Compare Affordable Health Insurance Plans 2020

Importance of Health Insurance

Health insurance meant to protect from probably the biggest financial risk you’ll ever face – rising healthcare expenses. That means protection hospitalisation and medical costs, as well as expenses arising from injury, illness or disability. Let’s talk about inflation. You probably know a little bit about inflation and how it drives up the prices of goods and services by around 3% each year. But did you know that healthcare inflation is MUCH worse? Healthcare inflation can be 2X to 3X the national inflation rate (and will probably get worse each year) – that’s because advances in medicine, medical research and medical technology are COSTLY. In fact, those are the main factors driving up healthcare costs in Singapore today. The bottom line is this – you’ll need health insurance to deal with the rapid rise of healthcare costs. Because all it takes is one expensive accident or illness to wipe out your savings and ruin any chances you have at retirement.

Types of Health Insurance

Here’s a brief overview of the benefits offered by the most common health insurance policies available:

Hospital Income Insurance

You can receive a fixed amount of cash daily (ex. $250) from the insurer for each day you’re hospitalised up to a maximum number of days (ex. 365 days) per accident or illness. Critical Illness Insurance: You can receive a lump sum payment from the insurer to help with medical expenses if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness such as cancer, heart attack, kidney failure, coma, etc. (varies by insurer).

Long-term Care Insurance

You can receive a fixed amount of cash monthly (ex. $400) for long-term nursing care that typically includes assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing and feeding. This coverage is often offered by insurers in the form of ElderShield supplements.

Disability Income Insurance

You can receive “income replacement” of up to a certain percentage of your gross monthly income. So if you’re making $5,000 a month, your insurer might allow you to insure 80% (varies by insurer) of it, meaning your monthly payout in the event of an accident leaves you disabled would be $4,000 monthly until you’re able to perform your duties (hopefully) once again.

Medical Expense Insurance

You can receive reimbursement from the insurer for any medical treatment and hospitalisation costs. Depending on the policy, coverage can either be full or limited.

How is Health Insurance structured in Singapore

Medishield Life

Medishield Life is a basic health insurance provided for all Singaporeans and PRs. It covers basic public hospital treatments where payouts are in accordance to the charges for class B2 and C wards in public hospitals. For private hospitals, class A and B1 wards, you would need to top up the excess.

Integrated shield plan (IP)

Integrated shield plans can be purchased from private insurers to boost the coverage. With additional coverage from the private insurers, you can enjoy a wider range of healthcare options and higher claim limits. The integrated shield plan not only covers you for pre and post hospitalisation but extends the range of wards you can stay in up to private hospitals.

IP riders

IP riders are add-ons to your integrated shield plan. While your Medishield Life and Integrated shield plan are payable by medisave, IP riders have to be paid in cash. There are a range of riders available and not every rider is the same. Some riders have a hospital cash benefit which gives cash allowance for each day you are hospitalised. Some IP riders will reimburse the deductible and co-insurance which is not covered by the integrated shield plan, hence covering a bigger portion of the hospital bill.

Should You Buy Additional Health Insurance Coverage?

One of the biggest reasons why more Singaporeans don’t purchase additional healthcare coverage is because they already have enough coverage with MediShield and their employer’s insurance scheme. That may very well be true for some people – everyone’s health insurance situation is different after all. You might actually have some very good health insurance coverage because of MediShield and your employer’s policy. But don’t make the dangerous mistake of assuming that you’ve got “comprehensive” coverage – check your employer’s policy for gaps, limitations and exclusions. So before you make assumptions about your current health insurance coverage that can have dangerous consequences, evaluate your total coverage, look for gaps, and consider purchasing additional health insurance coverage to reduce your risk!

Why get an Integrated Shield Plan?

MediShield, a company’s insurance plan or a combination of both might be enough. But the only way to ensure you’ll have 100% adequate coverage is to have additional health insurance coverage. Although MediShield covers all Singaporeans and PRs, it is limited in what it offers, which means that you could still end up having a huge bill you have to pay when you get sick. Also, your employer’s policy might have a variety of insurance limitations such as deductible(s), sub-limits or co-insurance (just like MediShield). Moreover, even though your current employer might offer a fantastic health insurance policy, you will no longer have this coverage when you get retrenched or take up another job. Having an integrated shield plan will give you more peace of mind with the various benefits it offers.

