Singlife's SAF/MINDEF & MHA Group Insurance Review [2024]

Singlife’s SAF/MINDEF & MHA Group Insurance Review

Here's Why 30,000+ Readers Trust Us Monthly

At Dollar Bureau, we’re committed to providing you with reliable, unbiased financial guidance. Our content is crafted by everyday Singaporeans who are trained in finance and insurance, ensuring relatable and practical guidance. We uphold strict editorial independence, regularly update our reviews, and value your feedback to keep our information accurate and relevant.

Discover more about our editorial guidelines here.

mindef saf group insurance review
Follow us here:

Table of Contents

The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have a joint group insurance product for SAF, SPF, SCDF, and affiliated members.

Often an attractive option due to its extremely cheap premiums, many still don’t fully understand its pros and cons.

In this post, we’ll break down the group plan offered by MINDEF and MHA and shared our thoughts on where it belongs in your insurance portfolio.

Keep reading.

My Review of the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance

As you will see from the advantages and disadvantages section of this post, you probably can tell what I think about the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance plan.

To summarise, for the coverage you’re getting, the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance is incredibly cheap up until you turn 65, of which prices significantly increase to a point that it doesn’t make sense to keep – unless it’s your only insurance policy.

The Group Term Life is no-frills for a term plan, and the Group Personal Injury is of great value for a personal accident insurance plan.

The ECI rider could use much more work, but the CI rider is still of value if budget is a constraint.

I have nothing much to say about the disability income benefits, but I think the Outpatient Medicare rider is good for self-employed individuals or freelancers.

These individuals tend to have no outpatient benefits that salaried employees would have from their companies, so I definitely see some value there.

Who would I recommend the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance for?

I believe it’s best for those on a tight budget. It’s much cheaper than personal insurance plans; at least you’ll get some insurance coverage rather than none.

I also believe that it’s great for those looking to supplement their current insurance coverage.

For example, already have a whole life plan but need to temporarily boost your death/TPD/TI coverage due to some liabilities? Get it cheaply covered with this.

Not sure if you should still get this or looking to fill in gaps in your coverage?

I suggest talking to our partnered MAS-licensed financial advisors to see where it fits in your policy. Our partners love the Singlife MINDEF Insurance plan due to how much value it gives and have recommended it on many occasions.

If you would like to learn more about how to use the MINDEF term plan to your advantage, have a free, non-obligatory chat with one of our partners.

Click here to get started.

MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance Schemes

MINDEF & MHA Group Insurance offers 2 schemes.

The schemes offer income support and protection to employees and their families during unanticipated events such as accidents, illnesses, or injuries.

These group insurance schemes often have their rates heavily subsidised, making them an inexpensive choice for employees and servicemen alike.

Core Scheme

The MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance has a Core Scheme that provides coverage and support for national servicemen, regulars, and volunteers.

Offering up to $300,000 in Group Term Life coverage, MINDEF and MHA fully funds the scheme.

Voluntary Scheme

This scheme enables you to supplement your coverage under the Core Scheme (or even your entire insurance coverage) and insure your dependents.

Under this Voluntary Scheme, you can choose from group term life insurance, personal accident, early critical illness (ECI), and critical illness (CI).

With this scheme, you can choose a maximum coverage limit of S$1,000,000 for your Group Term Life and Group Personal Injury, and up to $500,000 in ECI and CI coverage.

Even after your service ends, the coverage can stay in effect until age 70 as long as the premiums are paid.

MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance Eligibility

The MINDEF & MHA Group Insurance provides coverage to members of the SAF, SPF, SCDF, and their families.

To keep this simple, the following table highlights the eligibility requirements for MINDEF and MHA Group Insurance:

Category Details
Full-Time National Servicemen (NSFs).
  • Everyone
Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen).
  • Below 40 for non-officer ranks
  • Below 50 for officer ranks
Regular servicemen, whether Full-time, Part-time or Contract Service)
  • MINDEF/SAF [including Defence Executive Ocers (DXOs)]
  • Singapore Police Force (SPF)
  • Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)
  • Singapore Prison Service (SPS)
  • Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB)
  • Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
Public Officers working with MINDEF and MHA.
  • Everyone
Volunteers in various fields;
  • SAF Volunteer Corps (SAF VC)
  • NS Volunteers (or equivalent)
  • Reservist On Voluntary Extended Reserve Services (ROVERS)
  • SPF Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC)
  • SCDF Civil Defence Auxiliary Unit (CDAU)
Affiliated members
  • Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA)/DSTA-affiliated entities
  • MINDEF-related Organisations (MROs)
  • Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA)
  • Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRSG)
  • Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX)
  • MHA-related Organisations

Spouses and children (up to 25 years old) of the above individuals may also receive coverage from this plan.

