ICMIF member NTUC Income (Income) has staked its claim its lead as a digital health insurer in Singapore as the company is the first to offer Integrated Shield Plan (IP) digitally this month via the online portal, healthinsurance.income.com.sg. Income says this marks a milestone in the organisation’s transformation into a digital insurance offering in Singapore. Income is moving towards the digitalisation of its business in a bid to offer customers choice, 24/7 accessibility to insurance and a seamless consumer journey in today’s highly agile business landscape.
Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) are private insurance plans for hospitalisation as taken out by many Singaporeans. These IPs have two components:
The first is a “MediShield Life” component run by the Singapore Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board*. The second is an additional private insurance coverage component run by private insurers such as NTUC Income, typically to cover certain types of wards in public or private hospitals. The private IP insurers act as a single point of contact for IP policyholders, even though they work with CPF Board back-end on premium collection and claims disbursement for the MediShield Life component.
New online portal offers a seamless user experience and safeguards customers’ interests
Prior to healthinsurance.income.com.sg, much of the fact-finding, decision-making and purchasing of IP products by customers in Singapore could only be made offline. Those interested in taking out an IP could obtain a quote online but would still require an insurance advisor to follow up with them based on the initial information submitted to complete the purchase.
Income says that its new digital proposition will give customers heightened accessibility, convenience and speed which the company says will define a new standard for purchasing IPs and also for any subsequent claims or management of a policy.
Most significantly, Income says, new customers with no pre-existing health conditions will enjoy instant approval and coverage within five-to-10 minutes of making an application. Claiming a pre and post-hospitalisation bill can also be completed in seconds by submitting a photo of the bill to the online portal, eliminating the delay associated with paper submissions.
Mr Peter Tay (pictured), Income’s Chief Operating Officer, said, “The new digital proposition plays to the way customers access, engage and use information digitally these days. They are accustomed to quick gratifications from online transactions that are often supported by a seamless user experience. In this regard, we aim to live-up to such an expectation and have designed our customer journey on the new online portal based on feedback from consumers. We see value in setting a new standard for customers – old and new – to learn about, engage with and enjoy a positive experience with IP as it is such an essential scheme to safeguard the long-term medical and hospitalisation needs of Singaporeans at large.
*The Central Provident Fund is a compulsory comprehensive savings plan for working Singaporeans and permanent residents primarily to fund their retirement, healthcare, and housing needs. The CPF is an employment based savings scheme with employers and employees contributing a mandated amount to the Fund.