Benefits of an Integrated Shield plan

Higher claim limits

By having an integrated shield plan, you can add on to your annual claim limits. Also, it will increase the extent of your coverage in terms of higher ward classes, pre and post hospitalisation coverage and so on. Some integrated shield plans also provide additional benefits such as medical coverage outside of Singapore.

Higher ward classes

With the basic Medishield Life, it provides Singaporeans and PRs with coverage for Class B2 and C wards. While you can still opt to stay in Class A or B1 wards, it requires you to top-up the excess cost. This is one of the reasons why people opt for an integrated shield plan (IP) so that they can get covered up to private hospitals based on the type of IP they opt for. By staying in higher class wards, it may help reduce your waiting time for treatment and hospitalisation.

Agent

Another plus point that people like about getting an Integrated shield plan is having an agent. The agent is your point of content for anything related to your health insurance. Hence, when you need to make a claim or check your coverage, you can simply ask your agent via a text or call instead of digging through the government website.

Best Health Insurance in Singapore

Plan	Insurer	For
HealthShield Gold Max	AIA	Inpatient/Day surgery, outpatient treatment
PRUShield	Prudential	Pre and post hospitalisation, Inpatient/Day surgery
IncomeShield	NTUC Income	Outpatient treatment, organ transplant
SupremeHealth	Great Eastern	Outpatient treatment, high claim limit per policy year
Shield	AXA	Cheapest premium, emergency overseas treatment
Raffles Shield	Raffles Medical	High claim limit per policy year, pre and post hospitalisation
MyShield	Aviva	Family protection

What to consider before choosing an integrated shield plan?

Affordability

When considering purchasing a health plan, not only check if you can afford to pay the current premium but also check if you're able to afford future premiums which will be higher than the current premiums. This is because health insurance premiums increase by age and are bound to increase in the future due to rising healthcare costs.

Coverage

While affordability of a plan is something to consider, that doesn’t mean you should just settle for the cheapest plan. By taking up the plan with the lowest premiums, you may be compromising on the overage. You should consider finding a plan that fits your budget whilst providing extensive coverage. However, do not get a plan with the highest coverage but require you to pay more than what you can sustain in the long term.

Paying for health insurance

Using MediSave to pay

First and foremost, do take note that when you pay the premiums for an Integrated Shield plan, you are paying for both MediShield Life and the additional coverage by the private insurer. The MediShield Life portion is fully payable by MediSave. The private insurance component can also be paid via Medisave but it may not cover fully due to the additional withdrawal limit for MediSave. For those aged 40 years and below, the limit is $300 per year. For those aged 41 to 70 years old, the limit is $600 per year. For those aged 71 and above, the limit is $900. If the premiums for the coverage by a private insurer exceeds the limit, the excess has to be paid by cash. Riders cannot be paid with medisave.

What if my MediSave is insufficient?

