Should I opt for Aviva My MultiPay Critical Illness Plan III or TM Multicare plan in my situation? Any other suggestions?

Hi Anon,

What you're comparing are Multi Claim All Stage Illness Policies. They are standalone term plans that provide coverage over a period of time and would require you to make premium payments throughout as well.

They are definitely a great to have policy but if this is your first CI policy, I would instead consider a Whole Of Life Plan covering all stages of CI as a single payout first and layer a Multi Claim policy on top of that. Reason would be to balance premiums and coverage.

I personally am insured with Aviva's MPCI but also distribute others. In fact my top 3 choices are Aviva, Manulife, and TM. Mainly due to the fact they pay more upon a late stage claim vs the others.

But I would recommend you work with an Independent Financial Advisor to really go through these options because the differences can be nuanced.

Also don't just look at total numerical figures because we need to distinguish between marketing and proper coverage. Some insurers love to add additional CIs that are so fringe and rare that no one has claimed from in a decade in a developed country to boost their total figures and mention, we cover more, thus better. This isn't always the case.

LIA has already provided 37 CIs that are standardized across all insurers, just an extension from these 37 for early and intermediate stages is enough. But the early and intermediate definitions can differ from insurer to insurer.

For critical illness coverage, these are the key areas for consideration:

• Number of covered conditions (LIA has a guideline to cover 37 major critical illness conditions, AIA covers 43 major critical illness conditions and a total of 175 when we include early critical illness)

• Probability of occurrence / detection

• Claim experience

• Definition for payout

For this purpose, the key question will always to be able to find one that brings the right value.

By far, all my clients prefer to have critical illness coverage with a broader definition for payout, as compared to one with complicated terms and conditions. This is because all my clients prefer to focus on recovery, rather than to fight the technical jargons.

Hence, you may wish to research along the same path as well.

How much coverage should I have?

Before we look into how much coverage we should get, one of the most important things to do is to have a complete understanding of your existing insurance portfolio. Through this process, it allows us to understand the coverage that we have, any financial gap, as well as to find out whether we are overpaying for our insurance policies.

Key Reasons:

Why Every Client needs an Insurance Policy Summary

How much insurance coverage should You have?

As a general rule,

10% to 20% of your annual income on healthcare insurance and life insurance

Basic Life Cover = 10 times your annual income

Critical Illness Coverage = 5 times your annual income

Hope this introduction to critical illness helps you to do the right research and to make an informed decision.

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