Underwriting, Servicing & Claims

To apply for a life policy, the proposer (applicant) completes a life insurance proposal form (some insurers call it the application form). It is the insurer's primary source of information about the risk and, once accepted, is incorporated into and forms part of the insurance contract — the basis on which a claim is later assessed. Proposal forms in Singapore must meet MAS and Life Insurance Association (LIA) requirements, and insurers commonly use different forms for traditional vs ILP, adult vs juvenile, and medical vs non-medical proposals.

Under Section 23(5) of the Insurance Act 1966, insurers must display a warning statement prominently on the form, highlighting the proposer's duty to disclose accurately all facts he knows or ought to know. Failure to disclose material facts can give the insurer the right to void the policy (cancel it from inception), leaving nothing payable on a claim.

Neither the adviser nor anyone else may sign the form on the proposer's behalf, even with the client's consent, and any amendment must be countersigned/initialled by the proposer (written approval is needed on a completed form). If an adviser completes the form for a client — discouraged, though sometimes done as a service — the client's signature confirms the entries are correct, so any mistake discovered at claim stage may give the insurer a right to refuse the claim.

The declaration section also confirms the proposer has received the compulsory documents (Cover Page, Policy Illustration, Product Summary, Bundled Product Disclosure, and the relevant "Your Guide"), acknowledges the 14-day free-look, and — under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 — declares he is not an undischarged bankrupt (who may not buy new cover without the Official Assignee's consent).

The Particulars of the Proposer section is completed only for a third-party policy (e.g. a parent insuring a child, or a spouse insuring a spouse); for first-party policies only the Particulars of the Proposed Life Insured are filled in. Under Section 146(1)–(2) of the Insurance Act 1966, a policy on the life of another — other than a person connected (spouse, or a child/ward under the age of majority, i.e. 18, or a dependant) — is void unless the person effecting it has an insurable interest at the time, and policy monies must not exceed that insurable interest. The underwriter uses the stated relationship to confirm insurable interest exists before issue.