These eligibility criteria apply to the Group Term Life and Group Personal Injury plans that are considered as base plans.

MINDEF/MHA Group Term Life Insurance Features

These are the features of the Group Term Life insurance:

  • Get coverage starting from $10,000 up to $1,000,000; in multiples of $10,000
  • Levelled premiums until you are 65 years old; premiums increase significantly yearly until 70
  • Medical underwriting exemption for up to S$300,000 of coverage
  • Daily hospital cash benefits of $30/day from the 11th to the 40th day of the hospital stay
  • If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, you will receive an advance of 100% and a S$400,000 benefit.
  • Global coverage
  • If death occurs, the spouse of the primary assured can continue to get benefits.

 

Benefit Sum Assured Remarks
Death 100% of Sum Insured
  • No payment due to suicide
  • No payouts will be given due to existing conditions for those without medical underwriting unless you’ve been insured for 12 continuous months under this policy.
  • In the event of war or acts of terrorism, there is only a 0.75% sub-limit of the aggregate sum insured payable.
Total and Permanent Disability Benefit (TPD) 100% of Sum Insured The insured must meet either Part 1 or Part 2 to qualify for this benefit

  • Part 1: You must be totally and permanently disabled that you are unable to find a job in any profession
  • Part 2: The total and irrecoverable:
    • (i) loss of the sight of both eyes; or
    • (ii) loss by severance of or total and permanent loss of use of both hands at or above the wrists; or
    • (iii) loss by severance of or total and permanent loss of use of both feet at or above the ankles; or
    • (iv) loss by severance of or total and permanent loss of use of one hand at or above the wrist and one foot at or above the ankle; or
    • (v) loss of sight of one eye and loss by severance of or total and permanent loss of use of one hand at or above the wrist or one foot at or above the ankle.

 

No payment due to self-inflicted injuries

In the event of war or acts of terrorism, there is only a 0.75% sub-limit of the aggregate sum insured payable.

Terminal Illness Benefit 100% of Sum Insured (up to S$400,000)
  • The insured must be diagnosed with any disease that will lead to death within 12 months.
  • No other benefit under this policy or its riders must be claimed before
  • In the event of war or acts of terrorism, there is only a 0.75% sub-limit of the aggregate sum insured payable
Daily Hospital Cash Benefit S$30 per day from the 11th day onwards for up to 30 days
  • In the event of war or acts of terrorism, there is only a 0.75% sub-limit of the aggregate sum insured payable

If your claim is valid and you have a sum assured of above $200,000, Singlife will only pay a lump sum of $200,000, and the remainder will be paid in 3 equal annual instalments.

How much does the MINDEF/MHA Group Term Life Insurance Costs?

Here is a table to illustrate how much the MINDEF/MHA Group Term Insurance costs:

singlife mindef term life insurance premiums

As you can see, the premiums are extremely affordable if you’re 65 and below, with $100,000 coverage starting at $2.50/month.

However, once you’re above 65 years old, the group term insurance plan starts to get more expensive – so depending on your current insurance coverage, it might be best to surrender this when you turn 65.

Note that these premiums are for the base plan covering death, TPD, TI, and daily hospital cash benefits.

So if you opt for additional coverage, there will be a separate cost incurred for those riders.

Also, although the premiums are supposedly levelled, since this is a group policy, Singlife/MINDEF/MHA might adjust the premiums upwards or downwards.

MINDEF/MHA Group Personal Injury Features

Similar to the Group Term Life plan, the Group Personal Injury is a base plan that you can add riders.

