Prudential extends Covid-19 hospitalisation allowance to non-customers who sign up for telehealth app

LIFE insurer Prudential Singapore is extending Covid-19 hospitalisation allowance to non-customers who register for its newly launched telehealth app Pulse.

If admitted to hospitals in Singapore for Covid-19, these individuals will receive a daily allowance of S$100, for up to three months of hospitalisation. These benefits - which are part of Prudential's S$1.5 million relief package for businesses and individuals affected by the novel coronavirus - will be available for infection cases that emerge between April 23 and May 31.

Currently, Prudential customers can claim a S$200 daily allowance if hospitalised for Covid-19 until July 1. Customers who sign up for the app can be covered for one more month, up till July 31.

About S$800,000 has been disbursed from Prudential's relief package since it was launched in February, chief executive officer Dennis Tan shared in a briefing on the new app on Monday. The vast majority of these claims were from individuals, although the insurer has also received queries from small and medium-sized enterprises, he said.

The ongoing pandemic has heightened people's awareness and sense of urgency to better understand their symptoms when they are unwell, and the new Pulse app aims to facilitate that, Mr Tan added.

The artificial intelligence-powered app, designed in collaboration with UK-based Babylon Health, comprises a digital health assessment, a symptom checker, and teleconsultations with a panel of general practitioners licensed by the Singapore Medical Council.

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Users pay a flat fee of S$15 if they consult a doctor via the app. The fee does not include the cost of medication and delivery.

"With Pulse, we want to help people make the shift from healthcare to health, to make them more aware of the potential disease risks and the lifestyle gaps they have, so that they can take proactive steps to manage their health a lot better," Mr Tan said.

Prudential is also looking to integrate wealth and business management services into the app, as well as to allow existing customers to make claims digitally.

On the concern about how app users' data will be utilised, Mr Tan stressed that information collected at registration will not be used in the treatment of contracts between users and the insurer.

"The sensitive health information and data will (be kept) strictly between the users and our partners... So Prudential will have no access to any of this medical data," he said.