Nomination of Beneficiary

Life policies or accident and health policies which:
- Provide death benefits;
- Insure the life of the policy owner;
- Are governed by Singapore law;
- Are issued by insurance companies registered in Singapore;
- Are not the subject of any trust created under s73 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act; and
- Are not annuities purchased under the Central Provident Fund or CPF’s Minimum Sum Scheme.

In addition, a trust nomination cannot be made for any policies issued under the Dependents’ Protection Insurance Scheme established and maintained by the CPF Board or is purchased under any CPF scheme the proceeds or benefits of which the member is obliged to repay into CPF.

Under the Insurance Act, you have the option to make either: 
a) A trust (irrevocable) nomination, or 
b) A revocable nomination.

a) You must have attained the age of 18 years. 
b) You need to fill up either a Trust Nomination or Revocable Nomination form (depending on the type of nomination you wish to make). 
c) 1 form is only valid for 1 policy. 
d) The form must be completed in full in order to make a valid nomination. 
e) The fully completed form must be submitted in original by post to us or over the counter. 
f) Your nomination will be valid and effective from the date of acceptance by AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd. of your duly completed form submitted to us. AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd. will issue an acknowledgement letter with the date of acceptance to confirm receipt and acceptance of your completed form.  
g) AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd. reserves the right to refuse any form that is not completed in full. Any nomination made under an incomplete form will not be valid.

Yes, separate forms will need to be filled. 1 form can only be used to make a nomination in respect of 1 relevant policy.

No. For all renewals of the same policy, the previous nominations will remain valid until they are revoked in accordance with the Act.

Yes, you are required to submit a new nomination for the new policy.

Yes, you will be notified in writing.

A Trust (or Irrevocable) nomination allows a policy owner who is at least 18 years old to create a statutory trust of the policy moneys in favour of the beneficiaries. Only the policy owner’s spouse and / or children can be nominated as the beneficiaries under a trust nomination.

No, the policy owner will lose all rights and control over the policy once a trust nomination is created. The policy owner will no longer have any interest in, or any right or control over, all or any of the policy moneys payable under the policy (whether paid out during his/her lifetime or after his/her death). The policy owner will not be allowed to vary any term or condition of the policy, or give any instruction in relation to the policy which may directly or indirectly alter the benefits payable under the policy except in accordance with Section 49L(9) of the Insurance Act (see below).

No, once a valid trust nomination has been made, the policy owner cannot vary any term or condition of the policy or give any instruction in relation to the policy which may directly or indirectly alter the benefits payable under the relevant policy unless the prior written consent to the variation of the term or condition or the execution of the instruction has been obtained from:

a) In a case where the trustee is not the policy owner  : 
The trustee OR each nominee who is 18 years and above and a parent or legal guardian (who is not the policy owner) of each nominee who is below the age of 18 years;

or

b) In all other cases (e.g. trustee is the policy owner) : 
Each nominee who is 18 years and above and a parent or legal guardian (who is not the policy owner) of each nominee who is below the age of 18 years (Section 49L(9) of the Insurance Act)

A policy owner may revoke a trust nomination only if prior written consent has been obtained from:

a) In a case where the trustee is not the policy owner  : 
The trustee OR each nominee who is 18 years and above and a parent or legal guardian (who is not the policy owner) of each nominee who is below the age of 18 years; or

b) In all other cases (e.g. trustee is the policy owner): 
Each nominee who is 18 years and above and a parent or legal guardian (who is not the policy owner) of each nominee who is below the age of 18 years. 

Any individual who is at least 21 years old and is not 1 of the nominees or the spouse of a nominee can be a witness. 2 witnesses need to be present when the policy owner signs the form.

Any individual who is at least 18 years of age can be appointed as trustee. The policy owner, witness or a nominee may be named as a trustee. However, if the policy owner is named as a trustee: 
i. he will not be able to consent to the revocation of the trust nomination; 
ii. he will not be able to consent to the variation of a term or condition of the relevant policy, or to the execution by the registered insurer that issued the relevant policy of any instruction in relation to the relevant policy which may directly or indirectly alter the benefits payable under the relevant policy; and 
iii. he will not be able to give a valid discharge to the registered insurer that issues the relevant policy for any payment made, pursuant to the trust nomination, from the policy moneys payable under the relevant policy.

