Understanding Insurance

With effect from 17 Sep 2012, Customer Knowledge Assessment (CKA) requirement will be extended to Fundswitch and Premium Redirection on all our PRULink plans.

You may also visit the following website - MoneySENSE, the MAS Guide to Investing in Specific Investment Product. Click here

Please note that Prudential Asset Management (Singapore) Limited, part of Prudential's Asia asset management business, will change its name to Eastspring Investments (Singapore) Limited. This change will take place on or around 14 February 2012.

Under the PPF scheme, in the event that a member, is unable to operate due to business failure the policy owners will be provided with 100 per cent protection of the guaranteed benefits under their life insurance policies (subject to caps where applicable).

All existing and new life insurance policies, including riders, issued by life insurers registered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), are covered by the PPF Scheme. These include individual and Group life insurance policies such as Term, Whole Life, Endowment, Annuities, and Accident & Health (e.g. Hospital Cash; Medical Expense; Personal Accident; Disability Income; Long-Term Care).

The PPF Scheme is administered by Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC). For more information, you can visit the SDIC website at www.sdic.org.sg.

Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (Pte) Ltd is a PPF Scheme member.

Bonuses are the surpluses/profits added by Prudential to your 'with-profits' policies. 'With-profits' policies are insurance policies that are eligible to participate in the profits of the Life Fund.

The main aims of Prudential's bonus policy are:

• To provide each with-profits policyowner with a return on his/her premiums that reflects the earnings of the underlying investments, whilst smoothing out the peaks and the troughs of investment performance; and
• To ensure that with-profits policyowners receive a fair share of the profits distributed from the Life Fund by way of bonus additions to their policies.

The Life Fund, simply put, is the insurance fund comprising all the premiums of the 'with-profits' insurance policies. The premiums are invested in a mix of equities, fixed-interest securities (such as bonds) and properties. The wide mix of investments is designed to provide the best returns over the long term but with a lower level of risk than you would obtain by investing directly.

Prudential's investment strategy is aimed at securing on behalf of its policyowners, the highest combination of income and growth in capital value whilst meeting the regulatory investment guidelines and minimum solvency requirements.

Investment performance is the key contributor to the surpluses/profits of the Life Fund and it enables Prudential to consistently declare bonuses, which add to the guaranteed benefits over the life of the policy.

Bonuses are declared annually and are largely dependent on the investment return on the Life Fund. Every year in April, Prudential Singapore notifies its 'with-profits' policyowners of the bonus amount being added to their policies.

Prudential's 'with-profits' policyowners currently receive 90 per cent of the profits from the Life Fund as bonus additions to their policies. Shareholders of Prudential receive the remaining 10 per cent as dividend payments.

Policyowners can find out their latest policy values by logging into our PRUAccess policyowner information service at our website - www.prudential.com.sg

The types of 'with-profits' policies include endowment and whole life policies.

Endowment policies run for a fixed term of years, chosen at the outset by the policyowner. These policies pay out at the end of the fixed term, on the 'maturity date', or earlier if the Life Assured (the person whose life is insured by the policy) dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled during the term of the policy. Some of Prudential's endowment products include PRUSave and PRUFlexiCash.

Whole of Life policies pay out only on the death of the Life Assured. Prudential's whole of life plan is PRUlife.

Term policies are usually "non-participating", ie they do not participate in the profits of Prudential and hence, no bonuses are declared for such policies. Some of Prudential's term products include PRUTerm Renewable.

To find out if your insurance policy is a 'with-profits' policy, you can check your policy document or contact your insurance adviser. Alternatively you can call one of our Customer Relations Officers through our PRUCustomer hotline at 1800 333 0 333 ˆ.

The PRULink policy is an investment-linked product and functions differently from traditional 'with-profits' insurance products, such as endowment and whole of life policies. No bonuses are declared for such policies.

Regular Premium 'with-profits' policies are entitled to Reversionary, Performance and Maturity bonuses.

Reversionary bonus is an annual bonus that increases the guaranteed benefits of the policy. Once added, a reversionary bonus cannot be reduced or removed unless you surrender the policy before it matures.

Performance bonus is paid upon the death or disability of the life assured or when the policy matures. Maturity bonus is an extra amount that we pay when the policy matures.

Single Premium 'with-profits' policies enjoy Income and Growth bonuses.

Income bonus is a monthly amount that increases the guaranteed benefits of the policy. Growth bonus is an additional amount that we pay on the maturity of the policy or on the death of the life assured.

Once bonuses are declared, they are guaranteed. However, the bonus rates of all life insurers, including Prudential, are not guaranteed.

The amount of bonuses declared annually depends on the amount of surpluses in the Life Fund. This, in turn, depends on economic conditions and equity markets. If Prudential experiences good surpluses year on year, it could pay a high level of bonuses.

