Complete Guide To Buying A Private Integrated Shield Plan

When it comes to health insurance, a private integrated shield plan (IP) is one of the most important policies that all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) should consider getting.

Private integrated shield plans help policyholders cover any potential cost that may be incurred if they are hospitalised, either in public or private hospitals.

A private integrated shield plan comprises two components. The first is MediShield Life. All Singaporeans and PRs are automatically covered under MediShield Life, Singapore’s basic health insurance plan. Coverage is provided regardless of age or pre-existing conditions.

The main limitation of MediShield Life is that payouts are benchmarked to subsidised Class B2/C treatment in public hospitals. Patients who choose unsubsidised wards, Class A/B1 wards or private hospitals may face significantly higher out-of-pocket costs if they rely solely on MediShield Life coverage.

To ensure coverage is provided for higher-class public hospital wards or private hospitals, Singapore residents can choose to upgrade their existing MediShield Life to an integrated shield plan.

Read Also: Your Complete Guide To Healthcare Financing In Singapore

Find Out More:

• Different Types Of Integrated Shield Plan
• Coverage Provided By Integrated Shield Plan
• Who Are The Different Insurers?
• Paying For Your Integrated Shield Plans Premiums
• Buying A Rider
• The Claims Process Is Important
• Insurers Are Starting To Implement Claims-Based Pricing
• Tussle Between Insurers And Doctors

Different Types Of Integrated Shield Plans

Coverage for integrated shield plans can be grouped into three different types.

Standard Integrated Shield Plan (Standard IP): Standard IP provides coverage for policyholders for Class B1 wards at public hospitals. The benefits provided by Standard IP are identical across all IP insurers.

To help potential policyholders decide which Class B1 plans to choose, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has compiled information showing the different premiums for Standard IP.

Source: MOH, As at 1 January 2025

Comparing lifetime premiums offers a more comprehensive view, as it considers the total amount a policyholder will pay over the life of the coverage, rather than just the premiums at different age bands. For instance, an insurer might offer the lowest premium for those aged 21 and below, but this policy could ultimately be more costly in the long term if premiums for older age groups are higher than those of other insurers.

Class A Plans: Class A plans provide coverage for policyholders for Class A wards at public hospitals. Unlike Standard IP, the benefits provided by Class A plans may differ in their coverage across insurers.

Here’s a look at the difference in premiums for Class A plans.

Source: MOH, As at 1 January 2025

Private Hospital Plans: Private hospital plans provide coverage for policyholders at private hospitals. Similar to Class A plans, benefits may vary by insurer.

Here’s a look at the difference in premiums for private hospital plans.

All premiums shown above are calculated by taking the sum of premiums, from Age Next Birthday (ANB) 1 to 100, based on insurers’ premium tables as of 1 January 2025. It does not include the premiums of the MediShield Life component of IPs or rider premiums. Figures are rounded up to the nearest hundred.

Coverage Provided By Integrated Shield Plan

As mentioned above, benefits provided by Standard IP plans are identical across all insurers, while benefits provided for private hospitals and Class A plans may differ among insurers.

In general, there are different types of coverage.

Inpatient & Day Surgery: This includes daily ward, treatment cost and surgery

Outpatient Treatment: This includes treatment for kidney dialysis, cancer treatment and chemotherapy

Pre & Post Hospital Treatment: This covers the cost of any related treatments incurred before or after the hospitalisation.

Who Are The Different Insurers?

As the name suggests, private insurers offer private integrated shield plans. Today, there are 7 insurers in Singapore that offer these IP plans. They are:

AIA: AIA HealthShield Gold Max

Great Eastern: GREAT SupremeHealth

HSBC Life: HSBC Life Shield

Income: Enhanced IncomeShield

Prudential: PruShield

Raffles Health Insurance: Raffles Shield

Singlife: Singlife Shield 

While the core MediShield Life component is standardised, each insurer structures its private insurance component differently, including panel arrangements, rider benefits, claims processes and premiums.

Since 2023, insurers have increasingly differentiated themselves through panel arrangements, pre-authorisation requirements and claims-based pricing structures. This means consumers should no longer compare Integrated Shield Plans based solely on premiums. Factors such as specialist panel access, rider terms, claims experience and future premium sustainability have become equally important.

In addition to selecting a plan with the most extensive coverage, policyholders should carefully consider the lifetime premiums they will be paying. It’s important to think not only about the cost today but also about the plan’s affordability over the long term. Keep in mind that insurers may review and adjust premiums over time.

Paying For Your Integrated Shield Plans Premiums

Like MediShield Life premiums, Integrated Shield Plan premiums can be partially paid using MediSave, subject to Additional Withdrawal Limits (AWLs).

However, unlike MediShield Life premiums, which can be paid in full using your Medisave, there is a cap on how much Singapore residents can use from their Medisave account to pay for their private integrated shield plan premiums. Any amount above the applicable AWL must be paid in cash.

For example, if the premium for the private integrated shield plan is $375 and the individual is 35 years old, he can use $300 from his Medisave to pay the premium, leaving a cash outlay of just $75.

