New year, new you: A simple insurance check you can do without an agent

You know that stack of insurance documents sitting in your email? The ones you haven't looked at since the day you signed up?

We're approaching the start of a new year, and 'tis the season when most people finally think about reviewing their coverage. Not because it's fun-it's definitely not-but because something nags at you. Am I paying too much? Do I even have enough? Should I be doing something about this?

Reviewing your insurance doesn't require an agent appointment, a sales pitch, or 3 hours of your Saturday. Twenty minutes, your policy documents, and knowing what matters-that's actually all you need to figure out if what you're paying for still makes sense.

Why most people avoid reviewing insurance policies

Insurance reviews have a reputation. You worry that digging into your policies means discovering you've been overpaying for years, or worse-finding out you're dangerously under-covered and now have to fix it.

Then, there's the fear that any review automatically turns into a sales conversation. Someone will tell you that you need more coverage, better riders, or a completely different product, and suddenly you're sitting through a presentation you didn't ask for.

So most people just… don't or bury their head in the sand. They keep paying premiums on autopilot, assuming everything's probably fine.

Your insurance was bought to match a version of your life that may no longer exist. Got married? Had kids? Bought a property? Changed jobs? Your coverage probably needs updating-and that's just life changing, not someone trying to upsell you.

What documents you actually need

You don't need to become an insurance expert. You just need 4 types of documents to check if your current setup still works:

• Policy contract - Shows your coverage amount, policy term, maturity date, and what's actually covered. This is the legal agreement, not the sales brochure.
• Benefit illustration or product summary - Breaks down what you're getting: death benefit, critical illness payout, riders, exclusions. If you have investment-linked policies, this shows projected returns.
• Premium breakdown - How much you pay, how often, and for how long. Some policies show this in the contract, others send annual statements.
• Corporate insurance summary - If your employer provides coverage, get the summary. You need to know what disappears the day you leave your job.

Most insurers email annual statements or let you download these through their portals. If you can't find them, a quick call to your insurer gets you sorted in 5 minutes.

With these documents ready, you can run through 3 quick checks that tell you if your insurance still fits.

Step 1: Check if your coverage still matches your life

Your insurance exists to protect against financial loss. The question is: does it still protect the right things?

Start with coverage benchmarks recommended by MAS. Death and Total Permanent Disability coverage should be around 9 times your annual income. Critical illness coverage should be about 4 times your annual income.

For someone earning $60,000 a year, death coverage target is $540,000 and CI coverage target is $240,000.

Pull out your policy documents and add up what you actually have:

Your current coverage:

• Personal term life: $300,000
• Personal critical illness: $100,000
• Corporate life insurance: $240,000 (4x your $60k salary)

How it stacks up:

• Death coverage total: $540,000 ✓ (meets $540,000 target)
• CI coverage total: $100,000 ✗ (target: $240,000)
• CI shortfall: $140,000

That $140,000 gap is what you'd need if you got diagnosed with cancer and couldn't work for five years. You're covered for death, dangerously under-covered for critical illness.

These benchmarks assume you have dependents and financial obligations. If your situation changed, your needs changed too.

When your coverage needs to increase

You've recently taken on a $500,000 mortgage. Your spouse stopped working to care for your newborn. You now have dependents who rely entirely on your income.

Your old coverage of 5x annual income might have been fine when you were single and renting. Now? That same coverage leaves a $200,000+ shortfall if something happens to you.

Example:

Your situation when single:

• Annual income: $80,000
• Life insurance: $400,000 (5x income)
• Status: Adequate for single renter

Your situation now:

• Same income: $80,000
• Married with newborn
• HDB mortgage outstanding: $450,000
• Current coverage: Still $400,000
• Coverage needed: $720,000 (9x income)
• Shortfall: $320,000

Your current $400,000 won't clear the mortgage and support your family. The gap is real.

This is when you top up. The math is simple: your family can't survive on what you currently have.

When your coverage might be too much

Your youngest child just started working. Your mortgage fully paid off. You and your spouse both have stable incomes and separate coverage.

That $800,000 life insurance policy you bought 15 years ago when the kids were in primary school? It might be more than you need now. Your financial obligations dropped, but your premiums didn't.

Example:

20 years ago at age 35:

• Two young kids
• Mortgage: $400,000
• Life coverage bought: $600,000
• Premium: Let's say $200/month

Now at age 55:

• Both kids financially independent
• Mortgage: Fully cleared
• You and spouse both working
• Current coverage: Still $600,000
• Actual need: Much lower (no dependents, no debt)
• Potential savings: $150/month if you reduce coverage

Your death benefit no longer matches your situation. The $600,000 was right then, not now.

According to CPF's guidelines on insurance reviews, this is where you should reassess. You might keep some coverage, but don't need to maintain the same level you had when your dependents were young.

When corporate coverage matters

Your company provides 4x your salary in life insurance-$240,000 on a $60,000 income.