These are the features of the MINDEF/MHA Group Personal Injury plan:

  • Coverage starting from $10,000 for up to $1,000,000, in multiples of $10,000
  • Receive 100% of sum assured if death was due to an accident
  • Receive 150% of sum assured if TPD was due to an accident
  • Receive the following if Total and Permanent Dismemberment was due to an accident:

singlife mindef mha group insurance schedule of indemnities

  • Receive the following if you’re injured due to an accident:

singlife mindef mha group insurance injured due to accident

  • Receive the following if there are simple fractures due to an accident:

singlife mindef mha group insurance simple fractures

Other benefits include:

Disappearance 100% of sum insured
Ambulance costs Up to $500/accident
Mobility aid upon Accidental Total & Up to

Permanent Disablement

Up to $10,000
Home Rehabilitation Renovation Expenses Up to $10,000
Accidental Hospital Recuperation Benefit $250
Child Education Fund Benefit $5,000/child for up to 2 children
Compassionate Death Allowance Benefit Up to $2,000
Comatose State Lump Sum Benefit 15% of Sum Insured or up to S$50,000, whichever is lesser
Death due to natural catastrophe 15% of Sum Insured or up to S$50,000, whichever is lesser

In the event of war or acts of terrorism, Singlife’s liability is subject to a sub-limit of 0.75% of the aggregate sum insured.

The insured must meet either Part 1 or Part 2 to qualify for this benefit

  • Part 1: You must be totally and permanently disabled that you are unable to find a job in any profession
  • Part 2: The total and irrecoverable:
    • (i) loss of the sight of both eyes; or
    • (ii) loss by severance of or total and permanent loss of use of both hands at or above the wrists; or
    • (iii) loss by severance of or total and permanent loss of use of both feet at or above the ankles; or
    • (iv) loss by severance of or total and permanent loss of use of one hand at or above the wrist and one foot at or above the ankle; or
    • (v) loss of sight of one eye and loss by severance of or total and permanent loss of use of one hand at or above the wrist or one foot at or above the ankle.

 

No payment due to self-inflicted injuries.

If your claim is valid and you have a sum assured of above $200,000, Singlife will only pay a lump sum of $200,000, and the remainder will be paid in 3 equal annual instalments.

How much does the MINDEF/MHA Group Personal Injury Insurance Cost?

Here’s a table showing how much the MINDEF/MHA Group Personal Injury insurance costs:

singlife mindef mha group insurance personal injury premiums

As you can see, the premiums are affordable, with a $1,000,000 coverage cost of only $60/year before GST.

This is much cheaper than what other personal accident insurance plan offers.

Of course, these premiums are not levelled and may change in pricing depending on Singlife, MINDEF, and MHA.

But I doubt it’ll increase to the point where it’s more expensive than getting a personal plan.

Optional Add-On Riders

With the Voluntary Scheme, you can enhance coverage by choosing add-ons for critical illness, early critical illness, disability income, and outpatient medicare.

These add-ons will require any base plans above – the Group Term Life or Group Personal Injury.

If you wish, you can add all the riders, which will also apply to your spouse and/or children.

Group Living Care

This Group Living Care rider provides additional protection against 37 severe-stage critical illnesses following the same definitions as private insurance plans.

The 37 critical illnesses covered are:

  1. Major Cancer
  2. Heart Attack of Specified Severity
  3. Stroke with Permanent Neurological Deficit
  4. Coronary Artery By-pass Surgery
  5. End Stage Kidney Failure
  6. Irreversible Aplastic Anaemia
  7. End Stage Lung Disease
  8. End Stage Liver Failure
  9. Coma
  10. Deafness (Irreversible Loss of Hearing)
  11. Open Chest Heart Valve Surgery
  12. Irreversible Loss of Speech
  13. Major Burns
  14. Major Organ / Bone Marrow Transplantation
  15. Multiple Sclerosis
  16. Muscular Dystrophy
  17. Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease
  18. Open Chest Surgery to Aorta
  19. Alzheimer’s Disease / Severe Dementia
  20. Fulminant Hepatitis
  21. Motor Neurone Disease
  22. Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
  23. HIV Due to Blood Transfusion and Occupationally Acquired HIV
  24. Benign Brain Tumour
  25. Severe Encephalitis
  26. Severe Bacterial Meningitis
  27. Angioplasty & Other Invasive Treatment For Coronary Artery
  28. Blindness (Irreversible Loss of Sight)
  29. Major Head Trauma
  30. Paralysis (Irreversible Loss of Use of Limbs)
  31. Terminal Illness
  32. Progressive Scleroderma
  33. Persistent Vegetative State (Apallic Syndrome)
  34. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with Lupus Nephritis
  35. Other Serious Coronary Artery Disease
  36. Poliomyelitis
  37. Loss of Independent Existence

 

You can enjoy coverage of up to $500,000, receiving your claim in a single payment.

