FWD Term Insurance

Get up to S$1.5 million of life insurance coverage.

Key features for
FWD's Term Life Plus Insurance

Flexibility

Choose to start with a low premium and renew yearly or lock in your premiums today.

Total and Permanent Disability

Add a TPD rider for extra protection.

Cover 35 Critical Illnesses

Add a Critical Illness rider to cover you on 35 severe stage Critical Illnesses.

Waiver of Premium

Peace of mind with a Waiver of Premium rider and get seamless, continued coverage in the event of TPD or Critical Illness.

High Death Benefit cover

Provides a lump sum payout to your loved ones in the unfortunate event of the life assured's death.

Do I need Term Insurance?

Term Insurance is the most basic product in the range of life insurance products available in the market today. It is a simple product with the clear intent of providing you with a sum assured that will be paid out upon the death of the life insured.

As Term Insurance usually focuses on providing a death coverage, this means that every dollar put into the plan works towards providing that coverage. As a result, Term Insurance provides the highest coverage per dollar.

The cost of a Term Insurance product can be very affordable and should always be the first product an individual with dependents should consider. Because Term Insurance is a simple product, it is probably the most price competitive insurance product you can find.

What are the key features of a Term Insurance product?

Because Term Insurance is structured to provide a death benefit, it does not have features like cash value (also known as a surrender value or a maturity value) or any other investment elements.

Savings and Investment elements are additional features that you will not need if your fundamental intent is to obtain a high sum assured to protect your loved ones in the event of your death.

The death benefit, also known as the sum assured, is the lump sum amount of money that the Insurance Company will pay to your beneficiaries if you die during the term of your policy (i.e. the Policy Term). You can select the Policy Term based on how many years of protection you wish to be covered for.

We set out some of the key considerations you need to think about when deciding on your Policy Term. Some Insurers do limit the length of the Policy Term depending on your age at the time of policy commencement. As there is no cash value upon surrender or maturity, if you do wish to terminate, or if you outlive the Policy Term of your Term Insurance policy, you will not get back any money.

There may however, be a few minor enhancements which are pure protection in nature and can be added to the product as a rider or are already included as part of the base plan:

Terminal Illness Benefit:
Pays out a Terminal Illness Sum Assured ahead of death benefit if you are certified by a doctor to be terminally ill, i.e. you are likely to pass away within 12 months. This benefit is normally included as part of the Term Insurance base plan.

Total and Permanent Disability Benefit:
Pays out the sum assured earlier to you if you are totally and permanently disabled.

Critical Illness Benefit:
Pays out the sum assured earlier to you if you are diagnosed with one of the covered Critical Illnesses.

Waiver of Premiums:
Future premiums required could be waived upon Total and Permanent Disability, Critical Illness or both.

With no cash value, is Term Insurance a waste of money?

Because there is no cash value upon maturity, it is not uncommon to think that Term Insurance ends up being money thrown down the drain if the life insured surives the Policy Term.

Tell a 30 year old that he will have to pay S$15,000 to S$25,000 over 30 years and may not get anything back and he will be sure to take a step back. But the truth of the matter is, Term Insurance does buy you a peace of mind by offering you the largest insurance protection for your premium dollar.

You will end up paying more premiums for plans with savings element (Endowments or Whole of Life plans) in order to get a cash value at policy maturity, when you terminate your policy or at the end of your life. This is because for each dollar you contribute towards these plans, a portion goes into paying for the same protection element while the other portion goes into growing the cash value.

So don't think that protection is "cheaper" under a savings plan!

Referral Programme

Buying a Term Insurance plan is also eligible for the Refer a Friend programme. Refer your friends and family into purchasing a Term Insurance plan through InsureDIY and get DIY$10 for each referral.

DIY$ can be exchanged for vouchers including InsureDIY vouchers, NTUC Fairprice and Cold Storage vouchers. Check out our rewards catalogue here.

How to refer:
Simply ask your friend to email us letting us know you have referred them, staing your email address after they have successfully applied for the FWD Term Life Plus Insurance.

* Only applicable if your friend has not bought any insurance policy through InsureDIY before. DIY$ will only be awarded after your friend's free-look period.

Who needs Term Insurance?

The purpose of Term Insurance is to provide for those who are financially dependent on you. These are your loved ones who would struggle in the event of your unfortunate demise and would include Children, Spouses, Elderly Parents or relatives who rely on you for an allowance or some form of support.

Since Term Insurance provides you with the most efficient protection to money ratio, young working adults should get term insurance as one of their first insurance policies.

We cannot stress how critical and valuable Term Insurance is for people with limited means or savings due to its affordability and the level of coverage it can secure.

How much Term Insurance cover do I need?

The sum assured you should purchase will depend on your individual circumstances.

Some basic questions you need to be able to ask and answer are:

What proportion of the family income is supported by me?
In the event of my death, who would be impacted? How much sum assured will I need on my Term Insurance to support them monthly / yearly
Apart from my children and spouse, do I need to support other family members like parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings etc.?
Will I need to provide for any educational needs of my children? Do I need to consider sending them overseas and what are the associated expenses?
Do I have any outstanding loans (mortgage, car, credit cards etc) that would be a financial burden if I die?
What about final expenses like medical bills, funeral costs etc?
Do I plan to leave behind an inheritance / legacy?
Have I considered inflation and how this will impact the amount I need to set aside?

A simple starting point would be to take a multiple of your annual income and adjust for the factors listed. A quick back-of-the-envelope estimation insurance experts would recommend is for you to purchase a sum assured of 5 to 10 times your current annual income as the amount of Term Insurance death benefit to purchase.

Do keep in mind that your family needs will most likely increase over time, especially as you grow older and earn more in the future. What seems like enough today may not be adequate in ten years. It is usually best to purchase an amount you can afford at the present time while at the same time considering your future needs.

How do I decide on the Policy Term I will need?

The Policy Term of your Term Insurance product will depend on your own individual circumstances. Most people will want the Policy Term of their Term Insurance product to cover them up to after their children are likely to have achieved financial independence.

It will also depend on whether you have any financial obligations and what's the outstanding duration of these. For example, if you hold a mortgage that will be paid off only in 30 years time, it could be well worth getting a Term Insurance plan with a Policy Term to match the same period. Do ensure you have considered all of such factors before choosing on the Policy Term.

Another suggestion we have is for you to consider buying multiple Term Insurance policies with different sum assured and different Policy Term to provide cover for your various financial obligations. For example, if you have a five-year old child and you wish to support that child through university or an advanced degree, you need a policy term period of 18 to 22 years.

You may also consider having another Term Insurance policy that covers your mortgage loans that corresponds to the mortgage tenure, or you could also consider buying another Term Insurance policy with a shorter maturity to cover your obligations to your aging parents.

I'm convinced I need a Term Insurance plan! What next?

Get a quote for FWD's Term Life Plus Insurance here and sign up directly for a plan.

InsureDIY is a Broker licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and is an Exempt Financial Adviser. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.