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Best Travel Insurance Plans Singapore 2023
Choose from MoneySmart's curated list of best travel insurance plans in Singapore and find out how to pick the most suitable plan for your needs as a traveller. With our help, you’ll be able to compare a wide range of Single Trip travel insurance plans and Annual Multi-Trip packages in Singapore in terms of premiums, COVID-19 medical coverage, coverage for overseas medical expenses, trip cancellation, replacement of traveller, cruise vacation, personal baggage damages, and more. Whether you’re looking to find coverage for solo trips, groups or families travelling together, there’s definitely something that will give you utmost assurance.
Compare Travel Insurance with Covid-19 Coverage Plans 2023
| Best for | Travel Insurance Plan | Coverage Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Overseas COVID-19 diagnosis quarantine allowance | FWD: Premium, Business, First plans | $5,000 total cap |
| Overseas hospital cash due to COVID-19 | AXA: SmartTraveller Essential and Comprehensive plans | $2,000 total cap |
| Medical coverage due to COVID-19 | Allianz Travel: Comprehensive Bronze, Silver and Platinum plans, Starr: TraveLead Comprehensive Gold plan | $1,000,000 total cap |
| Pre-Existing condition (if you’re pregnant or have other existing medical conditions, and contracted COVID-19 during your trip) | MSIG: TravelEasy® Pre-Ex Standard, Elite, Premier plans | $3,000 - $350,000 total cap (depending on what type of pre-existing conditions) |
| Trip Cancellation | FWD: First Family Plan | $37,500 total cap |
| Replacement of traveler or employee | MSIG: TravelEasy® Standard, Elite, Premier plans | $500 - $15,000 total cap |
| Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation | Allianz: Travel Comprehensive Platinum plan | Unlimited |
| Personal accident | Starr: TraveLead Comprehensive Gold plan | $500,000 total cap |
Best COVID-19 Travel Insurance Coverage
You can choose to buy COVID-19 coverage as an add-on benefit or as part of a plan which you already have, depending on your preference and what your current travel insurance company provides. If you are looking to travel around, you could check out our guide on the best travel insurance with Covid-19 coverage.
Some travel insurance companies offer COVID-19 coverage as an add-on benefit to an existing plan, while others include COVID-19 coverage benefits in their range of travel insurance plans, with an increase of premiums due to the additional COVID-19 coverage benefits. Let’s take a look at what some travel insurers’ COVID-19 coverage are good for in terms of key benefits.
Best Travel Insurance Plans Benefits Coverage
| Best for | Provider/Travel Insurance Plan | Premium rate |
|---|---|---|
| Deals and promotions | Starr: TraveLead Comprehensive Bronze, Silver and Platinum plans | $15 - $25 |
| Covid-19 coverage | Allianz Travel Comprehensive Bronze, Silver and Platinum plans | $116.35 - $144.35 |
| Cruise coverage | Starr TraveLead Comprehensive Bronze plan | From $15.60 |
| Comprehensive coverage | Allianz Travel Comprehensive Bronze, Silver and Platinum plans | $54 - $82 |
| Adventure/Sports activities | MSIG TravelEasy® Standard, Elite, Premier plans | $32 - $62 |
| Pre-existing conditions | MSIG TravelEasy® Standard Pre-Ex, Elite Pre-Ex, Premier Pre-Ex plans | $38 - $16.50 for daily rate |
| Highest overseas medical coverage | AIG: Travel Guard® Basic, Standard, Enhanced, Supreme plans | $30 - $77 |
| Overall good value | Starr TraveLead Comprehensive Plans and FWD Business plan | $15-$25 (Starr), $22 (FWD Business) |
| Traveling while pregnant | MSIG TravelEasy® Standard Pre-Ex, Elite Pre-Ex, Premier Pre-Ex plans | $38 - $16.50 for daily rate |
| Frequent travellers | Allianz Travel Platinum Annual Multi-trip plan | $82 |
| Great claims experience | MSIG TravelEasy® Standard, Elite, Premier plans | $32 - $62 |
| Family | FWD First Family Plan | $25 |
| Flight diversion/cancellation/postponement | FWD Premium Plan | $14 |
Is Japan open for travel?
Starting 11 October, Japan will allow visa-free, independent tourism and remove its daily arrival cap! Get ready for your next trip by checking our helpful guide.
Does Travel Insurance Cover Cancelled Flights?