Most people forget: corporate coverage disappears the moment you leave. Resignation, retrenchment, retirement. All the benefits end the day you're no longer an employee.

If you're counting corporate insurance toward your 9x target, you need personal coverage to fill the gap. Otherwise, you're one job change away from being massively under-insured.

Count corporate coverage when calculating your current protection. Don't count it when planning your long-term needs.

Step 2: Check what you're paying for

Premium affordability goes beyond this year's bill. Can you sustain these payments for the next 10, 20, 30 years-especially as premiums climb with age?

MAS recommends spending no more than 15 per cent of your take-home pay on insurance protection. That's your monthly salary after CPF deduction.

On a $5,000 monthly take-home, you shouldn't be paying more than $750/month for insurance.

Add up all your insurance premiums:

Your monthly premiums:

• Term life insurance: $180
• Critical illness rider: $120
• Integrated Shield Plan: $250
• IP rider (co-payment waiver): $80
• Total: $630/month

Affordability check:

• $630 ÷ $5,000 take-home = 12.6 per cent
• Guideline: Maximum 15 per cent
• Status: Within limit ✓

You still have room to top up coverage if needed.

If your total is $900/month:

• $900 ÷ $5,000 = 18 per cent
• Status: Above recommended limit ✗
• Problem: Over-insured or paying for features you'll never use

The IP affordability problem

Integrated Shield Plans are where premiums quietly spiral. You sign up in your 30s paying $100/month. By your 50s, it's $400/month. By your 60s, it can hit $800+/month.

Example:

• Your IP journey over 33 years:
• Age 32: Premium = $120/month
• Age 45: Premium = $280/month (↑ 133 per cent)
• Age 55: Premium = $520/month (↑ 86 per cent)
• Age 65 (retired): Premium = $900+/month (↑ 73 per cent)

You're now paying for health insurance from retirement income. That $120/month you signed up for has become $900/month with no salary to offset it.

Two-thirds of hospitalised patients use Class B2 or C wards in public hospitals-exactly what MediShield Life covers. If you're paying for a private hospital IP but would realistically choose a subsidised ward anyway, you're paying for coverage you won't use.

Ask yourself: if you needed hospitalisation tomorrow, would you actually go private? Or would you choose a subsidised ward to keep costs manageable?

If the answer is subsidised ward, your IP might be overkill. MediShield Life handles large bills in B2/C wards. The IP premium you're paying could go toward building your emergency fund or retirement savings instead.

When bundled products cost more

Whole life and investment-linked policies bundle protection with savings or investment components. They cost more than pure term insurance-you're paying for multiple features packaged together.

MAS acknowledges these products may exceed the 15 per cent guideline since they combine protection and investment.

Fine-if you understand what you're paying for and can afford it long-term. Problems start when you're stretched thin but didn't realise term insurance could've given you the same protection coverage at half the cost.

Look at your policy breakdown. How much of your premium goes to protection? How much goes to investment or cash value? If protection is what you need and the investment returns aren't matching your expectations, you might be overpaying.

The coverage overlap check

You have personal life insurance, corporate coverage, and mortgage insurance that includes death benefit. All 3 pay out if you pass away.

Some overlap is fine-you can direct different payouts to different purposes (mortgage clearance vs family living expenses). Problems start when you're paying for duplicate coverage without a clear reason.

Write down every insurance policy you have. Note what triggers each payout. If 3 policies cover the same risk with no strategic reason, consolidate.

Step 3: Spot red flags

Some problems aren't about coverage gaps or affordability. They're about policy issues that could void your claim when you need it most.

Red flag 1: Missing or incorrect information

Three years ago, you filled out your application. The agent asked about pre-existing conditions. You mentioned your high blood pressure medication, but it never made it into the final policy document.

Fast forward to today: you submit a critical illness claim. The insurer reviews your medical history, sees the undisclosed condition, and denies your claim for "material non-disclosure."

MoneySense warns this clearly: inaccurate or missing information can void your policy. Even if the omission was unintentional or the agent's mistake, you're the one who suffers when the claim gets rejected.

Pull out your policy contract. Check the proposal form or declaration section. Does it accurately reflect your health history, occupation, and lifestyle at the time you applied?

If you spot errors, contact your insurer immediately. Some errors can be corrected. Others might require premium adjustments. Either way, fixing it now prevents claim rejection later.

Red flag 2: Premium payment struggles

You've missed 1 premium payment this year. Cash flow was tight and you prioritised other bills instead.

Policy lapses happen when you can't keep up with premiums. Once a policy lapses, coverage stops. If you've been paying for 10 years and suddenly can't afford Year 11, you lose protection and may get back far less than what you paid in.

If premiums feel unsustainable, don't just stop paying. Contact your insurer. Options exist: reducing coverage, switching to a lower-cost plan, or using accumulated cash value to pay premiums temporarily.

The worst move is ignoring it until the policy lapses.

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Red flag 3: No beneficiary nomination

Your policy pays out $500,000 if you pass away. But you never nominated a beneficiary.

