SINGAPORE, 27 August 2024 – Great Eastern today announced the launch of its Great Legacy programme to help Singaporeans with their Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA¹) and Advance Medical Directive (AMD²) applications. The new programme ties in with Singapore’s National Day and Great Eastern’s 116th birthday, both of which take place in the month of August.

As the first insurer in Singapore to support the pre-planning campaign launched by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social and Family Development, the Public Service Division and the Agency for Integrated Care, Great Eastern’s Great Legacy programme complements the government’s campaign as well as its one-stop online portal: MyLegacy@LifeSG for pre-planning and end-of-life matters.

According to research by YouGov³, around a fifth (19%) of Singapore residents have made an LPA to date. More than half (55%) are thinking of putting one in place, while about a sixth are completely unaware of what LPA is (16%).

Ryan Cheong, Managing Director, Group Customer and Digital, Great Eastern, shared: “Beyond protecting, preserving and growing what matters to generations of customers for the past 116 years in Singapore, Great Eastern has been an integral part of Singapore’s nation building journey through our involvement in government insurance schemes. We continue to serve the community by educating and empowering people to take an active role in pre-planning. As the first insurer to partner with the Singapore government on its pre-planning campaign, we are confident of creating a bigger wave of public interest and social impact via our Great Legacy programme.”

“Our Great Legacy programme meets the growing interest among Singaporeans to make an LPA and AMD, and is instrumental in providing peace of mind and security for the future. Interested individuals can have their questions answered and complete both the LPA and AMD in one seating. This simplifies the application process, making it easier and more efficient for our customers.”

As part of its corporate social responsibility efforts, Great Eastern is also organising dedicated clinics and talks for up to 200 members as well as employees of the Singapore Cancer Society and Daughters Of Tomorrow at their headquarters, for whom its employees and financial representatives are fundraising through the Great Eastern Women’s Run 2024. $480,000 was raised for these two organisations over the last two years.

For those who are not Great Eastern policyholders and want to register for an LPA/AMD certification clinic, please visit the Great Eastern Great Legacy page (go.greateasternlife.com/greatlegacy) to sign up. Existing Great Eastern policyholders who wish to make their LPA and AMD, can reach out to their financial representatives to register for one of the certification clinics conducted every Tuesday and Thursday at its Pickering office. Great Eastern is providing complimentary LPA and AMD certification – worth $150 per pax – and involving 1,700 of its trained financial representatives to help Singaporeans with their applications on a first come, first served basis.

Apart from LPA and AMD, Great Eastern is also looking to offer Advance Care Planning (ACP⁴) facilitation as part of the programme, to encourage individuals to communicate their values and healthcare preferences to their loved ones and healthcare providers.

¹ The LPA Form 1 allows a person to appoint up to two trusted persons and one replacement to make decisions and act on behalf when the person lacks mental capacity to make those decisions in the future.

² The AMD allows medical doctors to remove life sustaining support in the event of one is in a critically ill or unconscious state, because one has indicated in advance there is to be no extraordinary treatment to prolong one’s life.

³ https://business.yougov.com/content/49447-lasting-power-of-attorney-lpa-cpf-beneficiaries-end-of-life-planning-singapore

⁴ Advance Care Planning is a process of planning for one’s current and future healthcare. ACP helps individuals to communicate to important people and the healthcare team about their values and how these values shape their healthcare preferences. In the event that the individual is no longer able to make decisions or speak for themselves, the ACP guides the decision makers to act in their best interest.

About Great Eastern

Founded in 1908, Great Eastern is a well-established market leader and trusted brand in Singapore and Malaysia. With over S$100 billion in assets and more than 16 million policyholders, including 12.5 million from government schemes, it provides insurance solutions to customers through three successful distribution channels – a tied agency force, bancassurance, and financial advisory firm Great Eastern Financial Advisers. The Group also operates in Indonesia and Brunei.

The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited and Great Eastern General Insurance Limited have been assigned the financial strength and counterparty credit ratings of "AA-" by S&P Global Ratings since 2010, one of the highest among Asian life insurance companies. Great Eastern's asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors Limited, is one of the leading asset management companies in Southeast Asia.

Great Eastern is a subsidiary of OCBC, the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932. It is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets and one of the world’s most highly-rated banks, with an Aa1 rating from Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P. Recognised for its financial strength and stability, OCBC is consistently ranked among the World’s Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance and has been named Best Managed Bank in Singapore by The Asian Banker.

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