SINGAPORE: The Life Insurance Association (LIA) has formed committees and working groups to further study the recommendations of the Health Insurance Task Force (HITF), and said on Tuesday (Nov 8) it will take around six months to look into the various issues raise in its report.
LIA was speaking to reporters at a media conference for its third quarter results.
In the report released last month, HITF said collaboration among industry stakeholders was “critical in addressing the escalation of healthcare costs and insurance claims”.
The taskforce recommended a number of “targeted measures” with the aim of steering stakeholders towards “more efficient outcomes specifically to keep claims escalation in check and Integrated Shield Plan (IP) premium levels affordable”.
LIA President Khoo Kah Siang said the association fully embraces the task force’s recommendations, and in particular will focus on areas such as the forming of doctors’ panels, preauthorisations, and considerations of deductibles for co-insurance.
Dr Khoo added that the association “recognises the need to work with other stakeholders”, including the Ministry of Health and the Singapore Medical Association.
According to latest numbers from LIA, total weighted premiums in the life insurance industry fell by 1 per cent in the third quarter of this year. Annual premiums however, grew by around 6 per cent for the quarter ending September.
But on a year to date basis, total weighted premiums increased by 8 per cent, reaching S$2.3 billion on the whole.
Meanwhile, the association also said it saw 10,000 more Singapore residents take up additional health insurance coverage, Integrated Shield or Integrated Shield riders.
All in, new health insurance premiums totalled S$172 million for the year to date, where IP premiums and IP riders accounted for around 85 per cent.
The association has also started tracking statistics on products that provide regular payout to policyholders during retirement years. Such plans account for around 5 per cent of total weighted premiums for the year to date, where 14,519 policies were sold.
The association said it expects the weak economic climate to pose a challenge to insurers, such as in the area of savings and investment-linked policies. But Dr Khoo said he remains optimistic in the area of protection coverage, where the association sees a gap in areas such as disability and death protection.