If, however, economic conditions are poor and less surpluses are expected, Prudential could reduce the bonus rate to reflect the actual investment returns in the Life Fund. Such a bonus strategy would ensure that we continue to meet our obligations to our policyowners and the guaranteed benefits they are entitled to.

Yes. Bonuses, once declared, will increase the value of your policy.

A revision in bonus rates will not affect the guaranteed portion of your policy benefits. Only the non-guaranteed portion of the benefits will change to reflect the extent of the bonus revision.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a US law which requires all Financial Institutions (FIs) outside of US to pass information of account holders of US persons to the US Internal Revenue Service (US IRS). FATCA aims to deter US tax evasion through the use of foreign financial accounts. Singapore has signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with US to establish the framework for FIs to exchange the required information.

In order to comply with FATCA, Prudential is required to gather documentation from customers who may be US persons.

For more information on FATCA, please refer to the FAQ below. Alternatively, you may find the full detail of the regulation at the IRAS website or speak to professional tax advisor.

1. How will FATCA affect me?

   Prudential Singapore Assurance Company (Prudential) is required to report information on the financial accounts held directly or indirectly by any ‘US persons’.

   If you are a US person, relevant FATCA form (W9) need to be completed and submitted to us. You can find all FATCA forms here on our website.

   If you are not a US person, the impact of FATCA on you is minimal and there will be no action required. However, Prudential may still contact you to confirm your status as a non-US person if we have reason to believe you are potentially a US person based on the information in our records.

2. Is FATCA applicable to individual or business customers?

   FATCA is applicable to both individual and business customers who hold accounts or policies with us.

3. What information will be reported to IRAS under FATCA?

   The information reported to IRAS will typically include personal information of the US Person, such as name, address, US taxpayer identification number, and financial information including policy number, cash value and gross payout.

4. What will happen if I do not provide the information required under FATCA?

   As Prudential is fully committed to FATCA regulation, we may not be able to open new account or offer additional products to customers who do not comply with the FATCA requirements. For existing customers, we may need to report their information to IRAS if the required documents are not received by us.

5. Do I need to update Prudential if my FATCA status is changed?

   Yes. You need to submit the relevant FATCA forms to Prudential whenever you have a change of your tax residence such as you becoming a US person or a Non US person. Relevant FATCA forms are available on our website.

The CRS is an internationally agreed standard for Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) between the CRS-participating countries/jurisdictions for tax purposes. The purpose of CRS is to prevent offshore tax evasion through the use of foreign financial accounts. It calls on CRS-participating countries/jurisdictions to obtain information from their financial institutions and automatically exchange that information with other CRS-participating countries/jurisdictions on an annual basis.

Singapore has committed to implement the CRS and will start collection of tax information from 1st Jan 2017 and undertake first exchange of information by 2018.

For more information on CRS, please refer to the FAQ below.The full CRS regulation is also available at IRAS website.

1. How will CRS affect me?

   Under CRS, tax authorities require financial institutions such as Prudential to collect and report certain information relating to their customers’ tax residences.

   If you purchase a new policy, have a trust nomination or change your particulars, we will require you to certify some information about your tax residences. This is done through completing a CRS self–certification form.

   The CRS is applicable to both individual and business customers.

2. I live in Singapore and only pay tax here. Why do I have to provide Prudential with the CRS Self Certification?

   Under CRS, Prudential is legally required to establish the tax residences of all our customers. However, if you are a tax resident of Singapore only, your information will not be reportable for CRS purpose.

3. What information will be reported to the relevant tax authorities?

   It will generally include the Information below.

   • Name
   • Address
   • Tax Identification Number(s)
   • Date of Birth (Applicable to Individual)
   • All Countries of foreign tax residencies
   • Place of Registration / Incorporation (Applicable to Entity)
   • Policy information such as Policy Number, Cash Value, Gross Payout

   The type of information to be reported may be subjected to requirements stipulated with the relevant tax authorities.

   For confidentiality and data safeguards, information collected will only be disclosed to the relevant tax authorities if we are legally required to do so.

4. What will happen if I do not provide the information required under CRS?

   As Prudential is fully committed to the CRS, we may not be able to open new account or offer products to customers who do not comply with the CRS requirements. For existing customers, we may need to report their information to IRAS based on existing information available if the required documents are not received by us.

5. Can Prudential advise on my tax residence if I am not sure?

   The definition of tax residence differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. We are unable to provide tax advice on your tax residence. Please approach a professional tax advisor or check the OECD website for more information on rules governing tax residence if you are unsure about your tax residence.

6. Do I need to update Prudential if my tax residence is changed?

   Yes. You need to submit the CRS Self Certification form to Prudential whenever you have a change of your tax residence. The CRS Self Certification form can be downloaded from our corporate website or contact us at 1800 333 0 333 for assistance.