insurance plan’s term comes to an end.

You can select an interest rate from 1% to 9% to match your loan to ensure that the coverage decreases in tandem with your total payments.

Many insurers’ decreasing term insurance plans are meant only for mortgages, but Aviva’s can be used for other types of liabilities such as car loans or children’s school fees.

The following riders can make your coverage more comprehensive:

• Total and Permanent Disability Benefit – Extends your coverage to total and permanent disability
• Critical Illness Accelerated Benefit II – Covers you if you are diagnosed with a critical illness.
• Critical Illness Premium Waiver II – Waives future premiums if you get diagnosed with a critical illness.

Sample premium: $34.12 a month for 30-year-old male non-smoker with sum assured of $500,000 for 20 years.

Aviva MyWholeLife Plan III (whole life insurance)

Aviva’s main whole life insurance policy is called MyWholeLife Plan III. This plan offers lifetime coverage for death or terminal illness.

Although coverage is lifelong, you do not have to pay premiums forever. You can choose a premium payment term ranging from 10 to 25 years.

Your premiums will be used to help you build cash value. It is a participating plan, which means that you have the chance to earn bonuses, dividends or non-guaranteed benefits.

Upon maturity, you will receive any cash value accumulated up to that point as well as any bonuses that have been earned. You can also choose a multiplier of up to X4 in order to increase your base coverage.

Don’t need so much coverage right now? You can increase your coverage at certain milestone events, like marriage or the birth of a child without going through further health underwriting.

One interesting feature of this plan is that it gives you the option to receive a monthly income up to the age of 99, which is ideal if you’re looking to supplement your retirement income.

Finally, if you lose your job for at least 3 months, you can enjoy an interest waiver on your premiums.

The following riders are available for this plan:

• TPD Advance Cover II – Extends your coverage to total and permanent disability.
• CI Advance Cover IV – Covers you for advanced stage critical illnesses.
• Early Critical Illness Advance Cover IV – Covers you for early stage critical illnesses.
• Critical Illness Premium Waiver II – Waives future premiums if you are diagnosed with a critical illness.
• Payer Critical Illness Premium Waiver II – Waives future premiums for a someone else’s insurance plan you’re paying for if you get diagnosed with a critical illness.
• Payer Premium Waiver Benefit – Waives future premiums for a someone else’s insurance plan you’re paying for if you pass away, suffer from total and permanent disability or terminal illness.

Sample premium: $179.80 a month for 30-year-old male non-smoker with $100,000 sum assured, X2 multiplier and premium payment term of 20 years.

Which Aviva life insurance policy is best?

Aviva’s term and whole life insurance policies offer comprehensive coverage and a high level of flexibility at relatively affordable prices. The 3 plans highlighted above have little-to-no overlap in terms of coverage, so choosing one is really about assessing your needs.

If you’re looking for the most basic life insurance policy to cover your dependents with a lump sum payout should anything happen to you, then Aviva MyProtector – Term Plan II is the right one.

While other term insurance policies start from $500,000 sum assured, Aviva’s starts from $100,000. So if you don’t need that much coverage, you can opt for a lower sum assured, which means cheaper premiums.

If you’re concerned more about covering your mortgage or other liabilities — rather than providing your loved ones with a payout — then the Aviva MyProtector Decreasing plan is better. With a decreasing sum assured, you don’t end up overpaying for protection you don’t need.

Due to the high premiums and low coverage, we usually don’t recommend whole life insurance to just about anybody, unless you are interested in the cash value component.

However, if you are in the market for such a plan, Aviva’s MyWholeLife Plan III is a noteworthy option. Unlike other
“whole life” plans that cover only up to age 99, Aviva covers your whole life.

Together with a rider to cover you for total and permanent disability, it can adapt itself to a wide range of life situations thanks to the options to increase coverage at certain milestones and receive a retirement income.