Best part? This is not an accelerated payment, meaning your sum assured from your base plan will be untouched!

Here’s how much the Group Living Care rider will cost in addition to your base plan:

singlife saf insurance group living care premiums

Similar to the base plan, this CI rider is affordable until you are 65 years old and gets significantly expensive until you’re 70.

So depending on your total life insurance coverage, it might be better to surrender the rider once you’re 65.

Note that although this is a non-accelerated benefit, you will still need to choose a sum insured equal to or lesser than your base plan.

So if your base plan only has a sum insured of $200,000, this rider can only insure you for up to $200,000.

Premiums are also non-levelled and might be revised on a yearly basis, depending on Singlife, MINDEF, and MHA.

However, even CI premiums for personal plans are non-guaranteed; I’d just believe there’s a higher chance of this plan’s premiums being adjusted than a personal one.

Waiting Period

For the first 90 days of you purchasing or reinstating this policy, Singlife will not be liable to pay if you’re diagnosed with any of the following:

  • Major Cancer
  • Coronary Artery By-Pass Surgery
  • Heart Attack of Specified Severity
  • Angioplasty and Other Invasive Treatments for Coronary Artery
  • Other Serious Coronary Artery Disease

 

This amount is payable if it is directly caused by accident.

Survival Period

You must survive for at least 30 days when diagnosed with any of the 37 critical illnesses mentioned above before a claim can be made.

Group Living Care Plus

The Group Living Care Plus rider is designed to protect you from 10 early critical illnesses for up to $500,000 in coverage if you’re below 56 years old and up to $200,000 if you’re 56 and above.

The list of 10 early critical illnesses covered includes:

  1. Early Cancer
  2. Large Asymptomatic Aortic Aneurysm Or Minimally Invasive Surgery to the Aorta
  3. Cardiac Pacemaker Insertion Or Pericardectomy Or Cardiac Defibrillator Insertion Or Early Cardiomyopathy
  4. Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
  5. Transmyocardial Laser Revascularisation Or Insertion of Vena-cava Filter
  6. Surgical Removal of One Kidney
  7. Heart Valve Repair Surgery
  8. Small Bowel Transplant Or Corneal Transplant
  9. Mild Coronary Artery Disease
  10. Brain Aneurysm Surgery Or Cerebral Shunt Insertion

 

For full definitions of these ECIs, click here.

Here’s how much the Group Living Care Plus rider will cost in addition to your base plan:

Premiums For Males

saf insurance group living care plus premiums for male

Premium For Females

saf insurance group living care plus premiums for females

Again, premiums are affordable until you reach 65, which then increases significantly.

Like the Group Living Care rider, this is not an accelerated payment, meaning your sum assured on your base plan will not be affected by payouts made under this rider.

The sum assured for this rider must also be equal to, or less than your base plan’s sum assured,

Premiums might be revised yearly – just like ECI premiums on personal insurance plans.

Waiting Period

There is a waiting period of 60 days from the date of inception or reinstatement before a claim can be made under the Group Living Care Plus rider.

Survival Period

You must survive for at least 30 days before being able to make a claim under this rider.

Claim scenarios between Group Living Care and Group Living Care Plus

If you’re unsure of which rider to make a claim on, refer to this table:

MINDEF MHA Group Insurance rider scenario

Group Disability Income

Should you face a disability, the Group Disability Income rider offers a steady monthly income to support you.

The yearly coverage is derived from half of your monthly basic salary, multiplied by 12, with a cap of S$120,000.

Based on our calculations, you need to be earning $20,000/month before hitting this cap.

Anything more than this would require additional coverage from your own disability income plan.

Rider Features

  • Enjoy continuous coverage till you are 70 years old
  • Annual coverage cleverly tailored to your monthly basic income (up to S$120,000)
  • Say goodbye to inflation worries with a 3% annual escalation benefit
  • Rest easy knowing that you’re guarded against mishaps due to personal or social endeavours
  • Worldwide coverage

 

Disability Benefit Schedule

Coverage Remarks
Disability Benefit 1/12 of the sum insured Your monthly payout.

