2 in 3 Singaporeans worried about losing job due to illness or disability

More than half do not have disability income protection.

Two in three or 66% of Singaporean workers are worried about losing their jobs due to illness or disability or both, according to the AIA Disability Income Survey 2022.

The survey was conducted in April 2022 amongst more than 1,000 respondents consisting of full-time working Singapore residents ages 18 and above.

The survey revealed that despite being worried about losing their jobs due to illness or disability, 53% do not have disability income protection.

Singapore workers have different ways to survive the implications of a job loss due to illness or injury. Most (66%) said they will cut down on spending. 63% said that they will rely on savings whilst 58% said they will look for another job where other tasks or duties can be done. Only around 50% will rely on insurance to cover the financial risks of losing their jobs.

Awareness

More than four in five know that disability income protection exists. The survey also revealed that blue collar workers (42%) deemed disability income insurance as an important coverage to have compared to white collar workers (29%).

The AIA Disability Income Survey 2022 survey also listed that the top two reasons for getting disability income protection are to have peace of mind if anything happens (53%) and to ensure that there is financial support for loved ones if unable to work (51%).

What’s preventing most to purchase this type of insurance is product complexity, complicated processes, and high premiums.

In fact,  one in four (25%) of females cite the cost of premiums as a reason for not having disability income protection compared to less than one in five (16%) of males. This was the most selected reason amongst females. However, 22% of men said they did not have disability income protection because they don’t think they need it – the most selected reason amongst males. Only 13% of women chose this reason.

“Losing one’s job and becoming dependent on others due to an unexpected accident or illness is painful and places heavy financial and emotional burdens on a person and their loved ones. Understanding the pain points of disability income plans allows us to better address Singaporeans’ concerns which range from affordability, to ease of getting insured and making a claim. These are key priorities which informed how we developed the AIA Pay Protector to make disability income protection accessible to even more members of the community,” Melita Teo, Chief Customer and Digital Officer at AIA Singapore said.