Insurance may not make you rich, but it can play an important role in preventing an unexpected event from seriously damaging your finances.

A major medical bill, critical illness, disability or prolonged loss of income can create financial pressure not only from the immediate expenses involved, but also from ongoing commitments such as mortgages, household expenses and family responsibilities.

Identifying your risks and choosing suitable insurance policies is already an important part of financial planning.

But there is another part that is often overlooked:

Managing the policies you already own.

Over the years, we have come across situations where perfectly useful insurance policies lapsed simply because premiums were not paid on time.

Sometimes it was due to an oversight. Sometimes contact details had changed. Sometimes the policyholder was working overseas and missed the correspondence.

The problem is that reinstating or applying for new coverage may require health underwriting again. If your health has changed in the meantime, you may potentially face exclusions, premium loadings or even difficulties obtaining similar coverage.

That makes good insurance administration more important than many people realise.

Here are 9 simple practices that can help you better manage your insurance portfolio.

1. Make Premium Payments as Automatic as Possible

Where appropriate, consider paying your insurance premiums through GIRO or another automatic payment arrangement.

Just as importantly, ensure there are sufficient funds in the account when premiums are due.

A policy that you have maintained for many years should not be allowed to lapse simply because of an administrative oversight.

2. Let Someone Close to You Know What Coverage You Have

Your spouse or someone you trust does not necessarily need to understand every detail of your insurance portfolio.

However, they should ideally know:

• Where your policy information is kept
• Which insurers you are covered by
• Who your servicing financial consultant is
• Who they can contact in an emergency

This can be particularly important during a medical emergency when you may not be in a position to make decisions yourself.

For example, knowing the type of medical insurance you have may help your family better understand your available options when deciding where to seek treatment.

3. Maintain a Master List of Your Insurance Policies

Many people accumulate insurance policies over different stages of life, sometimes from several insurers and different financial consultants.

After some years, it becomes surprisingly easy to lose track of what you actually own.

Maintain a simple master sheet containing information such as:

• Insurer
• Policy type
• Policy number
• Sum assured or key benefits
• Premium
• Premium frequency
• Beneficiary or nomination information where applicable
• Servicing consultant

This gives you a clearer picture of your overall coverage and how much you are spending on insurance premiums.

It can also make things much easier for your family when making claims should something happen to you.

4. Consider Paying Premiums Annually

For some insurance products, paying premiums annually may be more economical than paying monthly, quarterly or semi-annually.

The actual difference varies depending on the insurer and product, so it is worth checking.

For example, if a household spends $8,000 or more each year on insurance premiums, even a relatively small difference in payment frequency can add up over many years.

However, cashflow should always come first.

If monthly payments make your household finances easier to manage, there is nothing wrong with continuing to pay monthly.

Another approach is to set aside the premium amount every month in a separate account and use those accumulated funds to make the annual premium payment when it becomes due.

5. Keep Up With Changes to Your Health Insurance

Health insurance in Singapore has evolved considerably over the years.

Premiums, benefits, deductibles, co-insurance arrangements and other policy features can change.

Do not simply purchase your medical insurance and forget about it.

Understanding these changes helps you determine whether you need to:

• Adjust your emergency funds
• Prepare for higher out-of-pocket medical expenses
• Review your existing level of coverage
• Coordinate your personal coverage with your employee benefits

Your medical coverage should form part of your overall financial planning rather than exist in isolation.

6. Be Careful About Relying Entirely on Corporate Insurance

This is often a debatable topic.

If your employer provides very comprehensive medical insurance, it can seem unnecessary to maintain personal medical coverage as well.

The risk, however, is that corporate coverage belongs to your employment situation—not necessarily to you permanently.

You could change jobs. Your company could change its employee benefits. The insurer or scheme could change. You may also eventually retire or become self-employed.

If you only apply for personal medical insurance later, your health may be different by then. Existing medical conditions could potentially result in exclusions, additional underwriting terms or difficulties obtaining coverage.

For this reason, it may be worth considering maintaining an appropriate level of personal medical insurance even when you have good corporate benefits.

Yes, there may be some duplication today.

But the question to consider is whether you want your future insurability to depend entirely on your employment.

7. Keep Your Personal Particulars Updated

Make sure your insurer has your current:

• Mobile number
• Email address
• Residential address
• Payment information

Many insurers now allow customers to view and update their information digitally, including through Singpass-enabled platforms.

Important correspondence regarding premiums, policy changes or other matters can easily be missed if your contact details are outdated.

This is one of the simplest things to maintain, yet also one of the easiest to overlook.

8. Review Your Smoker Status If You Have Quit Smoking

If you purchased insurance while you were classified as a smoker and have subsequently stopped smoking, check with your insurer whether you may qualify to be reclassified as a non-smoker.

The insurer may require certain declarations, evidence or tests before agreeing to the change.

If approved, this can potentially reduce the premiums on policies where smoker status affects pricing.

Over many years, the savings can be meaningful.

9. Revisit Policy Exclusions

An exclusion imposed when you first bought a policy does not necessarily mean you should simply forget about it forever.

Depending on the insurer, policy and medical condition involved, certain exclusions may potentially be reviewed if the medical condition has improved or remained stable for an appropriate period.

The insurer may request updated medical reports or other evidence before reconsidering the exclusion, and there is no guarantee that it will be removed.

However, if you never ask for a review, nothing changes.

This is one reason why periodically revisiting your existing policies can be worthwhile.

Insurance Planning Doesn’t End When the Policy Is Purchased

Buying the right insurance is important.

But managing what you already own is equally important.

A good insurance portfolio should not simply sit in a drawer for 10 or 20 years without being reviewed.

Your income changes. Your family changes. Your employment changes. Your health changes. Insurance products and medical costs change too.

Every few years, take some time to review:

What do I own? What am I paying? Is everything still active? Are my details updated? Are there exclusions that can be reviewed? And does my coverage still fit my present circumstances?

Sometimes good financial planning is not about buying something new.

It is simply about taking better care of what you already have.

General Advice Disclaimer

The information in this publication or any dissemination of information in any form is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, insurance advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by finexis advisory Pte Ltd (“finexis”).

The information is not to be relied on as investment, legal, tax or other advice as it does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any specific investor.

Investment products are subject to investment risks including the possible loss of the principal amount invested. References may be made to past performance of investment products and it may not be indicative of future results. Buying insurance policy or investment product may require long-term commitment. An early termination of the policy or product usually involves high costs and the surrender value payable may be less than the total amount paid. Please refer to the relevant documents such as product summary or policy contract for the exact benefits and features.

If you need clarification, please do not hesitate to ask your financial consultant. You should not make any decision based on the information without undertaking independent due diligence and consultation with your financial consultant.

The information provided and / or this advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.