Without a nomination, the payout goes to your estate. That means it gets frozen until probate completes-a process that can take months or even years. Your family needs that money now to cover funeral costs, mortgage payments, and living expenses. Instead, they're stuck waiting for legal processes to run their course.

Example:

• 12 years ago:
• You bought $400,000 life insurance
• Nominated: Your mother (only family at the time)
• Status: Single

Today:

• Married with 2 young kids
• Beneficiary nomination: Still your mother (never updated)
• If something happens: $400,000 goes to your mother
• Who actually depends on your income: Husband and children (get nothing)

The policy payout goes to whoever's nominated, not who needs it most.

Nominating a beneficiary is free and takes 5 minutes. Contact your insurer or log into their portal. Name who should receive the payout and in what proportion if there are multiple beneficiaries.

Review your nominations every few years, especially after major life changes like marriage or having kids.

Red flag 4: Corporate coverage as your only coverage

You have $300,000 in corporate life insurance. That's your entire safety net.

Corporate insurance is a benefit, not a permanent solution. It covers you while you're employed. The moment you resign, get retrenched, or retire, it's gone.

If you develop health conditions while relying solely on corporate coverage, you might become uninsurable once you leave. Personal term insurance bought while you're still healthy locks in coverage that stays with you regardless of employment status.

Use corporate insurance as a supplement. Build your foundation on personal coverage you control.

What happens if you find gaps

You've run through the checks. Maybe your coverage falls short of the benchmarks. Maybe your premiums are eating 20 per cent of your income. Maybe you spotted a red flag.

Don't panic. Gaps aren't emergencies-they're just problems that need fixing. Knowing about them is better than staying blind to them.

Prioritise based on urgency:

Fix immediately:

• Inaccurate policy information (material non-disclosure risk)
• Missing beneficiary nominations
• Unsustainable premiums about to lapse your policy

Address within 3-6 months:

• Coverage significantly below benchmarks (under 5x income for death, under 2x for CI)
• Paying above 15 per cent of income with no clear reason
• Heavy reliance on corporate coverage with no personal backup

Review but not urgent:

• Coverage slightly below benchmarks but dependents are covered by spouse's policy
• Premiums within budget but could be optimised
• Bundled products that work for you despite higher cost

If you're unsure what to do next, talk to someone who can review your entire situation objectively-not a sales agent trying to hit quota

Common questions about reviewing insurance

How often should I review my insurance?

2-3 years as a baseline. More importantly, review whenever major life events happen: marriage, buying property, having kids, changing jobs, or approaching retirement. These milestones change your financial obligations and coverage needs.

I'm healthy and young. Do I really need to review now?

Yes, especially if you're young. Insurance premiums increase with age. If you're under-insured now and wait until your 40s to fix it, you'll pay significantly more for the same coverage. Review early to lock in lower premiums while you're still healthy and insurable.

What if I discover I've been massively overpaying for years?

It happens. Some people have overlapping coverage they don't need. Others bought whole life policies when term insurance would've been enough. You can't get back what you've already paid, but you can stop overpaying going forward. Assess whether current policies still serve you or if adjustments make sense.

Can I cancel my Integrated Shield Plan and just rely on MediShield Life?

You can, but think through the implications. MediShield Life covers Class B2/C wards in public hospitals. If you're comfortable with subsidised wards and don't need doctor choice or private hospitals, MediShield Life is sufficient. If you want flexibility to choose doctors or access private facilities, you'll need an IP-but only if you can afford the premiums as they rise with age.

Should I cancel old policies and buy new ones?

Not necessarily. Older policies might have better terms or lower premiums than what's available now. Before cancelling, understand: surrender penalties, loss of accumulated cash value, higher premiums due to your current age, and exclusions for pre-existing conditions developed since you bought the original policy. Sometimes keeping old coverage and topping up with new policies makes more sense than starting from scratch.

What if my health has changed since I bought my policy?

If you developed health conditions after your policy started, they're not considered pre-existing for that policy. Your coverage remains intact. But if you try to buy new coverage or switch policies now, your current health conditions become pre-existing for the new policy-meaning they might be excluded or come with higher premiums. This is why keeping existing coverage and adding supplementary policies often works better than replacing everything.

I have both corporate and personal insurance. Which should I keep if money is tight?

Keep personal insurance. Corporate coverage ends when you leave your job, whether by choice or not. Personal insurance stays with you regardless of employment status. If your wallet is tight, reduce coverage amounts on your personal policies rather than eliminating them entirely. You can always increase coverage later when finances improve, but you can't get back your younger, healthier insurability once it's gone.

The bottom line

If you've made it this far and actually checked your policy documents, you've done more than most people do all year. Whether you found gaps or confirmed everything's fine, at least you know where you stand now.

Twenty minutes now saves you from discovering coverage problems when you're sitting in a hospital bed or helping your family file a claim.

This article was first published in MoneySmart.