Policyholders of Shield Plans can now switch more easily from their existing plans with other insurers to Prudential Singapore's PRUShield policies and supplementary plans (riders), through PRUShield EasySwitch.
From 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2023, eligible individuals will only need to answer three health questions instead of undergoing the underwriting process from scratch and completing the full health questionnaire.
If their application is accepted, the inception date of their existing Shield policy will be recognised for their new PRUShield policy. This means that Prudential will take into consideration the date of inception of the Shield policy with the existing insurer as the policy inception date with Prudential, and all benefits and the claims assessment process will also apply accordingly.
It also means that for conditions where waiting periods are usually applicable, such waiting periods will now be waived, subject to the duration of the previous policy.
There are about 71% (2.9 million lives) of Singapore residents who are protected by Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) which provide coverage on top of MediShield Life.
Mr Ben Tan, Chief Corporate Development Officer of Prudential Singapore, said, "We introduced PRUShield EasySwitch to make it simple and more convenient for Shield policyholders who want to switch their plans to Prudential.
“Individuals may wish to do so for reasons such as consolidating their policies under one insurer for convenience or enjoying better benefits. Some people hesitate to switch as they worry about undergoing the full underwriting process again, and others may also find porting their Shield policies to a new insurer to be a complex and time-consuming process. With EasySwitch, they have more peace of mind."