Delay in issuing a policy

Hi Mr. Tan,

Could I seek your advise on this issue. My husband and I went down to one of the Business Centre in NTUC and sign off and make premium payment for Living Benefit policy under the Family Policy.

Yesterday, we received a letter to ask us to go for routine checkup and that NTUC will decide if they will take on the policy with us. Is it right for the insurance company to receive premium payment and then 3 weeks later sent us a letter of such?

What if something happens during this period? After making the premium payment, I thought I am covered under the policy and was shocked when I received the letter yesterday..

REPLY
The coverage will commence on the commencement date shown in the policy. This will be after the acceptance of your application, including medical checkup. In the meantime, the premium is received as an "advance premium" and is refunded in full if the application is rejected.

During my time, NTUC Income offered coverage against accident from the time of payment of the premium until acceptance of the application. I am not sure if this practice is still being continued. You can ask the business center about it.

Normally, there should not be a delay of 3 weeks. It should have been processed much earlier. It must have been an oversight.

What you may lose is the interest on the premium paid for a few days or weeks. As the interest rate is quite low, the lost interest is not significant. If you get accident coverage, it should make up for this lost interest.