Singlife will only pay for up to 6 months if you are overseas during these payouts.

Should your disability be less than a month, it will be prorated based on a daily rate.

Terminal Age 70 Your age when this benefit ends.
Deferred Period 6 months from the first day of your continuous disability The waiting period before you start receiving payouts.

Should you recover and relapse into the same disability, Singlife may choose to resume payments without the deferred period.

Benefit Period Up to terminal age When this benefit ends.
Escalation Benefits 3% per annum Your monthly payout will increase by 3% per year, starting from the 13th month.

Based on the benefit schedule, you will need to be disabled continuously for 6 months before you can start receiving your payouts.

However, there will be instances where the payouts will stop:

  1. The benefit period ends
  2. You reach the terminal age
  3. You resume work or work in any other occupation
  4. You are certified by a registered medical practitioner to be fit for work
  5. The insured passes on

 

Singlife must consent if you want to return to work in any occupation. However, your monthly payouts will be adjusted downwards accordingly.

Here’s the formula to calculate the adjusted payout:

(Pre-disability basic salary – current basic salary) / pre-disability basic salary x disability benefit

Here’s how much the Group Disability Income rider will cost in addition to your base plan:

The monthly premium rate for every S$10,000 Sum Insured is shown in the table below:

saf insurance group disability income premiums

Assuming you earn $5,000/month, your yearly coverage would be $30,000 (5,000/2 x 12).

Thus if you’re under 26, your monthly premiums would be $10.05 (30,000/10,000 x 3.35).

Here’s the formula you can use:

Your yearly coverage / 10,000 x monthly premium rate = monthly premiums

You should also review your salary periodically and make adjustments to your coverage and premiums accordingly.

Premiums will be waived during the period you’re receiving payouts.

Note that medical underwriting is needed to purchase this rider.

Outpatient Medicare

The Outpatient Medicare rider is designed to address your outpatient medical needs. You cannot purchase this plan online unlike the base plans and riders above.

I will go through how you can apply for this rider later in my article, so let’s first dive into what this rider offers.

There are 2 plans available: Plan A, with a yearly limit of S$1,000, and Plan B, with a yearly limit of S$500.

Limits Per Visit Plan A

(Superior)

Plan B

(Deluxe)

(S$)
Primary Care Benefit

  • Panel General Practitioner (includes Tele-consultation with designated provider)
  • Non-Panel General Practitioner
  • Co-payment per visit
  • As charged
  • 30
  • 10
Specialist Care Benefit (inclusive of diagnostic tests)

  • Panel Specialist with referral
  • Non-Panel Specialist with referral
  • Co-payment per visit
 

  • As charged
  • 100
  • 10
  • Standard Diagnostic X-ray & Laboratory Test
  • Local Emergency Outpatient Treatment for Illness
    • Co-payment per visit
  • Overseas Emergency Outpatient Treatment
  • Co-payment per visit
  • As charged
  • 100
  • 10
  • 100
  • 10
Annual Limits Per Policy Year 1,000 500

Here’s how much the Outpatient Medicare rider will cost in addition to your base plan:

saf insurance outpatient medicare premiums

Exclusions

Similar to the base plans and other riders, all of them come with exclusions.

However, we felt the need to share the exclusions for this rider because it’s not similar to the personal insurance plans you might get.

singlife mindef mha group insurance outpatient medicare exclusions

How to apply for the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance?

To apply for the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance plan, follow these steps:

  1. Go to https://singlife.com/en/mindef-and-mha/mindef-group-insurance
  2. Click “Get a quote”
  3. Read and make sure you’re eligible. If you are, click “I fulfil all the above criteria” and press “Continue”
  4. Key in your details and click “Check now”
  5. Select which coverage you want and the sum assured for each
  6. Proceed to fill in the necessary details required
  7. Make payment

 

How to apply for the MINDEF/MHA Outpatient Medicare rider?

To apply for the MINDEF/MHA Outpatient Medicare rider, follow these steps:

  1. Fill up this form
  2. Email the form to [email protected] or [email protected]
  3. Wait for a Singlife Officer to reach out to you for further details/payment methods

 

This information is not publicly known online nor could I find it in my Singlife dashboard.

