Response to The Straits Times Forum Letter on "Help national servicemen make informed choices on insurance" and Online Letter on "Yes, stop the NS insurance hard-sell"

Measures in place to help servicemen make informed decisions about insurance

We thank Mr Tag Yujie for his letter on 11 June 2012, "Help national servicemen make informed choices on insurance" and Mr Elgin Seah for his letter on 16 June 2012, "Yes, stop the NS insurance hard-sell"; and their concern for our servicemen.

MINDEF provides compensation to our servicemen to cover any death or injury that is due to service. On top of this, all servicemen are encouraged to sign up for the SAF Group Term Life (GTL) Insurance which covers them for injury or death due to service as well as those that are not due to service. The GTL Insurance provides additional financial protection for servicemen and is therefore purely voluntary. The coverage extends beyond NS duration up to the age of 70, so long as they continue to pay their premiums. For a monthly premium of $12.80, servicemen will be insured for an amount of up to $100,000. To help pay for the monthly premium, the NS allowance was increased by $20 in Jan 2009. Hence, there is no additional out-of-pocket expenditure on the part of servicemen.

The SAF GTL Insurance is a welfare provision. It is for the serviceman to decide whether the scheme is suitable for himself. Upon enlistment, servicemen are automatically covered under the SAF GTL Insurance, with the first three days of coverage provided free. They can choose to opt out of the scheme or terminate the policy at any time. Servicemen may also vary the amount of insurance coverage.

Information on the SAF GTL Insurance is readily available to our servicemen, so that they can make an informed choice. The information is available on the NS portal, www.ns.sg. Recruits are also handed the SAF GTL Information Pack on enlistment day, to allow them to seek clarification and consult their parents on the insurance policy. Those who decide to opt out will submit their opt-out form to their unit, so that the Officer Commanding (OC) can speak to them to ensure that they have made an informed decision. There is no coercion and no serviceman is penalized for opting out. They can also choose to opt in subsequently, without additional charges.

Lieutenant Colonel (NS) Koa Boon Teck
Head SAF Personnel Services Centre
Singapore Armed Forces

MINDEF's reply was published as "Measures in place to help servicemen make informed decisions about insurance", The Straits Times, 20 Jun 12