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In Singapore, we are fortunate to enjoy government schemes such as MediShield Life to cover large hospital bills and CareShield Life to protect against severe disability. Many also go beyond these automatic protections to buy private Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) and even critical illness coverage.
But, what often gets overlooked is the cost of recovering from everyday accidents, like a sprain, fracture, burn, or fall, or even after getting sick. These can also require costly medical treatments, and even hospital stays and time off work if more serious.
That’s where a Personal Accident (PA) plan can offer immediate and affordable protection – providing payouts for medical expenses, hospitalisation and even cash payouts as a form of income protection.
Using My Great PA Plan from OCBC as an example, we look at 5 common types of coverage you’ll get with a PA plan.
#1 Accidental Death Payout
When you have young children or elderly parents relying on you for their day-to-day living, one of your biggest worries is what happens to them if you are no longer around.
While nothing can take away the personal loss of a close family member, a PA plan can offer some financial support as your loved ones adjust to life without you.
Take My Great PA Plan for example: it provides a $1 million lump sum payout in the event of accidental death, for as little as $0.84 a day* (or just over $305* a year). For this price, it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to secure serious protection for your loved ones.
Source: My Great PA Plan
#2 Medical Expense Reimbursements Due To Accidents
No matter how careful or fit you think you may be, there’s always a chance that you get injured while exercising or playing sports, or you may simply take a bad fall.
Having a PA plan gives you 24/7 coverage – offering peace of mind against the “what ifs” that inevitably crops up in life. My Great PA Plan provides up to $1,000 in coverage for each accident whether or not you require hospitalisation.
For example, if you incur $200 in outpatient medical bills after a cycling accident, this will be fully covered since it falls within the $1,000 coverage limit.
Source: My Great PA Plan
While accidents are beyond your control, your protection doesn’t have to be. Extending the scenario above, two months after recovering from the cycling accident, you happen to fracture your wrist after a fall and incur $500 in medical expenses as well as another $500 for follow-up physiotherapy expenses. As this is a separate accident, you will have another $1,000 claim limit – even though you already claimed $200 for the earlier cycling accident.
Source: My Great PA Plan
In the scenario (and screenshot) above, you’ll notice that My Great PA Plan covers the $500 in physiotherapy expenses. While not all PA plans offer this, My Great PA Plan gives you additional flexibility to seek a variety of outpatient treatments, such as physiotherapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Chiropractic treatments.
But, do note that there is a $500 sub-limit for TCM and chiropractic treatments per accident, which is inclusive of the overall $1,000 claim limit per accident. Physiotherapy treatments are not subject to this $500 sub-limit, which means you can spend up to the full $1,000 claim limit on such treatments.
Finally, it’s good to know that your coverage doesn’t limit the number of accidents you can claim for—you’re protected no matter how many accidents occur during the coverage period.
#3 Medical Expense Reimbursements Due To Specific Sicknesses**
Just like accidents, falling sick is also out of our control. Again, not all PA plans offer coverage for sicknesses, and we need to understand exactly what we’re covered for when buying one.
Under My Great PA Plan it covers for 4 specific sicknesses: Dengue Fever, Zika Virus, Food Poisoning and Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease (HFMD).
Without having to pay for additional riders or add-ons, you are reassured in coverage of up to $500 in medical expense reimbursement when you contract these specific sicknesses in Singapore or when overseas.
And, just like your accident coverage, you can make claims as many times as needed as long as the specific sickness stems of a separate incident.
#4 Daily Hospital Cash Benefit If You Are Hospitalised
In certain situations, an accident or illness may require hospitalisation. This is where your PA plan offers added peace of mind—helping to offset out-of-pocket costs like deductibles or co-insurance through a Daily Hospital Cash benefit, easing the financial strain during your recovery. Since this is a cash payout, you also have the flexibility to use it in any way you wish, such as hiring extra part-time help for home cleaning or taking private transportation to get around while you are still recovering.
My Great PA Plan gives you $200 for each day you are hospitalised, up to a maximum of 180 days, due to an accident or one of the covered specific sicknesses.