I had to call the Singlife helpline for these details and asked her why couldn’t I do it online when purchasing the plan.

Turns out this is not handled by Singlife but by a vendor of theirs, thus, it’s subject to their approval before you can purchase this rider.

Nominate beneficiaries for your MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance Plan

You can nominate beneficiaries for death benefits offered by the Group Term Life and Group Personal Injury plans.

If you have a will, your family will need to seek legal assistance to apply for a Probate in court, which could take up to a shorter time of 6 months to complete.

If you did not create a will before your death, you would be considered to have died intestate and your family will need legal assistance to obtain a Letter of Administration from the court.

This may take up to 3 years.

Singlife safeguards your loved ones with a payout of up to S$150,000, even without a nomination or death claim. Any remaining Death Benefits will follow the above.

Here’s how to nominate a beneficiary for your SAF insurance plan:

  1. Download and fill up this form
  2. Submit the completed form to Singlife

 

How to Claim from the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance?

To claim from your MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance plan, follow these steps:

  1. You or your dependents will need to go to https://singlife.com/en/make-a-claim/mindef-mha
  2. Scroll down and download the relevant forms
  3. Fill up the forms and email them to either [email protected] or [email protected], depending on whether you’re under MINDEF or MHA
  4. If you are unsure, contact Singlife here: +65 6827 8030

 

Advantages of the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance

Cheap premiums with high coverage

Imagine your NS mates, those who ORD-ed, regulars, office staff, and spouses all being covered under a single policy.

Because of this, the insurer’s risk is split amongst many individuals under the policy – giving you dirt cheap premiums for coverage as high as $1,000,000.

A 30-year-old male non-smoker with a sum assured of $500,000 up till he is 65 years old would have to pay a monthly premium of $11.25/month.

A price even the cheapest term plan can’t beat.

No medical underwriting

You’ll probably face issues buying an insurance plan if you have any medical conditions.

There’s no need for medical underwriting for the Group Term Life plan if you want to get covered for $300,000.

Unfortunately for the riders, there is medical underwriting needed. But at least you can get life coverage despite having pre-existing conditions.

Coverage for spouse and kids

Looking for coverage for your spouse and children? Well, you’re in luck.

With the same affordable premiums, you can extend your plan to cover both spouse and kids!

However, note that your children’s plan will end when they turn 25 – which I think is still pretty okay.

Also, the spouse coverage will end should you and your partner divorce.

So, spouses, you should consider getting a private term plan for yourself – just in case.

Buy and forget

If you’re relying on group insurance plans from your company, you’d have to change your plans every time you switch companies constantly.

For this group plan, you can just buy and forget about it without worrying about any gaps in protection – especially when you’re in between jobs.

Critical illness rider is cheap

I think the critical illness rider is cheap and worth it.

Some might think that the CI coverage offered here might cost more than a multipay critical illness plan in the long run, but I did some calculations and found it (partially) untrue.

Since the CI rider covers the 37 advanced-stage conditions, and these conditions have the same definitions across insurers, we compared it to a 37-condition multipay plan – FWD Recover First.

Comparing based on a 30-year-old male, non-smoker, for 100k sum assured up till 70, the FWD Recover First costs $1,097.64/year or $91.47/month.

The Group Living Care rider with the term life base plan for the same demographics and term is only $598.14/year, or $49.85/month.

That’s half the price!

Though I have to say that the FWD Recover First gives 2 x 100% payouts for late-stage CIs, so it’s actually about the same price.

If you top up about $300 more yearly, you will get a better multipay CI plan from Manulife CI FlexiCare or Singlife Multipay Critical Illness.

And not forgetting that once you’ve claimed the Group Living Care rider, you don’t have any more CI coverage and may not get another plan due to pre-existing conditions.

So is it cheap?

Yes, technically, it is if it fits your budget.

Those with more budget can and should look into other ECI/CI plans instead.

ECI/CI riders are non-accelerated

Unlike regular ECI/CI riders on term and whole life plans, the ECI/CI riders on the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance are non-accelerated.

That means that making a claim for ECI will not affect your death/TPD/TI and CI coverage.

Likewise, claiming for CI will not affect death/TPD/TI and ECI coverage.

A regular term plan will decrease your death/TPD/TI coverage when you make claims on your ECI/CI rider.

