Using the DBS Multiplier Insurance Category Hack To Enjoy Higher Interest Rate

In my previous review of “How I Maximise the DBS Multiplier Account Interest Rate after 1 Aug 2020”, I revealed that I managed to unlock the insurance category by purchasing CancerCare. This allowed me to unlock a total of 4 categories (the others being salary, home loan instalments, credit card spend). Unlike the other categories, DBS Multiplier only recognises the insurance category for the first 12 months. Determined to preserve this category going forward, I researched online to find more information and thankfully, my effort was not in vain. This allowed me to continue to use the DBS Multiplier Insurance category hack to enjoy higher interest.

The DBS Multiplier Insurance Category Hack Explained

Prior to my research, I had several misconceptions which have since been dispelled.

1) You Can Use The Same Policy Type To Unlock the Insurance Category

To my surprise, one can continue to purchase the same policy to continue to unlock the insurance category. That is because the DBS Multiplier system recognises the policy number and not the policy type. Since the policy number is unique for each and every policy issued, it does not matter that the same policy type is purchased again.

For my case, that would mean I can purchase a second CancerCare policy 12 months after the purchase of the first CancerCare policy. This is based on the experience of a user on the Hardwarezone forum who successfully relied on this hack as shown in Diagram 1.

I have not relied on this hack because I discovered that there are cheaper alternatives than CancerCare which I had bought last year.

2) CancerCare Is Not The Cheapest Insurance Policy

As shown in Diagram 2, there are plenty of insurance policies eligible under the DBS Multiplier Account.

In the past, plenty of users online recommended CancerCare and I simply followed the herd. To my surprise, I found out that it is not the cheapest insurance policy around. As I was not interested to add on more term insurance (could be the cheapest actually), I chose eCriticalCare which is a Critical Illness (CI) policy. I feel that this is one area which I do not mind adding further coverage.

To keep the premium cost at its minimal, I chose $50,000 for the sum assured and 10 years as the policy term. The entire application was done online with minimal medical underwriting required in the form of a simplified questionnaire.

There is even an ongoing promotion that will allow me to enjoy 30% off the first 12 months as shown in Diagram 4.

This turns out to be just perfect because 12 months is all I need before I roll over to another insurance policy (i.e. repeating this hack again). There is no need to perform any cost-benefit analysis because it is obvious that the additional interest that I will earn from unlocking a 4^th category is significantly higher than $6.68/month that I need to pay for my insurance premium. It allows the $50,001 to $100,000 in my DBS Multiplier to earn up  to 3% interest rate p.a. Since this is our joint account, the missus is obviously very happy to learn of this new development.

Finally, I need to caution that I am clearly not relying on this ad-hoc purchase as part of my insurance planning. I have already secured comprehensive insurance coverage for my family after the birth of my daughter. The main objective of this exercise is to unlock the 4^th category for my DBS Multiplier account to enjoy higher interest rate. That I also boosted my critical illness coverage in the process is merely taken as a bonus.