5 Best Term Insurance Plans In Singapore (2024)

Term insurance is a form of life insurance, which insures against death or terminal illness. As its name suggests, term insurance is only for a fixed term rather than your entire life.

People usually buy term insurance to protect their dependents and loved ones. Should anything happen to you, it guarantees a lump sum payout so that your children will still have money for their expenses and education, and your loved ones may be financially protected from your liabilities.

In fact, you may already have or had basic term life insurance. There is an automatic basic life insurance in place for all CPF members and individuals serving National Service. You might also find it as part of your employment package.

However, these may not be sufficient coverage. Furthermore, they can expire (for example, once you stop serving NS or leave your job). Opt for a personal life insurance plan for much better financial protection.

Table of contents: 

• Whole life vs term life insurance
• How to choose term life insurance
• Best term life insurance plans in Singapore
  • Great Eastern GoGreat Term Life
  • FWD Term Life Plus
  • Tokio Marine TM Term Assure (II)
  • Great Eastern GREAT Term with TPD Benefit
  • Etiqa ePROTECT Term Life
• Should you get term insurance?

Comparison: Whole life vs term insurance

Term insurance is distinct from whole life insurance. Apart from the most obvious factor — the policy term — they are also structured differently and recommended for different purposes.

As you can see, whole life insurance is a ‘bundled’, all-in-one product that protects you with insurance coverage and also functions as a savings/growth instrument.

However, the premiums are much more expensive.

Term insurance premiums are much cheaper, but it is purely for protection. There is no (financial) maturity benefit if nothing happens to you during the policy term. 

Therefore, those who choose term insurance usually follow the adage ‘buy term and invest the rest’, opting for other financial instruments for the wealth-building component. 

See also: Term Insurance vs Life Insurance – Which is Right For You?

How to choose a term insurance policy

Term insurance plans are fairly no-frills, so choosing a plan is somewhat easier than trying to compare whole life policies. Here are the key factors to consider.

Premiums: That is, the price you pay for insurance coverage. This corresponds directly to the sum assured (the payout in case of the insured event, such as death, TPD or critical illness). To start narrowing down the options, you can first obtain premium quotations from the different insurers on the market.

Policy term: Most insurers offer term insurance in standard intervals e.g. 10 years, 20 years. You can also buy policies up to a certain age, e.g. from now up to age 65. The cut-off age varies from insurer to insurer.

Riders: Some term insurance policies offer ‘riders’, e.g. add-on insurance plans, such as personal accident or critical illness plans. (Though not as severe as death or TPD, these scenarios can be just as financially devastating) These expire at the end of your term.

Note that, if you get a payout for one of the riders, your term insurance policy may be terminated as well. To avoid this interference, you can choose to buy your plans separately, or make sure your rider benefits are labelled ‘additional’ rather than ‘accelerated’.

Experts recommend getting coverage that's about 10 times your annual salary. So assuming you're earning a monthly salary of S$4,000 and up, you should consider purchasing a term life insurance of at least S$400,000 in coverage.

If you're thinking of purchasing a plan with higher coverage, you'll need to link up with an agent to get an offline term life insurance plan. 

Compare the best term life insurance plans on our site. Get S$1 million coverage for just S$1.49 a day!

Term insurance plans in Singapore

To kick off your selection process, we have shortlisted five term insurance plans in Singapore. For simplicity’s sake, we will compare protection-only term insurance plans with no cash value, without any riders or add-ons.

*Indicative annual premiums generated using the following example:

• Age 30, non-smoker, female policyholder
• S$1 million sum assured
• Coverage up to age 65 (i.e. 35 years)

**Indicative annual premiums generated using the following example:

• Age 30, non-smoker, male policyholder (note: premiums cost more for men)
• S$1 million sum assured
• Coverage up to age 65 (i.e. 35 years)

Great Eastern GoGreat Term Life

The Great Eastern GoGreat Term Life is targeted to provide enhanced protection for individuals who are enrolled in the Dependents' Protection Scheme (DPS). As long as you are working and have CPF, you are automatically a DPS customer.

It offers 2 coverage amounts — S$100,000 or S$300,000 against Death, Terminal Illness and Total Permanent Disability, till age 65.

The plan also stands out for its low premiums, from just S$0.21 a day. The best part? There are no medical check-up required. Simply purchase this plan online by answering a few health related questions and you're good to go!

