its good if you take an additional policy to cover the shortcomings.

you guys are overinterpreting. the FAQ is just a FAQ and not legally binding. the policy wording is.
AXA SCO has no individual loading. no matter if you claim 500k last year or 0 RM.

renewal is guaranteed once they accept you. i.e. while you choose to renew they cant refuse you. also they cant charge extra. a lot of other companies actually reserve the right to to either load or refuse renewal (for example MSIG). so one has to be carefull. you can probably get a statement from AXA underwriting if you so wish which states the above. call CS and ask for it but there really is little need for it since the policy wording is pretty clear on this.

of course each and everyone should always read every little word and make sure they understand all the conditions and the fine print. sadly many agents are of little help with those things (many have very little understanding of them themself at least the ones i had the pleasure talking too...)

you need to be clear about the problems of the policy you take and see if there are options to overcome them.

personally the AXA & TM combo (both max plans) gives you the most extensive coverage in the market while charging very competive premiums.

if money is of little relevance i suggest you explore either lighthouse asia or allianz worldwide care. those are far more extensive plans which will pay no questions asked. i have been with allianz worldwide care for almost 10 years with some significant claims for pregnancy (post & antenatal) and ceasarian for my wife and never had any issues. they actually tried to pay the caesarian twice
for those among you with foreign links there are options to get european insurance plans from germany and france that will cover you head-to-toe (including specs, teeth, health checks, pychotherapy, home nursing and whatnot) with limits and truely limitless (no annual, per sickness or lifetime limit) but you will have to prepared to bleed badly. a truely limitless head-to-toe inpatient & outpatient policy will set you back around 800 RM per month (!) when your around 25 and it wil easily be around 3000 RM ++ monthly when you are 65 [i cant afford that!].

AXA is a huge general insurance player with a european background. SCO is sold across SEA (singapore, hongkong and some other places) and i would very assume they did their homework. from all the insurances in the market their 500k p.a. cover in combination with a touch up plan to cover possible spikes, OP cancer and dialysis it is (in my book) the best option in the market considering long run costs of insurance (i.e. from 25 to age 80). H&S is afterall not a one shot thing but a longterm affair.

umapathy,

i like the axa plan because it has very few restrictions (i.e. very wide coverage of cancers etc.). all you need is to have a burstable cover in case AXA is not sufficient. there are some top-up plans around in the market (i.e. plans with a high deductable i.e. 10 or 20k) that way you can insure the shortcomings of the plan. i liked Tokio Marine's plan best (despite the fact that I am not content with their CS). You can venture around the available plans and single out the one that suits you best. you can look into RHB Medisure (with deductable up to 20k = save up to 60% premiums), TM Medic Plus, Pacific medi-major, Berjaya B.Health Major, Allianz EB MediShield Plus, you could even use AXA SCO with deductable option as burstable insurance and choose another one as the primary H&S plan. mix and match gives multiple options otherwise not available.

many reasons come to mind: different risk structure = different expected loss rate different costs for management, advertisement, higher internal profit rate, less strict claims handling, etc etc.

also bear in mind: covering 500k max is cheaper to cover per $-coverage than 50k since lower claims are simply more likely to occur than high claims.

AXAs policy is different from ING and PRU - look carefully. most policies are - among other reasons to prevent buyers from having an easy comparison (which would mean all buy from the cheapest provider cause cover the same). you need to figure out the differences and what they personally are worth to you - only then can you find the cheapest cover for yourself.

once again: my personal opinion is that AXA with a top-up is currently one of the best options for higher-end H&S plans.

yes, page 2 :

"there are some top-up plans around in the market (i.e. plans with a high deductable i.e. 10 or 20k) that way you can insure the shortcomings of the plan. i liked Tokio Marine's plan best (despite the fact that I am not content with their CS). You can venture around the available plans and single out the one that suits you best. you can look into RHB Medisure (with deductable up to 20k = save up to 60% premiums), TM Medic Plus, Pacific medi-major, Berjaya B.Health Major, Allianz EB MediShield Plus, you could even use AXA SCO with deductable option as burstable insurance and choose another one as the primary H&S plan. mix and match gives multiple options otherwise not available."

and numbertwo already said it: my personal pick right now is Tokio Marine.

well, if you read the website the answer is there already:

What is cashless admission?
This means that you don't have to pay deposits to the hospital if you are admitted to one of the AXA panel hospitals. We will pay, provided the nature of accident or illness is covered under the policy.

detailed in the product disclosure:

Claim Procedures

All Insured Persons will be given an AXA Healthcare Card. With this card, you have access to our panel hospitals
throughout Malaysia. We will obtain the preliminary diagnosis from Medical Report completed by your attending
physician (which may take 1 to 2 hours). It is best for you to arrange such report before hospital admission for preplanned
treatment. You may be required to make personal deposit as required by the hospital’s regulations.

After validation of your preliminary diagnosis to determine that the condition requiring treatment is a covered condition
under the policy, an initial Guarantee Letter will be issued to the hospital for your admission, subject to the benefit
limits.

Upon discharge, the hospital will provide the final diagnosis and itemised bill for us to settle the valid medical bill (which
may take 1 to 2 hours). Any ineligible or excess expenses not covered are to be settled by you.

In the circumstances that your preliminary diagnosis may not be easily ascertainable or that your condition requiring
treatment may not be covered under the policy, you are advised to pay for your own treatment first and file a claim after
discharge.

Please notify us within 30 days of any occurrences for admission to non-panel hospital, outpatient treatment or any
claim which has been settled by you. Please submit the claim form, original itemised bills, receipts and other relevant
claims documents to us for processing. For non-panel hospitals, you will be compensated on reimbursement basis.

The cashless benefit applies to hospital admissions only. Pre-hospitalization, consultations, diagnostic procedures and
post-hospitalization costs are on reimbursement basis.

You cannot make multiple claims on medical expenses.

I dont know where you got the idea that the card is pay first claim later. There are cards around (would have to look who offers it) and this will usually get you a fat discount. People who have to pay the bill first tend to think twice if they really want to spend the money .

i really dont get the point. if you get admitted without insurance you pay a deposit first say 5k. then you get the bill and pay the balance. with the card they issue GL letter like normal, you get admited, you sign the final bill, they charge the company. you only pay the stuff not covered (if any) - like extra meals or whatnot. last time my wife was admitted, i show the card in damansara specialist, the get in touch with AXA, get the GL, she was admitted already and in her room - no cash or CC swipe of any kind. when she left, we just signed the bill and AXA paid directly and in full - didnt have to pay a single sen (total bill was around 12k). so i am pretty sure its a cashless card.

agreed with numbertwo and in case you guys are interested. the alteration clause can be found in pretty much every insurance contract.