In the screenshot below, you can see how this works. If you incur $1,000 in medical expenses after contracting the dengue fever and staying in the hospital for 3 days, you will be eligible for:
1) a maximum of $500 in medical expense reimbursement for contracting one of the covered specific sicknesses
2) $600 in Daily Hospital Cash benefit (for 3 days for hospitalisation)
In the scenario below, we can see that the additional $600 in Daily Hospital Cash benefit can help cover your bills entirely – without you having to fork out any cash out-of-pocket.
Source: My Great PA Plan
#5 24/7 Coverage, Even When You’re Overseas
You’re not just covered in Singapore—My Great PA Plan follows you wherever you go. Whether you’re on a holiday, work trip, or just visiting family abroad, you’ll still enjoy the same 24/7 protection.
It’s a great way to travel with extra peace of mind, and a solid backup to your travel insurance, as most of us will be able to recall a time when we or someone in our travel party fell ill or got food poisoning overseas.
Putting The “Great” In My Great PA Plan
We can’t predict accidents or illnesses – but we can be ready. My Great PA Plan gives you the confidence to go about your daily life, knowing you’re protected. It truly offers a “Great” peace of mind.
With coverage on My Great PA Plan starting from just $0.84* a day or about $305* a year, it’s not only an affordable financial safety net, but also gives you a high $1 million accidental death payout.
Unlimited medical reimbursements of up to $1,000 per accident and $500 per specific sickness is also reassuring. This can play a role in plugging potential gaps in your healthcare coverage, such as outpatient treatments, TCM, Physiotherapist treatments and Chiropractor expenses, which may not be fully covered by your MediShield Life and IP.
If you do end up hospitalised due to an accident or a specific sickness, you’re also covered for up to 180 days. For each day you are in the hospital or under the Mobile Inpatient Care at Home (MIC@Home), you will receive $200 in Daily Hospital Cash.
Comprehensive PA coverage also gives you peace of mind, knowing your loved ones are protected whether you are injured, sick, hospitalised or in the unfortunate case, if you pass on.
As a bonus when you sign up for My Great PA Plan by 31 August 2025, you’ll receive up to $25 cash reward when you apply.
My Great PA Plan offers a simple way to start protecting yourself and now gives you additional rewards for doing so. Apply in minutes on the OCBC app (Login>More>Apply>My Great PA Plan); exclusive to OCBC customers.
Footnotes:
*The daily premium rate, of $0.84, is calculated based on the annual premium of S$305.20, rounded to the nearest cent. It includes the prevailing GST rate, which may change from time to time. The premium is not fixed and may change in the future.
** Make claims of up to $500 for your medical expenses each time you are diagnosed with the following sicknesses: Food poisoning, Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease (HFMD), Dengue fever, Zika virus
Important notes
My GREAT PA Plan is underwritten by The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Eastern Holdings Limited and a member of the OCBC Group. This plan is not a bank deposit and OCBC Bank does not guarantee or have any obligations in connection with it.
This document does not take into account your particular investment and protection aims, financial situation or needs. You may want to seek advice from a financial adviser before committing to buy the product. If you choose not to seek advice from a financial adviser, you should consider whether the product is suitable for you.
You may terminate the policy during the free-look period (if any) if you decide that the purchased policy is not suitable for you. Note that by doing so, the insurer may recover from you any underwriting expense incurred.
It is usually detrimental to replace an existing accident and health plan with a new one. A penalty may be imposed for early plan termination and the new plan may cost more, or have less benefits at the same cost.
This document is for general information only. It is not a contract of insurance or an offer to buy an insurance product or service. It is also not meant to provide any insurance or financial advice. The specific terms and conditions of the plan are set out in the policy documents. If you are interested in the insurance policy, you should read the product summary and policy illustration (available from us) before deciding whether to buy this product.
We do not guarantee, represent or warrant that any of the information provided in this document is accurate and you should not rely on it as such. We do not undertake to update the information or to correct any inaccuracies.
All information may change without notice. We will not be liable for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly in connection with or as a result of you acting on the information in this document.
This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Policy Owner’s Protection Scheme
This policy is protected under the Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme which is administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC). Coverage for your policy is automatic and no further action is required from you. For more information on the types of benefits that are covered under the scheme as well as the limits of coverage, where applicable, please contact us or visit the Life Insurance Association (LIA) or SDIC websites (www.lia.org.sg or www.sdic.org.sg).
