I'm a male, ANB 28, non-smoker, what are my options if I'm considering a 200K ECI?

Hi there,

May not be -

"apparently standalone Term option for 200k ECI is already 2K p.a. (why?), payable till the end of coverage (e.g. 65y/o)."
I did a tabulation for you from Singlife for the MultiCI standalone term plan. Premium is $1,384.83/y and with 15% discount now it is $1,170.10. To clarify, the Singlife multiCI plan is an ALL stage coverage which includes early CI.

Premium is assuming a standard rate. It is to share with you that Early CI coverage can be significantly less than $2k/y till your age65.

For further questions, speak to an independent advisor who works with multiple insurers including Singlife. A plan should suit your needs and planning strategy. More details can be seen in this post where the step-up strategy for coverage is explained also https://www.theastuteparent.com/2019/04/singlif...

Hi anon,

The purpose of having a whole life plan for ECI coverage (or CI, for that matter) is so that you have a baseline coverage for a lifetime; we don't know when CI strikes, and when it does, the financial burden on you and your loved ones can be immense. CI coverage is there to provide the payout you need to cover expenses that arise not just from your ongoing expenses, but also your treatment costs not covered by your hospitalization plan (I call this the baseline). So the question you need to ask is, how much coverage do you need for your baseline, and how much you need for your daily expenses as a minimum.

Having said that, Supreme Early Multiplier falls into the category of Whole Life CI/ECI plans with a multiplier, of which some of the key features you need to be aware of are:

• Usually level premiums, which you pay for a fixed number of years (5,10,15,20,25 years)
• Your coverage is for life or till 99/100 and will be increased over time by the bonuses declared
• Option to boost coverage during your prime working years with a 'multiplier', in the case of your GE plan, it is a 4x multiplier boosting the baseline of 50K to 200K.
• This boost gives you the extra cover you need when you are young and don't have deep pockets to cover your expenses when CI strikes. When you are retired, multiplier ends (at age 70 in this case) and your baseline cover remains, boosted by the bonuses. At this point, your ongoing expenses would not depend on your ability to work, as you would get payouts from CPF, annuities, shares, UTs and the like.
• For plans that cover till 99/100, should you be blessed with longevity, the plan will mature and pay you the coverage amount + accumulated bonuses
• Has a cash value/surrender value, not that you should surrender it.

However, your baseline of 50K might be too low. Although coverage of 200K after the multiplier is quite decent, when you reach 70, your coverage will drop to only 50K + bonuses. Due to the low baseline, your bonuses accumulated will be lower. You might want to consider a higher baseline, with a lower multiplier, the price difference will not be too much and you will have better coverage after 70.

Yes, a standalone term for 200K ECI is probably in the region of 2K/yr, and that's just how it is, unfortunately. Although I do not know which term plan you were quoted, just note that for term plans, the key things to note are:

• Usually level premiums, which you pay for the whole duration of the plan
• Your coverage is for the duration of the plan and will be a level amount
• Once the plan ends, the cover stops. No claims mean no payout.

That is why when covering death/TPD only, a term plan is the most cost-effective option, but once you add CI/ECI coverage, the common saying of 'buy term invest the rest' doesn't really make mathematical sense when you crunch the numbers.

I would definitely advise you to consider ECI coverage. You are still young and ECI coverage is competitively priced for your age group. Furthermore, with advancing medical technology, people are often detecting CI at an earlier stage.

There are a few ways to implement 200K of ECI cover, such as a 100K x2 multiplier life plan with full 100K x2 ECI cover, or even a 100K x3 multiplier life plan, with around 65K x3 ECI cover, and the remainder 35K x3 on late stage CI. This gives you 200K ECI cover with another 100K of late stage CI payout should the CI worsen. Just note that ECI is naturally more costly than CI. I usually recommend a mix of ECI and CI cover in a life plan. It is likely that one will either recover from ECI after 2-3 years, or it will probably progress to late stage (where the claim on late stage CI is made). This can strike a balance between premiums and coverage.

Consult an independent advisor who carries plans from multiple insurers, and work through the numbers to get an appropriate amount of cover. Then you can get the quote for the right amount of cover and see which insurer would be the most cost-effective for you.