Not always! While all travel insurance policies have a "Trip Cancellation" benefit, you can only claim for this if it's for an insured event, such as a serious illness or accident, or unforeseen events such as riots or natural disasters. However, different insurers exclude different scenarios, so it's best to read the policy wording carefully. The following are types of flight cancellations that are NOT covered by travel insurance.
Flight Cancellation Due to Known Event
Flight cancellations due to events such as the Hong Kong riots or COVID-19 outbreak are not covered by travel insurance, because they are now public knowledge and you are expected to have known about these at the point of buying your tickets. However, if you bought your flights and activated your travel insurance before they became public knowledge, you might still be able to make a claim.
Flight Cancellation with Refund / Replacement
If your flight was cancelled but you were put on a replacement flight, or your fare was refunded, you will not be able to make a travel insurance claim under the trip cancellation benefit. In general, travel insurance is only for unrecoverable costs. However, you may claim for trip delay benefits, such as an extra night's accommodation or extra meals.
You Cancelled Your Own Flight / Trip
Travel insurance typically covers insured events that are beyond your control. If you are the one who changed your mind about your trip, you generally won't be able to claim anything - unless your insurer offers a "Cancellation for Any Reason" benefit. However, in public health emergencies like the COVID-19 outbreak, airlines usually waive the usual penalties for flight cancellations, out of goodwill.
How Do I Choose The Best Travel Insurance?
When choosing travel insurance plans for your holiday or business trips, there are several factors to consider, depending on your priorities. Here are four simple steps to pick a suitable travel insurance plan.
Step 1
Check general coverage
Instead of deciding solely by price, you should compare the benefits and reimbursement limits for common claims like medical expenses, trip cancellations, flight delays and baggage theft and/or damage.
Step 2
Compare policy premiums
How much your travel insurance costs depends on your destination and length of stay. Most travel insurance companies have 2 to 3 tiers of plans at different price points, with varying comprehensiveness and reimbursement limits.
Step 3
Special activities coverage
The breadth of coverage needed largely depends on your itinerary. For instance, if you’re planning to go skydiving, make sure you get a policy that covers aerial sports like MSIG’s TravelEasy® Standard, Elite and Premier plans. Or if you’re going golfing overseas, pick a policy that insures your equipment.
Step 4
Consider the trip duration
This is one of the important determining factors of which kind of travel insurance you get. Single trip travel insurance plans are usually for short trips. If you’re the kind who travels far and for months, it might be worthwhile to consider buying annual travel insurance.
Unlike single trip travel insurance, annual travel insurance often charges a flat premium and insures you for an entire year of travel. It usually costs about $200 to $300 per year, which is more suitable for a frequent traveller who is probably going to travel overseas more than 7 or 8 times a year, at least.
Different Types Of Travel Insurance Coverage
Single trip plans
If you’re thinking of only taking one or two trips in a year, single-trip travel insurance is probably more suitable for you. As the name suggests, single-trip insurance plans are made for individual travellers, and those who are travelling as families, who need travel coverage for a single trip or holiday, especially for long overseas trips (usually up to 180 days).
It makes more economic sense for those who don't travel very often, plus, single-trip insurance plans can be purchased easily online, with less time in planning and consideration as compared to annual multi-trip plans. But on the flip side, you’ll face the hassle of getting a new travel insurance policy every time you go on an overseas trip. For some, a single-trip insurance plan can get relatively expensive if the trips are short.
Annual Multi-trip plans
Annual travel insurance plans, which are also known as multi-trip travel insurance plans, are designed for those who travel several times in a year. The great thing about this kind of travel insurance is that you only need to do the purchase once, and you’re covered for the next 12 months. It is a good option if you’re a frequent traveller who intends to make many long trips or short weekend getaways abroad in a year.
Individual plans
Going solo as an occasional traveller or frequent traveller means that you’ll most likely need a single-trip individual travel insurance plan or an annual multi-trip travel insurance plan, depending on the frequency of travel.
Family plans
Family travel insurance plans usually cover you and the members of your family who travel with you on your trip, with a maximum number of adults and children to be insured per policy purchased. The people who are insured under a family travel insurance plan may comprise of you and your spouse, and/or your children or grandchildren.
You may want to consider purchasing a family travel insurance plan if you are travelling with your family and thinking of getting a single policy for your family members who are travelling with you, as getting a family travel insurance plan can be more cost-effective than getting separate single trip plans for each family member. What if you and your loved ones are travelling very often as a family? Some travel insurers also offer annual multi-trip travel insurance for families who are frequent travellers.
Single-trip or Annual multi-trip plan - Which one should you pick?
Now that we've detailed out what the different types of travel insurance plans are, it’ll be easier for you to make a decision. If not, here are some examples to help you understand better.
