AstraLink

AstraLink is a whole life regular-premium investment-linked plan^.

^ An investment linked plan has both a life insurance and an investment component. Your premiums are used to pay for units in one or more investment funds of your choice.  The value of these units depends on their price, which in turn depends on the investment fund’s performance. 

During the term of this policy, if the insured dies, we will pay:

- the basic benefit¹ at the claim event date; or

- the policy value at the time we are told about the claim;

whichever is higher.

We will take off any fees and charges which apply to your policy.

The policy will end when we make this payment.

¹Basic benefit means:

• the minimum protection value plus total top-ups less total withdrawals before the anniversary immediately after the insured reaches the age of 70; or
• the sum assured plus total top-ups less total withdrawals on or after the anniversary immediately after the insured reaches the age of 70.

We will not pay the death benefit if the insured committed suicide within one year from the cover start date.

For suicide within one year from the cover start date, we will refund only the cash-in value and the policy will be completely free of all legal effect.

During the term of this policy, if the insured becomes terminally ill, we will pay:

- the basic benefit¹ at the claim event date; or

- the policy value at the time we are told about the claim;

whichever is higher.

We will take off any fees and charges which apply to your policy.

The policy will end when we make this payment.

¹Basic benefit means:

• the minimum protection value plus total top-ups less total withdrawals before the anniversary immediately after the insured reaches the age of 70; or
• the sum assured plus total top-ups less total withdrawals on or after the anniversary immediately after the insured reaches the age of 70.

Terminal illness (TI), and terminally ill mean an illness which, in the opinion of the registered medical practitioner involved and a registered medical practitioner we have appointed, is highly likely to lead to death within 12 months. However, we will exclude TI in the presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

We will not pay this benefit if your claim arises from:

- deliberate acts such as self-inflicted injuries, illnesses or attempted suicide;

- unlawful acts, provoked assault, or deliberate exposure to danger; or

- the effects of alcohol, drugs or any dependence.

During the term of this policy, if the insured becomes totally and permanently disabled, we will pay:

- the basic benefit¹ at the claim event date; or

- the policy value at the time we are told about the claim;

whichever is higher.

We will take off any fees and charges which apply to your policy.

The policy will end when we make this payment.

¹Basic benefit means:

• the minimum protection value plus total top-ups less total withdrawals before the anniversary immediately after the insured reaches the age of 70; or
• the sum assured plus total top-ups less total withdrawals on or after the anniversary immediately after the insured reaches the age of 70.

Total and permanent disability (TPD), and totally and permanently disabled, mean any of the below.

- If the insured is under 65 years old, TPD, and totally and permanently disabled mean total physical loss, or the inability to take part in any paid work for the rest of a person’s life.

- If the insured is 65 years old and above, TPD and totally and permanently disabled mean total physical loss, or severe disability.

Total physical loss means:

- the total and permanent loss of sight in both eyes;

- the loss of, or total and permanent loss of use of, two limbs at or above the wrist or ankle; or

- the total and permanent loss of sight in one eye and the loss of, or total and permanent loss of use of, one limb at or above the wrist or ankle.

Severe disability means the inability to perform at least three of the following activities of daily living, even with the aid of special equipment and always needing the help of another person throughout the entire activity.

- Washing - the ability to wash in the bath or shower (including getting into and out of the bath or shower) or wash satisfactorily by other means.

- Dressing - the ability to put on, take off, secure and unfasten all garments and, as appropriate, any braces, artificial limbs or other surgical appliances.

- Transferring - ability to move from a bed to an upright chair or wheelchair and vice versa.

- Mobility - the ability to move indoors from room to room on level surfaces.

- Toileting - the ability to use the lavatory or otherwise manage bowel and bladder functions so as to maintain a satisfactory level of personal hygiene.

- Feeding - the ability to feed oneself once food has been prepared and made available.

During the term of this policy, if the insured becomes totally and permanently disabled or dies as a result of an accident, before the anniversary immediately after the insured reaches the age of 70, we will pay an additional 100% of the sum assured on top of the TPD benefit or death benefit. We will pay this additional sum only if the insured was not taking part in a restricted activity at the time of the accident. If the insured was taking part in a restricted activity at the time of the accident, we will only pay an additional 30% of the sum assured on top of the TPD benefit or death benefit.