Annual premium: From S$25.75 for aged 34 and below for S$100,000 sum assured.

FWD Term Life Plus

One insurer that’s known for value-for-money plans is FWD. While this insurer is probably better known for lifestyle products such as travel insurance, FWD also offers term life insurance.

Apart from basic term insurance plans that you can purchase directly online, FWD also offers a customised term insurance plan called Term Life Plus, which allows you to renew your policy every year up to 100 years old, or be covered with a fixed premium up to 70 years old.

Get additional protection with the Total and Permanent Disability rider, Critical Illness rider and Premium Waiver rider.

The cherry on top is that you can easily purchase it online with no medical examination required, making it extremely convenient as you can skip the extra step of purchasing it through a financial advisor.

Annual premium: S$278.88 (female, renewable term) and S$519.84 (female, fixed term). S$379.92 (male, renewable term) and S$666.12 (male, fixed term) based on sample profile above, including TPD coverage

Tokio Marine TM Term Assure (II)

Tokio Marine term insurance is a popular choice as it’s relatively straightforward and very good value for money. It insures against death, TPD and terminal illness.

You can choose terms between 5 years, 10 years, or level all the way up to age 85. There are also a range of riders available, including critical illness, early critical illness, disability insurance and child insurance.

The Tokio Marine term insurance plan is relatively flexible. You can increase your coverage at key milestones (like marriage, parenthood, divorce and property purchase, which increase your liabilities) without requiring further health assessment.

Before the age of 60, you also have the option to convert your term insurance policy into a whole life or endowment plan, up to the coverage amount of your policy.

Annual premium: Not stated on website

Great Eastern GREAT Term

Great Eastern’s GREAT Term insurance, by default, covers death and terminal illness. You can add on riders to cover TPD and 53 critical illnesses. For a fair comparison, our quote includes a TPD benefit.

You can choose a coverage term ranging from 6 years, all the way to age 100. This is the oldest among the insurers featured here.

Similar to the Tokio Marine policy, Great Eastern allows you to convert your term insurance into whole life insurance (or endowment, universal life, or investment-linked insurance plan) without further medical assessment.

Annual premium: Not stated on website

Etiqa ePROTECT Term Life

Etiqa is a digital-focused insurer with very competitive insurance quotations. If you are looking for an affordable, no-frills term insurance plan that you can buy easily online, this is it.

Etiqa ePROTECT Term Life is very simple. Just choose your sum assured (S$401,000 up to S$2 million) and your desired protection term. You can choose between a 5-year renewable term, 20-year fixed term, or just from now until age 65.

Etiqa covers death, terminal illness and TPD in its basic plan. Optionally, you can add on a critical illness rider (not reflected in the quote below) which protects against 30 key illnesses.

Annual premium: S$642.60 (female) and S$897.72 (male) based on sample profile above)

Conclusion: Should you get term insurance?

Just like health insurance, life insurance is a must-have, especially if you have dependents.

Even if you do not have dependents, consider the case of a terminal illness or total permanent disability, where you would not be able to support yourself. Without a financial buffer, you might become a monetary burden to your spouse or family.

Make sure you calculate the appropriate insurance coverage (sum assured) for your needs. It should cover your debts (including interest) and be sufficient to replace your income if you have dependents.

Still deciding between term insurance and whole life insurance? It’s a tough one as there are pros and cons.

Term insurance premiums are much cheaper. But make sure you have a plan to grow the money you save on premiums, otherwise, these savings are of little financial benefit to you.

Those who are not keen to manage their own money, you may be better off with a whole life insurance plan after all. You do pay more in premiums, but at least you can get some sort of maturity or cash out benefit later in life.

If undecided, you can choose a term insurance plan that allows you to convert to whole life insurance, so you have options later on.

Protected up to specified limits by SDIC.

Note: This is only product information provided. You may wish to seek advice from a qualified adviser before buying the product. If you choose not to seek advice from a qualified adviser, you should consider whether the product is suitable for you. Buying an insurance product that is not suitable for you may impact your ability to finance your future healthcare needs.

If you decide that the policy is not suitable after purchasing the policy, you may terminate the policy in accordance with the free-look provision, if any, and the insurer may recover from you any expense incurred by the insurer in underwriting the policy.

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