AXA Protect is one in every of 7 Built-in Protect plans in Singapore, that are designed to complement your current MediShield Life protection.
As you may know, shopping for medical insurance is without doubt one of the most necessary issues you are able to do as a working grownup right here. Medical care in Singapore is notoriously costly, and counting on MediShield Life may result in some nasty surprises resulting from its many limits and exclusions.
Let’s discover out extra about how AXA Protect plans stack up.
What are Built-in Protect plans?
First, a phrase about Built-in Protect plans: These are medical insurance insurance policies which are designed to work hand-in-hand with the MediShield Life protection that Singaporeans and PRs have already got.
As an alternative of duplicating the safety supplied by MediShield Life, built-in defend plans act as a complement, providing protection in areas that MediShield Life doesn’t and elevating declare limits.
As an illustration, MediShield Life covers as much as Class B2 wards at public hospitals however not B1, A or personal hospitals. It additionally doesn’t supply protection for prices incurred earlier than and after hospitalisation, which is worrying as these prices can generally exceed prices incurred whereas hospitalised.
That’s the place Built-in Protect plans are available. They provide protection for pre- and post-hospitalisation prices, greater class wards like Class B1, Class A or personal hospitals, and different prices like ambulance charges.
AXA Protect Built-in Protect premiums
AXA Protect | Ward | Annual premium* |
Plan B | Class A | $310 (MediShield Life) + $156 = $466 |
Plan A | Non-public hospitals | $310 (MediShield Life) + $286 = $596 |
* For Singapore residents aged 35
AXA Protect is available in two varieties: Plan A (covers as much as personal hospital wards) and Plan B (as much as Class A wards in public/restructured hospitals).
There’s additionally a Commonplace plan, however that’s not a big enchancment over MediShield Life — it doesn’t cowl pre- and post-hospitalisation prices, for instance — so we gained’t contemplate that.
AXA Protect’s Plan A is without doubt one of the cheaper personal hospital Built-in Protect plans on the market, and gives excellent worth for cash.
In the meantime, AXA Protect Plan B is taken into account comparatively costly in comparison with the opposite Class A plans, however gives beneficiant pre- and post-hospitalisation protection.
You should utilize MediSave to pay for a part of your Built-in Protect plan premiums, as much as your annual withdrawal limits. The rest needs to be paid out-of-pocket on an annual foundation.
AXA Protect Built-in Protect plans
AXA Protect | Pre-hospitalisation cowl | Put up-hospitalisation cowl | Annual protection restrict |
Plan B | 180 days | one year | $550,000 |
Plan A | 180 days | one year | $1 million |
AXA Protect has probably the most beneficiant pre- and post-hospitalisation protection in the marketplace. Whereas others supply as little as 90 days and 180 days respectively, AXA Protect covers as much as 180 days (pre-) and one year (post-hospitalisation).
Nevertheless, the full annual declare limits are on the low aspect. Earlier than you join, notice that different Built-in Protect plan suppliers like AIA and Aviva cowl roughly double that of what AXA Protect covers ($1 million and $2 million for Class A and personal hospital plans).
AXA Protect additionally gives its policyholders discounted session charges at AXA’s healthcare panel. It prices $10 for a GP session, $100 for a specialist, $130 for physiotherapy and $15 for dental session.
AXA Protect Built-in Protect rider: AXA Enhanced Care
AXA Protect could be beefed up with an AXA Enhanced Care rider as a way to restrict your deductible and co-insurance quantities. For a 35-year-old, it prices $200 (Plan B) or $312 (Plan A) a yr, payable in money solely (no Medisave).
AXA Enhanced Care limits your co-insurance portion to five% and your deductible to $0 whenever you use public/restructured hospitals or healthcare suppliers on AXA’s panel of specialists. Co-payment is capped at $3,000 per yr.
When you get AXA Protect with out the rider, you’ll must pay as much as $3,500 deductible (chargeable the primary time you get hospitalised in a coverage yr) + 10% of the full hospital invoice.
When you do get the rider, you want solely pay 5% of the full hospital invoice, capped at $3,000 a yr.
With the AXA Enhanced Care rider, you can too obtain protection for deliberate abroad therapy, in addition to a variety of conditions like emergency outpatient therapy (which might not normally be lined because it doesn’t require an in a single day hospital keep).
How does AXA Protect complement MediShield Life?
AXA Protect dietary supplements MediShield Life by including to its current cowl.
As an illustration, MediShield Life limits you to Class B2 and Class C wards at public hospitals, however you’ll be capable to keep in Class A wards at public hospitals with AXA Protect Plan B, or personal hospitals with Plan A.
One other necessary space of protection is pre- and post-hospitalisation cowl, which isn’t supplied by MediShield Life. Exams main as much as a prognosis could be very costly, as can follow-up consultations and rehabilitation after you might be discharged. These are all lined by AXA Protect supplied they fall throughout the pre- and post-hospitalisation protection durations.
Must you get AXA Protect?
AXA Protect plans supply excellent worth for cash, with in depth pre- and post-hospitalisation cowl at a comparatively low worth.
In comparison with different insurers providing comparable protection, comparable to AIA, AXA Protect’s benefit is that you do not want to make use of one of many hospitals on their panel as a way to qualify for the total pre- and post-hospitalisation length.
We additionally just like the discounted session charges at AXA panel GP clinics, because it’s a pleasant value-added perk that you could make use of even for those who don’t get hospitalised.
However do notice that the AXA Protect’s annual coverage declare limits are among the many lowest in the marketplace. You would doubtlessly get twice the protection restrict at a barely costlier premium.
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Picture by Owen Beard on Unsplash