We will pay this benefit only if TPD or death happens within 365 days of the accident.

The policy will end when we make this payment.

Restricted activity means any of the following activities.

- Duties as firefighters, police force personnel, fishermen, armed security guards, aircrew, ship crew, marine salvage crew, oil riggers, dock workers, drivers, despatch riders, driving instructors, bodyguards and bouncers.

- Any activities involving explosives, heavy machinery, woodworking, dangerous gases or substances, using underwater breathing apparatus, work on construction or demolition sites, work at heights above 10 metres, work in underground tunnels, oil and gas rigs or offshore work.

- Military, air force or naval operations in peacetime, including training and exercises for national servicemen or reservists in peacetime.

- Motorcycling whether as rider or pillion rider.

- Professional sports, any form of race (except racing on foot, cycling or swimming), action or adventure sports that involve speed, height at above 10 metres, highly specialized gear, stunts or using underwater breathing apparatus. This definition includes rock climbing, mountaineering, parachuting, white-water rafting, horse riding, winter sports and scuba diving.

Accident and accidental mean an unexpected incident that results in an injury or death. The injury or death must be caused entirely by being hit by an external object that produces a bruise or wound, except for injury or death caused specifically by drowning, food poisoning, choking on food, or suffocation by smoke, fumes or gas.

We will not pay this benefit if accidental TPD or accidental death is caused directly or indirectly by:

- deliberate acts such as self-inflicted injuries, suicide or attempted suicide;

- unlawful acts, provoked assault or deliberate exposure to danger;

- the effects of alcohol, drugs or any dependence;

- illnesses, psychological conditions or eating disorders;

- heat stroke;

- a bad reaction to drugs or medication;

- the effects of viruses (for example, dengue), bacteria or diseases;

- the negative effects or complications of medical and surgical care;

- treatment aimed at improving appearance, such as cosmetic surgery or any treatment relating to a previous cosmetic treatment;

- radiation or contamination from radioactivity;

- being in any aircraft, except as a fare-paying passenger in a commercial aircraft, or during military operations in peacetime;

- military, air force or naval operations, except when carried out in peacetime;

- warlike operations (whether war is declared or not), war, invasion, riot or any similar event;

- an accident which happens outside of Singapore, if the insured has been outside Singapore for more than 180 days in a row at the time of the accident; or

- an act of terrorism. However, we will pay S$10,000 or 10% of the sum assured, whichever is lower, on top of the amount we pay for TPD benefit or death benefit.

MIP refers to the period you have chosen to pay regular premiums and this cannot be changed once the policy has been issued.

You may choose to continue paying regular premiums after the MIP.

During the minimum investment period, if the policy value is not enough to cover the fees and charges due on your policy, we will apply the NLG benefit and we will not end the policy. In other words, the policy will continue during this period.

When we apply the NLG benefit, you will still need to pay the fees and charges due on your policy and your unit deducting rider, if any. We will take these fees and charges from any policy value or claim proceeds that you may be receiving under your policy.

We will apply the NLG benefit only when:

- you pay all your regular premiums due before the end of the grace period; and

- you do not make any withdrawals (including any funds that declare distribution) more than the total top-up made.

Once we end the NLG benefit, we will not reinstate it.

Each time the insured experiences a life event, you may choose to take up the Guaranteed Insurability Option.

You may choose to increase the sum assured of this policy, without us having to assess the insured’s health. We will limit the increase in sum assured to 50% of the sum assured when this policy was issued, or S$100,000, whichever is lower.

If you increase the sum assured of your policy, this will result in:

- An increase in the sum assured of your unit deducting rider(s), if any; and

- An increase in your regular premiums.

The increased sum assured will be based on the increased premium and applicable sum assured multiple.

Life event means:

- turning age 21;

- marriage;

- divorce;

- death of a spouse;

- becoming a parent; or

- purchase of a residential property.

The insured must meet all the following conditions to take up this option.

- The insured must take up the option within three months after the date of their life event.

- Each time the insured takes up the option, it must be on a different life event.

- The life event must have taken place no earlier than 36 months after the cover start date of the policy. The insured must not be totally and permanently disabled, or be diagnosed with an advanced stage dread disease at the time of taking up the option.

