More Than 112,000 Singaporeans Dropped IP Riders in 2025 as Insurance Premiums Rose

Rider cancellations jumped 72% in a year

Some 112,300 people discontinued their Integrated Shield Plan riders in Singapore in 2025, up from 65,000 in 2024, as the cost of private health insurance climbed. The increase of about 72% meant roughly 5.6% of the pool of around two million rider policyholders gave up these optional add-ons in a single year.

Another 69,400 moved to riders offering less coverage. Together, the figures show that households were changing how much protection they bought, with some keeping a smaller rider and others dropping the extra layer altogether.

The Ministry of Health (MOH), in a written parliamentary answer dated 9 September 2026, recorded 181,800 rider downgrades and discontinuations for 2025. Its detailed breakdown of 112,300 cancellations and 69,400 downgrades adds up to 181,700, a difference of 100.

Health Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung was responding to Question No. 1773 from Saktiandi Supaat, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, who asked about people reducing or ending coverage because of affordability concerns.

MOH said it does not track individual reasons for those decisions. It identified affordability and adjusting insurance to personal needs and circumstances as possible reasons. The figures therefore describe a growing shift in coverage, while the reasons vary between policyholders.

The changes affect a large part of Singapore's population. About three million residents, or 71%, held an Integrated Shield Plan at the end of 2024. For those with riders, the practical choice is between paying more every year for insurance and accepting a larger share of a future medical bill.

What people give up when they drop a rider

MediShield Life is the national health insurance scheme covering all Singaporeans throughout their lives. It helps pay for hospitalisation and certain outpatient treatments, including kidney dialysis and radiotherapy for cancer.

An Integrated Shield Plan, usually called an IP, adds private insurance coverage on top of MediShield Life. It is optional and can provide coverage for higher ward classes in public hospitals, private hospitals and a choice of doctor, depending on the policy.

A rider is another optional layer, bought on top of the IP to reduce the part of the bill the patient must pay. That share can include a deductible, the amount a patient pays in a policy year before insurance starts paying, and a further share of the covered bill.

Dropping a rider leaves the policyholder with more of those expenses when treatment is needed. Someone who keeps the underlying IP still has that plan's coverage, alongside MediShield Life. A downgrade instead retains a rider but reduces its benefits.

Rider premiums must be paid entirely in cash, according to MOH. This makes the annual price especially relevant to household spending, including for retirees who must weigh recurring premiums against other living costs.

Three years of rising reductions in coverage

MOH's figures show that rider cancellations stayed close to the same level in 2023 and 2024 before rising sharply in 2025. Downgrades to cheaper riders, by contrast, increased throughout the period.

• 2023: IP downgrades and discontinuations totalled 99,000. Rider changes totalled 84,800, comprising 66,100 discontinuations and 18,700 downgrades.
• 2024: IP changes rose to 105,900. Rider changes reached 103,400, including 65,000 discontinuations and 38,300 downgrades.
• 2025: IP changes reached 128,200. MOH's parliamentary total for rider changes was 181,800, with its detailed breakdown listing 112,300 discontinuations and 69,400 downgrades.

Using the parliamentary totals, rider downgrades and discontinuations rose by about 76% between 2024 and 2025. The corresponding increase for IPs was about 21%, from 105,900 to 128,200. Changes to the optional rider layer were growing much faster than changes to the underlying plans.

Of the people recorded in the detailed breakdown as reducing rider coverage in 2025, about 62% discontinued the rider, while about 38% moved to a lower level of cover. Cheaper riders attracted more people, but cancellation remained the more common choice.

Why the annual bill becomes harder to carry

Private hospital IP premiums rose by an annual average of 8.6% between December 2021 and December 2024. Private hospital rider premiums increased by 17.2% a year over the same period, according to figures cited in a parliamentary question in May 2026.

The rider growth rate was twice that of the underlying private hospital plans. Repeated annual increases also build on each other: a higher price in one year becomes the starting point for the next increase.

Age adds another source of pressure. Annual rider premiums can roughly triple as a policyholder moves from age 50 to 70. MOH has said a rider can cost up to S$9,000 a year for someone aged 70, with higher costs at older ages.

For people in their 70s, the combined annual cost of an IP and rider can reach roughly S$12,700 to S$22,700, depending on the insurer and level of coverage. The price of keeping a policy therefore becomes a continuing financial commitment rather than a decision made only when it is first purchased.

A household choosing extensive protection today may face both increases associated with age and revisions to the insurer's premium rates later. That combination helps explain why policyholders are reviewing individual layers of coverage rather than making a single choice about whether to remain insured.

A S$9,000 renewal prompted one policyholder to cut cover

Oo Gin Lee, a public relations consultant aged 57, faced a renewal bill of about S$9,000 in April for his Singlife IP, rider and an additional benefit covering 90% of the annual IP deductible.

Oo dropped the extra deductible cover, saving more than S$3,700. He retained his IP and rider for about S$5,200, of which S$2,350 was the rider premium.

Oo explained why he decided to remove that particular benefit:

It doesn't really make much sense for me to be paying premiums which are higher than the actual deductibles,

His decision shows how a review can focus on one benefit rather than the entire insurance package. He kept substantial cover while accepting responsibility for an expense that the removed add-on had helped pay.