Example 1
Joshua flies frequently in and out of the country for his business trips. As he works as a legal advisor, his job requires him to travel between Singapore and Thailand twice or once a month. Each trip will last for about a week. In this case, multi-trip travel insurance works best for him as he wouldn't have to keep getting travel insurance before every trip. Moreover, since he travels so often, getting travel insurance with COVID-19 coverage would be recommended.
Example 2
Lisa and Amanda are university friends planning to take a long post-graduation trip to Australia. They seldom travel and even if they did, they go on overseas vacations once a year with their own families. For them, the single travel insurance policy is a more suitable choice and it is recommended for them to get a travel insurance with Covid-19 coverage to Australia.
What Do COVID-19 Travel Insurance Plans Cover?
In recent years, Covid-19 coverage is considered a pretty new feature in most travel insurance plans, and it varies from insurer to insurer. Coverage across the board is growing to become more similar, and here are a few aspects you’ll want to look out for when it comes to choosing a suitable travel insurance with COVID-19 coverage. You can also check out our blog article on the best travel insurance plans with COVID-19 coverage before you decide on one.
Overseas medical expenses
In the event you get diagnosed with COVID-19, you’ll be able to claim for the necessary and reasonable overseas medical costs incurred within a certain number of days of your trip (usually 90 days) up to the limit as specified according to your selected plan. For some plans there are also tiered coverage limits for different age groups.
In-hospital cash overseas/overseas quarantine allowance
Reimbursements for in terms of cash for hospital stays is another benefit that most insurers include in their plans now, and/or quarantine allowance for up to 14 consecutive days if while on a trip, you happen to test positive for Covid-19 and are unexpectedly placed in mandatory quarantine.
Emergency medical evacuation and emergency medical repatriation
This is one of the fundamental aspects of every COVID-19 coverage plan. Any costs incurred for emergency medical evacuation and repatriation (including repatriation of mortal remains back to Singapore) that are related to your COVID-19 diagnosis will be covered.
Keep in mind to have someone on your behalf to contact the insurer’s emergency service to provide your full name, dates of trip, NRIC/FIN number, policy number, name of the place and the telephone number that your insurance provider can reach you, as well as the nature of help required during the emergency, in case you are unable to do so during the emergency.
Trip cancellation /alteration/interruption/delay
Trip cancellations, postponements, delays, and interruptions are often covered if you as the traveller or you relatives travelling with you are diagnosed with COVID-19 before the date of departure, subject to terms and conditions.
Early return home allowance
This benefit is not commonly included in most travel insurance plans (or it’s sometimes known as travel curtailment coverage), but it’s a plus point if your policy provides this allowance in the situation whereby the disruption of your trip is necessary and unavoidable because you or your relative are diagnosed with COVID-19 while travelling and need to return to Singapore earlier than planned.
Travel Insurance Claims
How do travel claims work?
Before you make a claim from your travel insurance provider, there are several important things to take note of, whether it is for claims related to your COVID-19 diagnosis, loss of baggage, trip cancellation, or other reasons. These include knowing what type of plan you purchased, when did the incident/illness occur (pre-trip, during-trip or post-trip), what belongings or items to claim for, and who are involved.
Here are 3 simple steps to submit your travel insurance claim
Step 1
Get your supporting documents ready
Most travel insurance providers require claim reports to be made within 30 days of the incident, and you can do it via mail, WhatsApp, their mobile app or their online claims portal. It is recommended to lodge your claim and submit it within 30 days so as to avoid breaching the policy’s terms and conditions, which may affect your claim process. Also, do remember to keep all original documents for 6 months from the date of submission, in the event your travel insurance provider needs to sight them.
The list of supporting documents required in most submissions usually include:
- NRIC or FIN No. and other personal information
- Medical reports and related evidence in the form of photos and/or emails
- Proof of ownership of baggage or other related items
- Original trip invoices and receipts, ticket confrontation, boarding passes, photocopy of passport and visas
- Police, airline, transport and accommodation reports
Step 2
Fill in your details and attach your supporting documents in your submission
Log in to your travel insurance provider’s claims submissions mobile app, or online portal to fill in your particulars and the necessary details for the claims (you'll need your email address or policy number, as well as your departure date or policy purchase date), and upload all soft copies of the supporting documents you have prepared.
If not, you can still do it the old fashioned way and submit hardcopy claims, by completing the online claims procedure and then mail your original documents to the address of your travel insurance company.
