The ageing population : it's impact on medical insurance industry in Singapore

Abstract

With the problem of Singapore's ageing population comes the problem of maintaining the physical and mental well being of the elderly. An impending problem faced by the elderly ( defined to be persons aged 60 and above in this project ) is the high costs of medical services, surgical and hospitalization fees. This problem is more pronounced in the light of Singapore's increasing health care costs. Medical insurance may provide a hedge against high medical costs incurred by the elderly. This project aims to look at the problem areas encountered by the insurers when providing medical products and what measures may be taken to overcome them. It will recommend how current medical products can be modified, as well as some other possible strategies that can be adopted, so as to ensure profitability for the insurer as well as provide protection for the elderly. · It also looks at how the two proposed schemes under the recommendations of "The White Paper on Affordable Healthcare" will affect the elderly. The two schemes are the increase in contribution to the CPF Medisave account and Medishield II respectively. Finally, recommendations for future products will be made, taking into consideration the design and pricing of the product, the underwriting, marketing, administration and claims administration aspects.