Under the Radar: Singlife’s Group CEO on the firm’s move to provide comprehensive insurance for dementia, preventative care amid ageing population

The Evening Runway with Hongbin Jeong, Roshan Gidwani and Chua Tian Tian

It’s all about insurance coverage today as we speak to a company that provides coverage for Singaporeans including the nation’s protectors – the MINDEF.

Formed by the merger of Aviva Singapore and Singlife in a deal valued at S$3.2 billion in 2020, the current Singlife is one of the largest homegrown financial services companies in the lion city.

The company offers a variety of insurance products ranging from life insurance, medical insurance, car insurance, travel insurance, home insurance, to investment linked-plans.

It is also seeing a number of key developments of late. For one thing, the company has become a fully owned subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Life in a transaction valuing Singlife at S$4.6 billion.

The insurer said the ownership change will not affect its day-to-day operations, but will enable Singlife to pursue its long-term growth ambitions, with the capital to drive regional expansion and to grow as an integrated financial services company.

But what can we expect when it comes to Singlife’s strategic direction for the future?

Speaking of strategic direction, Singlife had in May this year launched what it calls the Singlife Dementia Cover. Touted as the market’s first insurance plan offering yearly payouts for persons with dementia, the policy also covers other mental health conditions such as bipolar and schizophrenia disorder.

But what were the complexities in valuing the insurance premiums and payouts for conditions relating to dementia, versus other health conditions such as cancer? And how does such a product pipeline position Singlife as a first mover in the silver economy?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Pearlyn Phau, Group CEO, Singlife.

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