In a case where the trustee is not the policy owner, the policy moneys (whether payable during the policy owner’s lifetime or upon his death) will be paid to the trustee in trust for the nominees. If there is more than one trustee, payment may be made to any such trustee for the benefit of every nominee under the nomination. In all other cases, the policy moneys will be paid to any nominee who is 18 years and above or the parent or legal guardian (who is not the policy owner) of any nominee who is below the age of 18 years or the personal representatives of the estate of any nominee under that nomination who is deceased.

No. The trust nomination will first need to be revoked.

On the death of any nominee, the nominee’s interest in the policy moneys will form part of the nominee’s estate. 

A revocable nomination allows the policy owner who is at least 18 years to nominate any person as a beneficiary of the whole or any portion of the death benefits under the policy. Any person may be nominated as a beneficiary.

All living benefits (such as medical reimbursement) will be paid to the policy owner.

Only death benefits will be payable to the nominees in accordance with the nominee’s portion of the death benefits under the policy. 
If any of the nominees are below 18 years old, the moneys will be paid to the nominee’s parent or legal guardian. If any nominee dies after the policy owner, the moneys will be paid to the personal representatives of the estate of that nominee. 

Yes. An earlier revocable nomination made by the policy owner shall be deemed revoked if after the making of the nomination, the policy owner makes a valid will which provides for the disposition of all death benefits under the relevant policy and specifies certain particulars of the policy including name of the insurer, policy number, name of each beneficiary to whom the death benefits are being bequeathed under the will as well as his/her NRIC no. or foreign passport number, address and date of birth.  If the beneficiary is not an individual, its Unique Entity Number (UEN) or other official registration number and the address of the beneficiary will need to be stated in the will.  The portion of the death benefits bequeathed to each beneficiary will also need to be specified in the will.

The policy owner must give us notice of the revocation of the nomination by lodging with us a duly completed Form 6 pertaining to the revocation or a certified copy of the will. 

If there is no surviving nominee, the nomination shall be deemed revoked. If there is 1 surviving nominee, the deceased nominee’s share will be added to the surviving nominee’s portion of the death benefits. If there is more than 1 surviving nominee, the deceased nominee’s share will be distributed to each surviving nominee’s share in proportion.   

The policy owner can revoke the revocable nomination by submitting a fully completed Form 5 to us.

Or, a revocable nomination shall be deemed to be revoked if:

a) The policy owner assigns, encumbers of otherwise deals with the policy or any interest under the policy; 
b) After the making of the nomination, makes a will in accordance with the Wills Act that provides for the disposition of all death benefits under the policy and specifies certain particulars prescribed by the Authority (see Qn 14); 
c) After the making of the nomination, makes another revocable nomination or trust nomination of the policy.

Where a nomination is revoked under (a), the policy owner must give us notice of the revocation of the nomination by lodging with us a duly completed Form 6 or a letter informing us of the assignment or encumbrance or dealing with the policy and a certified copy of any document evidencing such. If it is revoked under (b), the policy owner must give us notice of the revocation by lodging with us a duly completed Form 6 or a certified copy of the will.

Disclaimer: This document is provided on an "as is" basis without warranties of any kind. Whilst AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd. (AIG) uses reasonable efforts to include accurate and up to date information in this document, errors and omissions sometimes occur. To the fullest extent permitted by law, AIG does not warrant and hereby disclaims all warranties, implied or express, including but not limited to, warranty as to the accuracy, non infringement of third parties’ rights, merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose of the information contained in this document. This document is provided solely for general information purposes only and the information and descriptions contained herein are not intended to be complete description of the Nomination of Beneficiaries framework under the Insurance Act.  Please seek your own independent legal advice. AIG shall not be liable for any damage or loss of any kind, howsoever caused as a result (direct or indirect) of the use of any information or materials contained in this document, including but not limited to any damage or loss suffered as a result of reliance on the information contained therein. The information contained in document does not constitute legal or professional advice.

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