- The insured must be 50 years old or under at the time of taking up the option. At our request, the insured must provide to our satisfaction, documentary proof of a life event.

- The total TPD benefit due for the insured for any policies which have been issued (whether issued by us or by any other insurer), must be less than S$6.5 million (not including bonuses) after this option is exercised.

- The insured is a standard life.

- The total critical illness and dread disease benefit due for the insured for any policies which have been issued (whether issued by us or by any other insurer), must be less than S$3.6 million (not including bonuses) after this option is exercised.

You can choose to reduce the sum assured of the policy up to zero if all the following conditions are met:

- The insured is 55 years and above.

- Your request takes place after the minimum investment period.

The sum assured for this policy and the unit deducting rider(s), if any, will be reduced correspondingly.

You can continue to pay the regular premiums after choosing the retirement option. If you stop paying premiums, the policy will go into a premium holiday.

The insurance cover charge for this policy and the unit deducting rider(s), if any, will be reduced accordingly after you choose the retirement option.

The following riders / supplementary benefits can be added to AstraLink at the point of new policy application:

- Critical Protect (ILP)

- Total Protect

- Payor Premium Waiver

- Enhanced Payor Premium Waiver

Riders, also known as supplementary benefits, can be attached to a basic insurance policy to provide additional protection at lower cost.

We will provide an investment bonus based on a percentage of the regular premiums paid in the first 12 months shown in Table 1.

If the unit deducting rider Critical Protect (ILP) is taken up with this policy, we will provide an investment bonus based on a percentage of the regular premiums paid in the first 12 months shown in Table 2.

We will use the investment bonus to buy additional units in the funds you have chosen.

The investment bonus does not apply for sum assured multiple below 10x.

Table 1

Table 2

Yes, your policy has a cash-in or surrender value.

The value will be the amount available when your units are multiplied by the bid price, less any fees and charges we may take. 

The cut-off time used to determine the pricing of units is 3.00 pm (Singapore time) on each business day (Monday to Friday, excluding weekends and public holidays).

Buying a life insurance policy is a long-term commitment and an early termination of the policy usually involves high costs and the surrender value may be less than the total premiums paid.

No, you can only use cash to buy this plan.

You can increase your investment via ‘top-ups’ subject to a minimum amount set for each top-up and provided that you are not on premium holiday.

We will use 100% of your top-ups to buy units (at the bid price) in the funds you choose.

Top-ups do not form part of your regular premiums and will not increase the sum assured of the policy.

A partial withdrawal charge/surrender charge is applicable if you withdraw/surrender your top-ups during the minimum investment period.

You may change the amount of your regular premium only from the 3rd anniversary and provided that your policy is not on premium holiday. We may also set a minimum amount for the change in regular premium.

The change in your regular premium can only be effective when your next premium is due.

If you change your regular premium, we will adjust the sum assured of your policy and unit deducting rider(s), if any, accordingly.

If you increase your regular premium, you will need to give us satisfactory proof of the insured’s good health and confirm that there is no change in the risks covered by this policy.

You will have to pay a surrender charge if you reduce your regular premium during the minimum investment period.

You may change the sum assured for your policy only from the 3rd anniversary and provided that your policy is not on premium holiday.

The change in your sum assured can only be effective when your next insurance cover charge’s deduction date is due.

If you increased your sum assured, you will need to give us satisfactory proof of the insured’s good health and that there is no change in the risks covered by this policy.

You may reduce your sum assured as long as it is not less than the minimum sum assured based on the applicable sum assured multiple.

If you change the sum assured, we will adjust the regular premium of your policy based on the applicable sum assured multiple. A surrender charge is applicable if you reduce your sum assured during the minimum investment period.

No, you cannot backdate your policy.

You can refer to this webpage for more information.

Yes, you can switch funds subject to the following terms:

i. We may tell you to leave a minimum amount in that fund if you are not switching out of a fund completely; and

ii. We may charge you a small amount, set a minimum amount for each switch and/or limit the number of switches you can carry out.

For all funds that declare distributions, we will reinvest each distribution into the fund from which it is paid. We do this by buying units at the bid price (unless we say otherwise) on the payout date as set out in the ‘Semi Annual Fund Report’ or ‘Annual Fund Report’, or its equivalent. Units reinvested is managed as part of your unit holdings in the policy.