Oo also plans to review whether to retain his remaining rider when it comes up for renewal in 2027. His next decision will concern the rider itself, after already reducing the additional protection attached to it.

Six insurers increased premiums in 2025

Six of Singapore's seven IP insurers raised premiums for most of their IP products or riders in 2025. Six also recorded increases of between 9% and 27% in net claims in 2024. Insurers cited rising claims, medical inflation and expanded benefits when explaining their price changes.

Income Insurance increased average premiums by 4.5% for IPs and 10.8% for IPs with riders from 1 October 2025. Its underwriting result moved from a S$16.1 million profit in 2023 to a S$49.5 million loss in 2024. An underwriting result measures insurance income against claims and the expenses of providing cover.

Singlife reported an average premium increase of more than 10% across its portfolio. Its underwriting losses rose from S$26.2 million in 2023 to S$59.7 million in 2024.

Raffles Health Insurance was the exception on premium increases. Its net claims fell 18% in 2024, although it still recorded underwriting losses. It said it did not intend to change its IP products or premiums, making it the only provider without increases for two consecutive years.

Financial results varied across the market. Prudential's underwriting profit doubled to S$25.3 million in 2024, AIA reported a S$7.2 million profit, and Great Eastern moved from a S$44.9 million loss in 2023 to a S$4.8 million profit in 2024.

Benefits and treatment choices changed too

Insurers revised more than prices. Several expanded coverage to reflect changes in MediShield Life, including selected outpatient treatments, hospital care delivered at home for suitable patients, and certain expensive drugs and cell, tissue and gene therapies.

Income, HSBC Life, Prudential, AIA and Great Eastern announced changes involving some of these benefits. AIA also extended the period of coverage for treatment before and after hospitalisation at public hospitals under its IP covering up to private wards in public hospitals.

Prudential changed some rider benefits in April 2025 to encourage treatment through its panel of providers. A panel is a group of doctors or healthcare providers recognised by the insurer under specified payment arrangements. Prudential waived premium increases linked to claims when rider claims came from panel providers.

For certain Prudential rider benefits, people using providers outside the panel had to pay up to S$2,000 before the rider covered 95% of the remaining deductible costs. Panel users received the 95% deductible coverage immediately.

Singlife increased its rider discount for making no claims from 15% to 20% from April 2025. HSBC Life introduced discounts linked to healthier lifestyle choices for one rider. These changes mean the price and value of a policy can depend on its benefits, provider rules and discounts as well as the headline premium.

Cheaper products leave patients with more to pay

Great Eastern introduced a new IP in November 2025 whose premium, without a rider, was about 44% lower than that of its existing equivalent. The lower premium came with a larger deductible for treatment in a private hospital.

For policyholders aged 80 or younger, the private hospital deductible under the new product could reach S$6,000, compared with S$3,500 under the existing IP. People above 80 faced deductibles equal to 1.5 times the stated amounts under both products.

The difference makes the trade clear: the new plan reduced the recurring cost of insurance, while increasing the amount a patient might need to pay when receiving treatment. Whether that suits a household depends partly on the cash it can keep available for medical expenses.

Ong called in October 2025 for alternatives that leave deductibles uncovered, so patients bear a greater share of initial costs. Some insurers already sold such options. Prudential had offered riders covering only 50% of deductibles for more than a decade, while Income had products requiring a 10% share of costs rather than the 5% minimum cited at the time.

New rider rules took effect in April 2026

MOH announced revised rider requirements in November 2025, with the changes taking effect on 1 April 2026. Its new rider guidance, updated on 4 May 2026, says all seven IP insurers launched new products.

Premiums for the new riders offering maximum coverage averaged around 35% to 40% below those of legacy riders, according to the ministry. That gives policyholders another set of options when reviewing the cost of their existing coverage.

MOH links generous rider coverage to greater use of healthcare services and the provision of more services, which can increase claims and premiums. When insurance pays most of a bill, patients face a smaller immediate cost for treatment. The ministry's reforms seek to moderate that cycle while keeping private insurance available.

The chronology matters for households following these changes: the sharp increase in cancellations occurred during 2025, the revised requirements were announced that November, and the new products arrived under rules effective in April 2026. The September 2026 parliamentary answer then set out the earlier annual trends.

The Life Insurance Association Singapore encourages policyholders to review coverage against affordability and consult their financial advisers before making changes. For someone considering a cheaper policy, the concrete comparison is between the annual premium saved, the benefits retained and the medical expenses they would have to pay themselves.

Key Points

• 112,300 people discontinued IP riders in 2025, about 72% more than the 65,000 in 2024.
• Another 69,400 downgraded to riders providing less coverage.
• MOH recorded 128,200 downgrades and discontinuations of underlying IPs in 2025, up from 105,900 in 2024.
• MOH does not track individual reasons for reducing or ending coverage; affordability and changing needs are among the possible reasons.
• Six of seven IP insurers raised premiums for most of their IP products or riders in 2025.
• New rider requirements took effect on 1 April 2026. MOH says new riders with maximum coverage average 35% to 40% lower premiums than legacy riders.
• Dropping a rider reduces annual premiums but leaves the policyholder responsible for more of the medical bill.