Step 3
Receive an acknowledgement email and await for settlement
An acknowledgement email will be sent to you once you’ve completed the claims submission via their claims portal, and your claim will be reviewed by your travel insurance provider. If you happen to get COVID-19 or other illness and injury before, during or after your trip, and have any queries regarding claim for trip cancellations or curtailments due to COVID-19, there will usually be a hotline or email you can call/write in to for assistance.
Once the review is done and your claim is approved, your travel insurance provider will liaise with any respective airline or travel agency involved and make the necessary payments needed. Some insurers offer the cashless service of reimbursing you through PayNow or other iBanking modes, which makes it really fast and convenient for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best travel insurance promotions?
- We are currently running an exclusive lucky draw from now till end of June. To participate, buy a travel insurance from one of our participating providers and stand a chance to win a prize that is worth up to $55k!
What is travel insurance and how does it help me?
- Travel insurance helps protect you from risks while you are travelling overseas. Travel insurance policies include coverage for personal accident, overseas medical expenses, travel inconvenience, as well as theft and loss of baggage, just to name a few. If you are travelling overseas, you should definitely get a travel insurance plan as it’s relatively cheap and can protect you from unnecessary costs and risks.
How do I get COVID-19 coverage for my travel insurance?
- You can choose to buy COVID-19 coverage as an add-on benefit or as part of a plan, through your preferred travel insurance mobile app, website or insurance agent. Some travel insurance companies offer COVID-19 coverage as an add-on benefit to an existing plan, while others include COVID-19 coverage benefits in their range of travel insurance plans, with an increase of premiums due to the additional COVID-19 coverage benefits.
If I purchased a travel insurance plan but can no longer go on a trip because I have a positive Covid-19 test, will I be able to cancel my trip and get a refund?
- Most travel insurance plans will have COVID-19 coverage, and as long as the policy you bought includes coverage for trip cancellation you can cancel your trip if your policy includes cancellation benefits. Usually, it applies to cancellation before departure for travel and/or accommodation expenses if you or your immediate family member contracts COVID-19 before your scheduled trip departure date.
What's the difference between single-trip or annual multi-trip travel Insurance?
When you buy travel insurance you can choose from 2 types of policies, either the single trip or annual multi-trip travel insurance plan. Single trip travel insurance covers you for a single trip and is usually for individual travellers, or those who are travelling as families, who need travel coverage for a single trip or holiday, especially for long overseas trips (usually up to 180 days).
Annual travel insurance plans, which are also known as multi-trip travel insurance plans, cover you for all trips starting and ending in Singapore, and are designed for those who travel several times in a year, each trip lasting for about less than 180 days. You should consider buying Annual Travel Insurance if you travel frequently (more than 10 times a year). You will enjoy significant savings, and you won't have to worry about purchasing travel insurance every single time as you’ll be covered for the entire year.
Are family travel insurance plans cheaper?
- Most insurers offer cheaper premium rates if you purchase your travel insurance plan as a family.
Can I buy travel insurance once I'm overseas?
- No. Travel insurance has to be purchased before your trip commences. If you buy travel insurance after your trip commences and you try to make a claim, your insurer may not honour your claim. You should buy your travel insurance after you’ve booked your tickets as travel insurance also protects you from trip cancellation.
How do I compare travel insurance policies?
- Travel insurance is a relatively simple insurance product. All travel insurance policies will cover you for personal accident, medical and travel inconveniences. However, if you intend to rent a car or participate in underwater sports like snorkeling or diving, you might want to get a travel insurance policy that provides those additional features. Compare travel insurance plans on MoneySmart and find the one with the best price and coverage level for you!
What are the best travel insurance for East and Southeast Asia countries?
We have written a quick guide on buying the best travel insurance to the nearby countries whether you are travelling to Malaysia, taking a weekend trip to Thailand, holidaying in Bali, planning a trip to Japan or a getaway to South Korea. Before jetting off, here are the 5 must have list of travel essentials that you will need when on holiday.
Does travel insurance cover flight cancellation due to illness?
- You can generally make travel insurance claims that arise from unforeseen illnesses, but only if the doctor certifies you too ill to travel. This means you have to be really, really ill, not just suffering from a slight case of the sniffles. One big exception to take note of: You won't be able to claim if it's a flare-up of a pre-existing medical condition. That is, if you already have asthma, you can't get compensation for missing your flight because of an asthma attack. You are expected to have known about and prepared for this risk. Technically, you CAN cover such scenarios, but only if the policy specifically states that it covers pre-existing conditions. These tend to be significantly more expensive than regular travel insurance.