Why Trust MoneySmart?Buying travel insurance is strongly recommended for anyone departing from Singapore. While basic policies provide good protection, paying a little more for comprehensive plans or targeted add-ons can be worthwhile. The potentially high cost of overseas medical emergencies, trip cancellations, or other travel disruptions can quickly outweigh the small upfront expense of extra coverage.
Why travel insurance is important
Travel insurance acts as a financial safety net to protect you from unexpected costs and disruptions when overseas. Key benefits include:
Emergency medical expenses and evacuation: Standard health insurance often does not cover medical care abroad. Overseas treatment—especially in countries like the USA or when emergency evacuation is needed—can easily cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Trip cancellation/interruption: Get reimbursed for non-refundable bookings such as flights, hotels, or tours if you have to cancel or cut your trip short due to illness, injury, or certain emergencies.
Lost or delayed baggage: Receive compensation if your luggage is lost or substantially delayed during your travels.
Travel delay reimbursements: Cover additional accommodation and meal costs resulting from major travel delays.
COVID-19 coverage: Most Singapore travel insurance plans now automatically include, or offer as an add-on, coverage for COVID-19 medical costs and quarantine expenses while overseas.
When to pay for extra coverage (Add-ons or premium plans)
Enhancing your coverage is worth the additional premium in certain situations:
High-cost destinations: If travelling to countries with expensive healthcare (like the USA, Japan, or Europe), choose policies that offer at least S$200,000 (or more) in medical coverage.
Pre-existing medical conditions: Standard plans usually do not cover pre-existing medical illnesses. Consider specialised Pre-Ex plans from insurers like Income, MSIG, or Etiqa for this purpose.
Adventurous activities: If you intend to participate in adventure sports or activities like skiing, scuba diving, or similar activities, confirm that your policy covers these. By default, most base travel insurance plans do not offer such coverage and add-ons are often needed.
Expensive itineraries: If your trip includes high non-refundable outlays, ensure your plan’s trip cancellation/interruption benefit covers the full amount.
Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR): For the greatest flexibility, select a CFAR add-on. Note this increases your premium but allows cancellations for almost any reason.
Frequent travellers: If you take three or more trips a year, consider an annual multi-trip plan for better value and convenient continuous protection.
Recommended travel insurance advice to consider
Buy early: Purchase your travel insurance soon after booking your trip (ideally within 1–3 weeks) to benefit from full trip cancellation coverage and to qualify for any pre-existing condition waivers or options.
Compare policies: Don’t simply pick the cheapest or most convenient option, such as an airline’s add-on. Use our comprehensive travel insurance comparison tool on MoneySmart to review coverage/benefit limits, exclusions, and add-ons according to your travel destination, trip duration, trip type (single/annual), and number of travellers. Additionally, you may also filter based on coverage extent and types, exclusive MoneySmart promotions, best value with cheapest premiums, and insurance providers.
Read the fine print: After purchasing your travel insurance policy, ensure to carefully check for exclusions, sub-limits, and claims procedures. Being informed helps prevent surprises if you need to make a claim.
💡 MoneySmart Tip |
Use trusted online comparison tools like MoneySmart's travel insurance comparison to explore coverage limits, premiums, and policy features across leading insurers in Singapore—helping you find the right insurance plan for your trip, quickly. |