Forward pricing means that the prices of your transacted funds will only be computed after the close of each dealing day.

The prices will be updated on our website here after 2 working days from the close of each dealing day. 

For cash policy, all transactions and premiums received by us by 3.00 pm (Singapore time) each day will be executed based on the unit prices of the same business day.

For transactions submitted on a non-business day (i.e. Saturday, Sunday or public holiday), the execution will be based on the prices valued for the following business day.

The bid price will be used to work out the policy value.

Our fund prices are updated daily on our website here.

There is a percentage of your regular premiums that we use to buy units (at the bid price) in the funds you choose. This percentage varies based on the minimum investment period and number of months that regular premiums have been paid as shown in Table below.

We may change the percentage of regular premium to buy units in the funds you chose by giving you notice. This percentage will not be less than 100%.

If you change your regular premium, the same table will apply to your adjusted regular premium to buy units in the funds.

Premium holiday is a feature that allows you to stop paying your regular premium for a certain period of time for as long as the policy value is enough to keep it on force.

Yes, your insurance cover charge continues to apply during premium holiday hence your insurance coverage will be provided during premium holiday.

Premium holiday will only be available from the 2^nd anniversary.

Before the 2nd anniversary during the minimum investment period, if you still have not paid the premium after the grace period, we will end this policy with no payout to you.

Yes, you can make partial withdrawal from your funds subject to the following terms:

- The minimum partial withdrawal amount is $500 each time; and

- You need to hold a minimum policy value of $1,000 in aggregate (across all sub-funds) under the policy.

We will apply a partial withdrawal charge for each partial withdrawal of the units in your fund(s) you make during the minimum investment period

The formula for computation is as follows:

Withdrawal value = Number of units withdrawn from selected fund × Bid price of the selected fund

Partial withdrawal charge will apply for each partial withdrawal you make during the minimum investment period.

Upon cancellation during free look, we will refund you:

i. the premiums you have paid; or 

ii. policy value (excluding bonus units) based on the applicable bid price on the date we receive the cancellation request, plus any applicable fees and charges deducted from the policy;

whichever is lower.

The amount of refund will be less any medical fees and other expenses such as payments for medical check-ups and medical reports incurred by us.

This policy will end when we make this refund.

The annual management fee is not the same for all ILP funds. The fee for each fund can be found in the Fund Report.

You must pay a monthly insurance cover charge.

We will work out the monthly insurance cover charge taking into consideration of the sum at risk, the Insured’s age, gender and whether they smoke at the time of application.

We will take this insurance cover charge from the policy value of your policy by cancelling units at the bid price.

However, if the sum at risk is zero or less (negative value), we will not apply the insurance cover charge for that month.

When deciding on your claim, we will refund the monthly insurance cover charges that we have taken after the date you told us about the event giving rise to the claim.

We do not charge any premium charge. However, we may change this at any time by giving you notice.

We will deduct a surrender charge from the policy value during the MIP if:

- You surrender the policy in full (including top-ups);

- You decrease the regular premium or sum assured; or

- You did not pay your regular premiums before the 2nd anniversary

If your policy cash-in value after surrender charge is zero or less, we will not pay any benefit and your policy will end.

We will apply a partial withdrawal charge for each partial withdrawal of the units in your fund(s) you make during the minimum investment period. We will deduct the partial withdrawal charge before we pay the partial withdrawal amount. 

After a partial withdrawal is made, the sum assured and regular premium to be paid will remain the same.

If the policy value of the units for a partial withdrawal after deducting the partial withdrawal charge falls below the required minimum policy value, your withdrawal request will not be accepted and you will not receive any payout.

You must pay the premium holiday charge on a monthly basis 30 days from the premium due date if:

- You stop paying premiums; or

- You request for a premium holiday;

from the 2nd anniversary during the minimum investment period. 

The premium holiday charge applies if you did not pay any premiums until the end of the minimum investment period or when this policy end.

We will take this premium holiday charge from the policy value of your policy by cancelling units at the bid price.

Premium holiday charge does not apply if the policy enters into a premium holiday after the minimum investment period.

No, you cannot take a loan from this policy.