The Gen XY Lifestyle
Monthly subscription-base insurance for mental wellness now available in Singapore
Income Insurance launches first-in-market mental wellness insurance subscription plan to make mental health treatments more accessible in Singapore
Income Insurance Limited (“Income Insurance”) has launched the
industry’s first standalone mental wellness insurance plan called the “SNACK Self Care Pack”.
This is now available as a monthly subscription plan on the SNACK by Income mobile app at SGD 9.90. It allows subscribers greater access to psychiatric consultations and psychotherapy sessions. However, note that it does not cover inpatient hospitalisation or post-hospitalisation conditions.
We previously shared about SNACKFIT, a fitness and lifestyle proposition that offers bonus insurance coverage based on biological age.
How does the SNACK Self Care Pack work?
The SNACK Self Care Pack was designed as an ‘active recovery and preventive’ solution to support mental well-being and encourage early treatment.
Subscribers can get coverage of up to SGD 200 a month for psychiatric consultation as well as coverage of up to SGD 500 a month for psychotherapy sessions.
The subscriber has to be recommended by a psychiatrist to undergo psychotherapy to claim for psychotherapy sessions.
Th SNACK Self Care Pack is specifically designed as a monthly subscription model and aims to support consultations and treatments that subscribers may require on a regular basis.
With this flexible monthly payment subscription model, subscribers can start and pause the SNACK Self Care Pack any time and claims can be easily made via the SNACK mobile app.
Do note that subscribers with existing mental conditions and are currently seeing a psychiatrist, they will not be eligible for claim within 12 months unless the coverage is for a diagnosis of a different condition.
Asan additional perk, subscribers can also enjoy ‘cashback’ from lifestyle and wellness merchants such as iJooz, Ritual Gym and Heart Spring Spa under the SNACK Rewards programme which they can convert ‘cashback’ to complimentary micro-insurance coverage or micro-investment credits to build their insurance portfolio.
Why is there a need for the SNACK Self Care Pack, focusing on mental wellness?
The recent National Population Health Survey by the Ministry of Health (MOH) revealed that while there is an increased prevalence of poor mental health from 13.4 percent in 2020 to 17.0 percent in 2022, more people in Singapore were willing to seek help from health professionals in 2022 (56.6 percent) compared to 2019 (47.8 percent).
Despite greater awareness and increased conversations around mental health issues today, stigma, misconceptions, and financial barriers can deter individuals from getting prompt and appropriate help. In a recent study that Income Insurance conducted last year amongst 1,000 respondents, the top two reasons that respondents cited for being reluctant to seek professional help was the cost of treatment and uncertainty around the seriousness of the condition to seek professional help. This is despite 70 percent of the respondents were found to have a good understanding of various mental health conditions. We saw the need to plug this gap by offering greater accessibility to professional help for mental health issues and to encourage subscribers to take a more active stance in seeking treatment early via a new and flexible subscription proposition on the SNACK mobile app.
Peter Tay, Chief Digital Officer, Income Insurance
Image provided by Income Insurance.
