Health and wealth at your fingertips

THE Covid-19 pandemic has put a damper on Singaporeans' confidence in their ability to finance longevity. Less than a third, or 29 per cent, of Singaporeans say they feel prepared to live to the age of 100 from a financial perspective, according to a recent survey by life insurer Prudential Singapore.

The poll of 1,218 Singapore residents found that 43 per cent have seen their wage-earning prospects worsened since the onset of the pandemic, with the "sandwich generation" aged 35-54 hit the hardest.

To help Singaporeans better plan for their longevity, Prudential Singapore introduced new wealth solutions in July on its digital health and wellness app Pulse. Pulse users can seek wealth tips from an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital assistant, set and track their financial goals, budget spending, as well as access curated content on how to save and invest for the future.

Like many other mobile solutions, Pulse, which launched in Singapore in April 2020, rides on the digital wave that Covid-19 has accelerated.

The app gives users easy access to health and wellness solutions and encourages them to get started early in their financial planning journey, says Prudential Singapore's chief executive officer Dennis Tan.

This is especially relevant for a country with rising life expectancy, like Singapore, Tan says.

"As we live longer, we are going to need more savings to fund our extended retirement years and health care. Starting early on the financial planning journey is important to support extended lifespans. The issue is, many people tend to put off financial planning because they find it complex and do not know where to start. Such a delay could lead to a situation where people outlive their savings," he says.

According to the same Prudential survey, the pandemic has made Singaporeans, who were already avid users of digital platforms, even more digitally savvy. Today, 86 per cent prefer digital means for managing their banking, 61 per cent for managing insurance, and 59 per cent for managing investments.

As at end September this year, Pulse has seen 300,000 downloads in the city state. It has logged some 31 million downloads across Asia and Africa, also as of end-September.

Health and wealth in one app

Pulse first started out offering health features, such as a symptom checker, video consultations with doctors, and other multimedia content to enhance health awareness.

Users can also sync their wearable devices with the app to track personal health goals.

Between July and September this year, Pulse logged a 67 per cent increase in the use of its teleconsultation service in Singapore, compared to the previous nine months (September 2020 to June 2021). Over half of these teleconsultations were with young adult patients aged 25 to 34.

Users can also purchase bite-sized insurance plans via the app, such as coverage for common cancers and dengue, as well as complimentary coverage for side effects from a Covid-19 vaccination.

The wealth features were more recently introduced. Wealth@Pulse focuses on making financial solutions more accessible by simplifying the process of gathering information and providing targeted content and solutions based on the user's profile and interactions with the app.

"With Pulse, people will have easy access to wealth tools and can get started early in their financial planning journey. This will allow them to be in greater control of their finances and feel less vulnerable to economic uncertainties and disruptions," Tan says.

"Singaporeans are living longer than before, and it is essential that we take proactive steps to remain healthier, and to be financially prepared for a longer life. Pulse is key to this as it combines health and wealth solutions in one app, so that people can focus on these two priorities," he adds.

Also in the works is Business@Pulse, a solution targeted at small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that helps broaden and simplify access to insurance and employee benefits.

Accounting for more than 70 per cent of the workforce in Singapore, SMEs are a large but underserved segment in insurance. Most of these companies do not have group life insurance or group medical insurance. Some believe that it is not a priority, while others worry about the cost of protection.

To narrow this protection gap, Prudential offers customisable group insurance plans to SMEs based on their needs, sizes, and budget.

Business@Pulse offers features which include a digital claims management portal, an e-marketplace for employees to redeem their flexible benefits and video consultations with doctors. For example, as part of the digital claims process, employees will be able to view their group insurance policy details as well as self-submit and receive their claims on the app.

"With Business@Pulse, SME employers will have access to a digital suite of tools to care for their employees better," Tan says.

To be launched in Singapore early 2022, Business@Pulse will be integrated within the Pulse app.

Digitally plugging protection gaps

Chief executive for Prudential Corporation Asia Nic Nicandrou says digitalisation is one of Prudential's primary strategies for closing the sizeable health protection gaps in its key markets across Asia and Africa.

Despite their increasingly affluent populations, these two continents still lack social safety nets. Where insurance is concerned, these are under-penetrated markets, he says, noting their sizable protection gaps due to growing healthcare consumption as people live longer.

In Asia, 8 in 10 people still do not have insurance cover. Leading reinsurer Swiss Re puts the mortality gap at US$83 trillion.

In Africa, where the population is expected to double to more than 2 billion by 2050, less than 50 per cent of people have access to modern health facilities.

"One of the biggest reasons for the wide protection gap is a lack of awareness. People do not fully realise how financially crippling an unexpected health or life event could be. There is also the perennial perception that insurance solutions are not affordable and accessible," Nicandrou says.

The Covid-19 pandemic, however, has sharpened demand for sufficient financial protection and access to quality health care.

"Ensuring coverage remains accessible has been a priority since the onset of Covid. Even though our business is traditionally driven by face-to-face engagements, we have been able to continue serving our customers throughout the pandemic with the help of technology," Nicandrou says.

Prudential has paid out S$200 million in Covid-related claims to 78,000 individuals across its markets to date.

To make insurance more accessible, Prudential has also introduced simple, standalone products that cover specific illnesses and events. Since the start of 2020, it has revamped and launched over 170 protection products, including 67 bite-sized products which are available digitally.

For instance, its businesses in Thailand, Cambodia and Singapore launched affordable plans last year that provides protection against dengue fever, in response to a rise in dengue cases across South-east Asia.

In the first 9 months of 2021, the insurer sold 1.5 million health and protection policies across all its channels in Asia and Africa, equivalent to sales of such policies over the entire year of 2020.

The pandemic has also increased demand for accessible health and wellness solutions, which makes Prudential's investment into Pulse all the more relevant, Nicandrou says.

Pulse was especially useful in the emerging markets where there is a shortage of doctors who could conduct physical consultations. In Indonesia, for instance, there is fewer than one doctor for every 1,000 people in the country.

In some markets, Pulse includes an in-app wallet for payments and 24/7 servicing for customers' convenience.

In the first six months of 2021, annual premium equivalent sales via Pulse amounted to US$158 million.

Digitalising for the long term

Prudential aims to have the capacity to serve 50 million customers across Asia and Africa by 2025 and digitalisation is key to this goal.

"Three years ago, Pulse was born out of a desire to move beyond our traditional role of an insurer, and into one of helping people postpone or prevent the onset of disease. But we realised that we can redefine the way we do business with Pulse, from customer engagement to fulfilment," Nicandrou says.

The breadth of services on the app is designed to attract a new generation of customers who are younger, more health conscious and are in the middle- and lower-income segments, he says.

That said, he also notes that insurance is primarily a relational business.

"Insurance is a relationship business, because people want advice for the most important financial decisions of their life. And in times of crisis, they seek empathy and care," he says.

"The relationship we have built with our customers through our 600,000 agents and financial consultants across Asia and Africa is something that cannot easily be replicated. It is an intangible asset which we continue to grow by investing in building their knowledge and capabilities."

Pulse, for instance, includes a feature where users can connect with a financial consultant through the app for in-depth advice on how to protect and grow their wealth.

"The ability to integrate artificial intelligence and human empathy will be key for Prudential and the future growth of our business."