The latest in funds and investments across Asia-Pacific.

HSBC
HSBC Insurance (Singapore) Pte, based in Singapore, has added a new endowment plan to its roster of products, called Savings Protector. A 10-year endowment savings plan, it is geared at individuals who are looking for higher protection cover. It offers a minimum of 125 per cent of the guaranteed maturity benefit in the event of death or terminal illness, which ensures customers’ savings goals are not disrupted in the event of unforeseen circumstances. 

Typically for endowment products in the market, the death benefit pay-out is usually a percentage of the total premiums paid, which ranges from 101 per cent to 105 per cent, HSBC said in a statement. 

The financial services group said Savings Protector offers customers “higher protection cover when compared to HSBC Insurance’s existing endowment savings plan, Savings Accumulator Plus”. 

Features include a minimum 125 per cent of the guaranteed maturity benefit payable in the event of death or terminal illness; income every six months from the end of the third policy year, wherein a customer can decide to either draw out coupons (2.5 per cent of the sum insured) or re-invest these coupons to earn a non-guaranteed interest rate and potentially higher yield at maturity. Other features, HSBC said, is guaranteed capital upon plan maturity and the potential for higher pay-out through non-guaranteed reversionary and terminal bonuses at maturity.

The bank argued that there is a S$893 billion ($651.2 billion) “protection gap” in Singapore, citing the recent LIA Protection Gap Study 2017, and that only 20 per cent of Singaporeans have their critical illness protection needs met. (This publication has written about how wealth managers are engaging with critical illness solutions here.)