Personal accident insurance is pretty comprehensive

The Group Personal Injury policy, like the Group Term Life, is priced really affordably.

You get an onslaught of benefits and a high sum assured for the price you pay.

The personal accident plan may not be the most comprehensive in the market, but I dare say it’s filled with so much value that it’s tough to say no.

Definitely can compete as one of the best personal accident insurance plans.

Exclusive discounts on Singlife products

MINDEF/MHA/SAF insurance plan holders get exclusive discounts for certain Singlife products.

At the point of writing (March 2023), Singlife offers discounts on car, travel, and home insurance for up to 57% off.

These offers might change, so be sure to check.

Disadvantages MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance

Gets very expensive when you turn 65

Across all base plans and riders, you can see from the premium tables that the price starts to increase once you turn 65 significantly – and it can be overwhelming.

Using the same example for the Group Term Life previously:

A 30-year-old male non-smoker with a sum assured of $500,000 until he is 65 years old would have to pay a monthly premium of $11.25/month.

If this same individual doesn’t surrender his policy until he hits 70, it becomes $41.84/month on average.

That’s a 3.7x increase.

To give context, we consider the China Taiping i-Protect the cheapest term plan.

For a person with the same demographics as above, a term plan from the China Taiping i-Protect from 30 to 70 years old would cost $41.50/month.

That’s cheaper than the group plan – and it’s levelled.

Non-guaranteed premiums

Because the MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance is a group insurance, the premiums across base plans and riders are non-guaranteed.

This means that your premiums might adjust yearly – upwards or downwards. This isn’t good for those looking to pay a fixed, predictable premium.

But to be fair, I doubt the increments will ever reach as high as a personal plan.

Early critical illness rider is not comprehensive

The early critical illness rider – Group Living Care Plus – only covers 10 ECIs, which is not comprehensive at all.

Other plans in the market cover way more conditions and at competitive prices.

This is good for you if budget is a concern; otherwise, you should consider others.

No agent to make claims for you

Let’s assume you are struck by a critical illness (touchwood!), not only do you have to worry about recovering, you will have to keep track of waiting periods and survival periods.

You’ll also have to fill up forms on your own and submit your own claims.

When you pass, your grieving family must also figure out all of these on their own.

Covers only up to 70

The MINDEF/MHA Group Insurance only provides coverage until you turn 70.

This isn’t much of a problem if you don’t mind ending coverage at 65 or 70, but if you’re kiasi like me, this can be a big disadvantage.

Personal term plans offer coverage up to 80, 85, and some even 99!

Claim limits

Although the base plans offer a sum assured of up to $1,000,000, the first payout is limited to only $200,000.

The remaining payouts will be equal for the next 3 years.

So if your sum assured is $1,000,000, expect $200,000 in your first year and $266,667 every year thereafter.

Lacks flexibility

Lastly, the MINDEF/MHA Group Term Life is non-convertible, so you can’t convert your term plan into an endowment like the Singlife Steady Pay Saver or an annuity like the Singlife Flexi Life Income.

But the biggest reason why many choose a convertible term plan is to convert it into a whole life policy – like the Singlife Whole Life – in the future.

This gives them cash value, the ability to adjust their death/TPD/TI coverage and add on more comprehensive ECI/CI riders.

That way, you at least get some money back from purchasing a term plan. With the SAF group insurance, unless you make any claims, you don’t receive a cent back (which can be a good thing, you’re healthy!).

Firdaus Syazwani
Firdaus Syazwani
Twenty years ago, Firdaus's mother bought an endowment plan from an insurance agent to gift him $20,000. However, after 20 years of paying premiums, Firdaus discovered that the policy was actually a whole life plan with a sum assured of $20,000, and they didn't receive any money back. This experience inspired Firdaus to create dollarbureau.com, so that others won't face the same problem of being misled or not understanding what they are purchasing – which he sees as a is a huge problem in the industry.

Disclaimer: Each article written obtained its information from reliable sources and should be purely used for informational purposes only. The information provided by Dollar Bureau and its affiliated parties is not meant to be construed as financial advice. Dollar Bureau shall not be held liable for any inaccuracies, mistakes, omissions, and losses incurred should you act upon any information listed on this website. We recommend readers to seek financial planning advice from qualified financial advisors. 

Most Popular Posts

Recent Posts