In addition to multiple claims for critical illness, coverage for pre-early conditions and relapse, AIA Power Critical Cover also provides value-added services to promote preventive care and ease pressures on individuals, families, and the nation

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 8 October2019 - AIA Singapore today unveiled AIA Power Critical Cover,an innovative critical illness (CI) plan offering its most comprehensive protection from diagnosis of pre-early conditions toall stages of critical illness -- diagnosis of early, intermediate,major, and relapse -- for 175 conditions, thehighest in the market[1]. Launching on 10 October, the policy's uniquethree-pronged power protection allows continued coverage for multiple illnesses,guaranteed cash value and guaranteed savings benefits to ensure you remain adequately protected.  

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The plan bolsters AIASingapore's commitment to support the nation's healthcare needs by doing moreto manage the war against diabetes, ageing population, and the threateningsurge of chronic conditions amongst the young and old[2] -- a ticking time bomb withcostly implications.

AIA PowerCritical Cover is also the first plan to provide coveragefor the rising cost of living with Type 2 Diabetes, one of the most expensivechronic conditions in Singapore. Once diagnosed, getting insurance for theday-to-day management of living with diabetes can be challenging, as insurerstypically only cover more severe complications associated with the condition.The AIA Power Critical Cover 2019 study estimated that the cost of living with diabetes will increase to atleast S$6,000 in additional expenses per person this year. This additional expense associated withmanaging diabetes was also the highest -- almost double the average cost ofmanaging other chronic illnesses[3].

Ms Ho Lee Yen, Chief Customerand Marketing Officer of AIA Singapore, said, "A false sense ofsecurity is one of the underlying factors contributing to Singapore'sprotection gap[4].CI policyholders are either unaware of what their plan actually covers[5], or they mistakenly thinkthat their plans adequately cover all conditions[6]. Therefore, it is ofutmost importance to us that AIA Power Critical Cover provides Singaporeanswith life-long comprehensive protection, while also staying relevant toevolving healthcare needs. As we mark our 100^th year in Asia, we remaindeeply committed to continuing to challenge ourselves to further enhance ourvalue proposition -- especially for CI offerings -- to help everyone livehealthier, longer, better lives."

"Not everything isabout treatment. Making prevention and early intervention a priority is whatSingapore needs, so our society as a whole will benefit from the continuedaccessibility of quality healthcare. Being diagnosed with a critical illness isone of life's most complex and stressful challenges. We need to take a shortterm preventive as well as longer-term approach in making sure that we canfully support the patient's entire health and recovery journey, so they canfocus on getting back on their feet, back to their family, and back to chasingtheir dreams," said Dr Tay Miah Hiang, Senior Consultant Medical Oncologist atOncoCare Cancer Centre.

Three-prongedpower protection to support your entire health journey across all five stagesof critical illness

When speaking to CI survivors, the AIA study found that 4 in 5 continue to face a lifetime of chronic health conditions even after CI recovery. They also wished they had done things differently; the most common regret amongstCI survivors is not getting adequate CI protection earlier on in life, as 1 in3 did not have critical illness coverage when they were first diagnosed. Evenfor the lucky ones who had CI coverage, 1 in 3 could not get any moreCI coverage after a claim has been made.

To better support customers across all stagesof critical illness, AIA Power Critical Cover offers the following benefits:

• Protectionfrom pre-early conditions to all stages of criticalillness - diagnosis of early, intermediate, major, and relapse -- for 175 conditions,thehighest in the market[7].
• Three-prongedPower Protection:

o   Power Reset: To enjoy continued coverage without getting penalisedfor having already made claims for other illnesses, the plan restores critical illness coverage amount back to 100%, once 12 monthshave passed from the previous claim.

o   Multiple CIcoverage:To better support Singaporeans given the rate of developing multiple chronicillnesses is on the rise, policyholders can make multipleclaims for different CI of all stages, up to a total of 500% of the coverageamount.

o   PowerRelapsefor 5 of the leading CI conditions[8] in Singapore, the highest number of covered relapsed conditions in a CI plan: To givepatients the strength they need to fully focus on recovery from diagnosis tore-diagnosis, policyholders can claim a relapsed CIcondition, up to a total of 200% of the coverage amount.

• Access toindependent, global expert medical advice through Medix (Personal Medical CaseManagement Service): Policyholders will receive the best possible treatment and personalised ongoing support throughouttheir medical journey when facing serious medical conditions. 

"Having gonethrough cancer twice myself, I cannot emphasise enough how important havingadequate coverage is to be financially, physically, and emotionally protectedagainst unexpected events. Critical illness is not a 'death sentence', but justanother setback that will help us become stronger. This is a learning I striveto instil in my two children and pillars of strength. Believe in the power of apositive mindset; focus on what you have, not what you have lost," said MsMavis Leong, AIA Financial Services Consultant and two-time cancer survivor.

