Insurance

What Happens If I Don’t Have Long-term Care Insurance?

3 Things that may happen without a long-term care insurance.

  • Phuan Wei Ning
  • |
  • Published on 19 Jul 2019

Did you know that over 1 in 4 of youths will become disabled before they retire?1 With disability an unexpected occurrence that may happen at any time to anyone, it is important for us to plan for our future to ensure that we will be protected in the event of such occurrences. In this article, we share the possible scenarios that you may happen if you do not have long-term care insurance.

(See "3 Things Your 20 Years Old Policy May Not Tell You")

What is long-term care insurance?

Also known as disability insurance, long-term care insurance offers income protection in the event that you become disabled and can no longer work. This is typically defined as the inability to perform a specified number of activities of daily living (ADLs). Pay-outs are usually given on a monthly basis with the intention being to help the insured with his/her daily expenses and long term care costs.

(See "3 Reasons An International Health Plan Is For You")

ElderShield and CareShield Life for Singaporeans

Introduced in 2002, ElderShield is a basic long-term care insurance that all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) were enrolled into with an option to opt out. A monthly pay-out of $400 is given to the insured in the event of a severe disability with pay-outs made for up to 72 months.2

However, starting from 2020, ElderShield will cease to exist and instead be replaced with CareShield Life. This will be made mandatory for all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents with the option to use your MediSave for your premiums.3

(See "Best Cancer Insurance Singapore 2019")


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#1 Your monthly pay-outs from ElderShield or CareShield Life may be insufficient

Pay-outs from ElderShield are currently set at $300 or $400 a month for a maximum of 60 or 72 months, depending on the scheme that you are enrolled into.4 While CareShield Life will offer a lifetime of pay-outs, these start from just $600 a month in 2020 are may not be enough for your treatment costs and living expenses. Therefore, should you want to receive higher monthly pay-outs, you may wish to consider other long-term care insurance. This will allow you to determine your ideal pay-out amounts thus ensuring that you would be adequately covered in the unfortunate event of a disability.

(See "Transfer Your Wealth To Future Generations With A 3G Plan")

#2 You may be unable to work but also unable to make a claim

Pay-outs for ElderShield and CareShield Life will only commence when you are unable to perform 3 out of 6 ADLs. As such, there is the possibility where you are unable to perform 1 or 2 ADLs and are unable to work but yet ineligible to make a claim from ElderShield or CareShield Life.

A long-term care insurance however, has the option of allowing pay-outs to commence from the first ADL. This provides a comprehensive coverage by ensuring that you would not be stuck in a situation where you are not eligible for pay-outs to commence but yet also unable to work.

(See "All About MediShield Life And How It Affects You")

#3 Disability at an earlier age would not provide any pay-outs

ElderShield and CareShield Life only provides coverage from age 40 and 30 respectively. Therefore, should a disability occur before the starting age, this would not result in any pay-outs as coverage has yet to commence.

However, long-term care insurance offers entry age starting from age 19, thus allowing for a wider range of individuals access to long-term care insurance. This reassures with knowledge that you are covered for a disability from an earlier age. As such, consider long-term care insurance should you fall out of the acceptable age range for ElderShield or CareShield Life or wish to enhance your coverage.

(See "All About Term Insurance 2019")


Long-term care insurance is suitable for:

  • Coverage from the inability to perform the first ADL
  • Income replacement in the event of a disability
  • Peace of mind with policy guaranteed renewal

  • Long-term care insurance is not suitable for:

  • Wealth accumulation
  • Death coverage

  • Available Disability Insurance Policies:

    NTUC Income - ElderShield,PrimeShield


    Tokio Marine - TM Protect 1


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    1Source: http://uknight.org/Photos/Disability%20Statistics(16).pdf


    2Source: https://www.moh.gov.sg/careshieldlife/about-eldershield


    3Source: https://www.moh.gov.sg/careshieldlife/about-careshield-life


    4Source: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/Members/Schemes/schemes/healthcare/eldershield


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