MediSave can be used to not only pay for your MediShield Life but also of those of your immediate family members. In the event that you have insufficient balance in your MediSave account, you can use one of your family members’ MediSave account to pay. However, if you have insufficient balance in your Medisave account and have limited family support, you will be provided with the option to pay the outstanding premiums for your MediShield Life via installments.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Health Insurance in Singapore?: The average cost of an Integrated Shield Plan (IP), not including premiums for MediShield Life, that covers up to B1 ward for a 35 year old individual that does not smoke is S$83.
How does Health Insurance work in Singapore?: All Singaporeans and PRs are entitled to basic health insurance called MediShield Life. They can opt to increase their coverage by getting additional health insurance from private insurers such as Integrated Shield Plans.
Can foreigners buy Health Insurance in Singapore?: While foreigners don't qualify for MediShield Life, they can get health insurance coverage from a private insurer.
How much does it cost to see a doctor in Singapore?: Based on the sample costs provided in government website MoneySense, a 3 day stay in the Class A ward in a public hospital costs about $900 while miscellaneous hospital bills (e.g. doctor’s fees) can amount to $3,200.
Do you need Health Insurance in Singapore?: Medishield Life is a compulsory health insurance that all Singaporeans and PRs need to purchase. You may enhance your Medishield Life coverage by purchasing an Integrated Shield Plan from private insurers in Singapore.
Can you opt out of MediShield life?: You cannot opt out of MediShield Life unlike the previous MediShield scheme. You can choose to pay for your MediShield Life premiums using Medisave or Cash.
What is an Integrated Shield Plan?: An Integrated Shield Plan (IP) is an optional health coverage provided by private insurance companies such as AIA and Aviva.
How do I know if I have an Integrated Shield Plan (IP)?: Log in to your CPF account on www.cpf.gov.sg and click ‘My Message’. You will be able to see which insurer you are under for your IP under Medishield-Approved Private Integrated Plan.
Do you need Is it compulsory to have an Integrated Shield plan?: No, it is not compulsory to get an Integrated Shield plan (IP). All Singaporeans and PRs have basic coverage from MediShield Life. You can opt for an IP if you want to stay in a Private hospital or in a Class A or B1 ward in Public hospitals.want to boost your coverage.
Can I use MediSave to pay for my health insurance?: Yes, you can use MediSave to pay for MediShield Life and Integrated Shield plan (IP). However, IP riders have to be paid in cash.
Will the Integrated Shield Plan premiums increase with age?: Yes, premiums increase with age. Also, due to rising healthcare costs, the premiums for the private insurance component of the Integrated Shield Plans (IP) have been increasing by an average of 7% per year.
Can I have multiple shield plans?: No. You can only use MediSave to pay for one Integrated Shield Plan for yourself at any point in time. This is because the IPs provide generally similar coverage, and hospital or medical treatment bills can only be claimed from one plan.

Best Health Insurance Plans Singapore 2020

Refine Your Results

365 days

AXA Shield

365 days

NTUC IncomeShield

100 days

AIA HealthShield Gold Max

365 days

NTUC IncomeShield (For Foreigners)

365 days

Prudential PRUShield

365 days

Aviva MyShield

100 days

AIA HealthShield Gold Max (For Foreigners)

365 days

Great Eastern SupremeHealth

365 days

Great Eastern SupremeHealth (For Foreigners)

365 days

Raffles Shield

S$2,336

FWD International Health Insurance

S$5,015

AXA International Exclusive Plan C

S$920

MSIG Prestige Healthcare Elite

S$2,183

Cigna Silver Plan (International Health Plan)

S$3,786

Liberty MyHealth International Insurance Essential

Importance of Health Insurance

Types of Health Insurance

Hospital Income Insurance

Long-term Care Insurance

Disability Income Insurance

Medical Expense Insurance

How is Health Insurance structured in Singapore

Medishield Life

Integrated shield plan (IP)

IP riders

Should You Buy Additional Health Insurance Coverage?

Why get an Integrated Shield Plan?

Benefits of an Integrated Shield plan

Higher claim limits

Higher ward classes

Agent

Best Health Insurance in Singapore

What to consider before choosing an integrated shield plan?

Affordability

Coverage

Paying for health insurance

Using MediSave to pay

What if my MediSave is insufficient?

Frequently asked questions

How much is Health Insurance in Singapore?

How does Health Insurance work in Singapore?

Can foreigners buy Health Insurance in Singapore?

How much does it cost to see a doctor in Singapore?

Do you need Health Insurance in Singapore?

Can you opt out of MediShield life?

What is an Integrated Shield Plan?

How do I know if I have an Integrated Shield Plan (IP)?

Do you need Is it compulsory to have an Integrated Shield plan?

Can I use MediSave to pay for my health insurance?

Will the Integrated Shield Plan premiums increase with age?

Can I have multiple shield plans?

^S$2,336

^S$5,015

^S$920

^S$2,183

^S$3,786