Earlyintervention to provide Singaporeans with higher chance of recovery

Increasingly, chronic illnesses that were onceconsidered diseases related to ageing have now become prevalent across allgenerations due to lifestyle changes[9]. AIA Power Critical Coveroffers coverage for 10 pre-early conditions in order to catch symptoms beforethey become more severe and even more costly to manage. This benefit includescoverage for chronic conditions (first to providecoverage for the rising cost of living with Type 2 Diabetes in Singapore),milder form of cardiovascular diseases, benign tumour (suspected malignancy)and Borderline malignant tumours, which are amongst the leading diseases inSingapore[10].

AIA Power Critical Cover will also provideaccess to on-demand telemedicine services from WhiteCoat tomake it even easier for Singaporeans to get the support and quality healthcareconsult they need to manage chronic illnesses.This means policyholders will be able to seek expert advice and recommendationsfrom healthcare practitioners, anytime and anywhere via a mobile app. Withtelehealth, the plan further helps with enabling healthier, longer, betterlives by removing the physical barriers that often prevent people from gettingtreated early, such as those who are time-poor or cannot make an in-personvisit to the clinic or hospital.

Early intervention hasproven to improve outcomes for chronic illnesses. The Singapore government has describedearly intervention as critical in the nation's fight against diabetes, in lightof the country having the second highest proportion of diabetics amongstdeveloped nations[11]. In 2017, the Ministry ofHealth (MOH) estimated that close to half a million Singaporeans aged 18 to 69have pre-diabetes, and one in three of these individuals is likely to develop Type2 diabetes by 2025[12]. Type 2 diabetes ispreventable by making positive lifestyle changes, from eating healthier tostaying active. Obesity is the single most important cause of Type 2 diabetes,which can increase the chances of developing Type 2 diabetes by seven-fold[13].

Co-investingin your health and rewarding you for staying healthy

The priority that Singaporeans place on cashsavings over protection is one of the main reasons why people are not havingtheir protection needs met[14]. To offer policyholderswith guaranteed cash value and savings, AIA PowerCritical Cover offers the following market-firstbenefits, if no CI claims are made:

Only standalone CI planthat:

• Pays Death Benefit of100% of sum assured less any CIbenefits paid as well as a compassionate benefit of S$5,000[15].
• Provides Surrender Benefit[16] for policyholders whodo not make any CI claims over the policy term, and should they decide not tocontinue with the policy after age 75.
• Offers Maturity Benefit(payable at age 100).

AIA Singapore continues tochampion preventive care with AIA Power Critical Cover's integration with AIAVitality, the first-in-market comprehensive health and wellness programmedesigned to encourage policyholders to live healthier with incentives andrewards. With AIA Vitality, policyholders can enjoy a 5% discount on their first-yearpremium and continue to enjoy subsequent discounts when they improve theirVitality status by making positive health changes in their everyday lives.

AIA Singapore's comprehensive healthcare proposition to enablehealthier, longer, better lives:

• Continuing to offer innovative products andinitiatives to help bridge the underinsurance gap in Singapore as AIAcelebrates 100 years in Asia, from AIA Beyond Critical Care -- the first-in-marketCI plan to provide coverage for mental health conditions -- to now with AIAPower Critical Cover.
• Doing more to reward more Singaporeans formaking healthier life changes by partnering with Singtel to unveil StepUp, awellness platform that allows customers to earn local mobile data with everystep they take.
• Not forgetting the importance of sleep inenabling healthier, longer, better lives with #OneMoreHour, an ambitiousinitiative to raise awareness about the health benefits associated with gettingsufficient sleep, providing tips and rewarding people to ensure everyone canget more and better quality sleep: https://bit.ly/AIAonemorehour.

Note to editor:

• For more insights and findings from the AIAPower Critical Cover 2019 Study, please contact us at teamAIA@ogilvy.com or(+65)62139961.

About AIA

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively "AIA" or the"Group") comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian lifeinsurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific -- wholly-ownedbranches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, MainlandChina, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, NewZealand, Macau, Brunei, Cambodia, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka and a49 per cent joint venture in India. In April 2019, AIA was also grantedapproval as a preferred applicant to operate in Myanmar through a 100 per centwholly-owned subsidiary.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai acentury ago in 1919. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region(ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions acrossthe majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$256 billion as of 30June 2019.

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals byoffering a range of products and services including life insurance, accidentand health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employeebenefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through anextensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIAserves the holders of more than 34 million individual policies and over 16million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange ofHong Kong Limited under the stock code "1299" with American Depositary Receipts(Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: "AAGIY").