Singaporeans urged to give feedback for the Police Owners’ Protection Scheme
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has opened the floor for public opinion on proposed revisions to the Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme. This is set to improve its coverage, structure, and operational efficiency.
Under the proposal, MAS intends to extend the scheme’s coverage to cover mandatory third-party liability insurance required under the Active Mobility Act 2017. This extension would include specified mobility devices such as bicycles, personal mobility devices, power-assisted bicycles, motorised wheelchairs, or mobility scooters, procured by businesses.
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Furthermore, MAS aims to broaden the scheme’s scope to include personal travel insurance policies issued to corporates where payouts are due to individual travellers.
The central bank plans to specify a comprehensive list of benefits covered and excluded under the scheme for various personal line insurance policies.
“Direct general insurers which are members of the scheme will be required to clearly state the benefits that are not covered in their policy documents,” MAS stated.
To streamline processes and ensure swift claims settlement, MAS is proposing an extension of scheme coverage to claim events (excluding surrenders) even after the failed insurer has entered liquidation.
“This will minimise disruption to consumers as liquidators explore options to ensure continuity of the protected life insurance policies, such as looking for buyers or setting up a new company to take over these policies,” MAS said.
Simplification is also on the cards, with MAS suggesting standardised methodologies for calculating refunds of unused premiums for protected general insurance policies.
Additionally, a simpler methodology for computing maximum protected benefits under applicable whole life, endowment, and term policies is being proposed. This method will rely on aggregate guaranteed death benefits to prevent a potential scaling down of aggregate death benefits for policy owners with up to S$500,000 per life assured.
MAS highlighted collaborative efforts with the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation Limited (SDIC) to enhance operational processes for scheme payouts in the event of insurer failure.
Stakeholders and interested parties have the opportunity to provide feedback on these proposed amendments until 16 February 2024.
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