As people age, annual premiums for private integrated shield plans will naturally increase. This increase reflects the fact that older people are more likely to require hospitalisation and treatment than younger folks.

While MediSave helps offset premiums when you are younger, cash outlays tend to increase significantly with age, especially for private hospital plans and riders. This is one reason some Singaporeans choose to downgrade their plans later in life from private hospital coverage to Class A or B1 public hospital coverage.

Buying A Rider

As with MediShield Life, coverage in higher-class wards does not mean hospitalisation bills are fully paid. All integrated shield plans include deductibles and co-insurance.

In the past, if you wanted complete coverage so that you did not have to pay for any deductibles and co-insurance, you had the option of purchasing a separate full rider that could fully cover all hospitalisation bills incurred. All riders must be paid in cash only.

However, since April 1, 2019, all new integrated shield plan riders must incorporate a co-payment of at least 5%, subject to an annual cap of $3,000 (though insurers can set higher thresholds). For example, if you incur a hospitalisation bill of $15,000, a 5% co-payment means forking out $750, with the remaining $14,250 covered by the private integrated shield plan.

To find out more about the changes to shield plan riders, you can read this article about 5 facts about the integrated shield plan changes that Singaporeans need to know about

This regulation only applies to riders of new integrated shield plans. Existing integrated shield plans with full riders are not affected. However, existing policyholders are still affected by insurers’ decisions to continue renewing existing full riders. Indeed, in February 2021, NTUC Income announced the decision to renew full riders (regardless of whether they were purchased before or after the April 2018 regulation) with a co-payment component from 1 April 2021 onwards.

New Integrated Shield Plan Rider Changes From 1 April 2026

Singapore’s Integrated Shield Plan (IP) landscape continues to evolve as the Ministry of Health (MOH) and insurers attempt to manage rising healthcare costs and medical inflation.

From 1 April 2026, new rider structures introduced by insurers are expected to place greater emphasis on policyholders using panel doctors and obtaining pre-authorisation before treatment. This comes amid concerns over rapidly rising claims costs in private hospitals, which have led to higher premiums across most IP insurers.

While all new IP riders sold since April 2019 have already been required to include a minimum 5% co-payment component, insurers are increasingly differentiating rider benefits depending on whether policyholders use panel specialists or non-panel doctors.

For example, some riders may offer:

• Lower co-payment caps when using panel doctors
• Higher out-of-pocket costs for non-panel treatment
• Reduced benefits if pre-authorisation is not obtained before treatment
• Claims-based pricing structures, where premiums may increase after large or repeated claims

The objective behind these changes is to encourage more cost-conscious healthcare decisions while helping to keep premiums sustainable over the long term.

At the same time, policyholders should recognise that private Integrated Shield Plans are not static products. Benefits, panel arrangements, rider structures and pricing models can change over time as insurers adapt to healthcare cost pressures and regulatory requirements.

As such, when buying an IP, consumers should not only compare premiums today, but also evaluate:

• The insurer’s panel network
• Pre-authorisation processes
• Rider terms and exclusions
• Long-term premium affordability
• How claims may affect future premiums

Ultimately, the best Integrated Shield Plan is not necessarily the one with the most comprehensive coverage, but the one that remains affordable and suitable for your healthcare preferences over the long term.

Read Also: Understanding The Changes For Private Integrated Shield Plans (IP) Riders, And Whether It Makes Sense To Continue With Your Existing Rider

Claims Experience And Panel Access Matter More Than Ever

Beyond premiums and coverage limits, the claims experience has become one of the most important considerations when choosing an Integrated Shield Plan.

Today, many insurers rely heavily on panel specialists, pre-authorisation processes and preferred healthcare partners to manage claims costs. Using non-panel doctors may result in higher co-payments, lower claim limits or additional administrative requirements.

The good news is that, according to MOH, most claims are processed by the insurer within 2 days. These durations are for Integrated Shield Plan claims and do not include rider claims.

It is reassuring to know that all insurers are speedy in processing the claims. However, these statistics also don’t tell us the difficulty of making a claim. Much of the claim process may have been expedited because IP policyholders are seeking treatment with panel specialists and have already prepared a Letter of Guarantee.

Number of Private Specialists

An often-overlooked detail in a product summary of an integrated shield plan is the number of private specialists who are panelled with the insurance firm.

Fortunately, all the insurers have generally expanded their panel of private specialists over the past 3 years. This improves policyholders’ choice and access to cost-effective care.

Read Also: Beginner’s Guide To Understanding How MediShield Life Works

Claims-Based Pricing

In recent years, some insurers have also been moving towards claims-based pricing in addition to the traditional as-charged policies. Policyholders who do not make a claim will enjoy a discount on their rider premiums, which will range between 20% and 25%, depending on the insurer. Those who do make a claim of at least $1,000 or $2,000 are likely to face a hike in rider premiums in the subsequent year.

While this benefits healthy policyholders, it could become detrimental when we eventually fall ill. Once that happens, our rider premiums will escalate and we may end up in a no-win situation where we have to handle both escalating healthcare and premium costs.

Read Also: MediShield Life Review: 5 Things To Know About The Key Changes Being Recommended