Travel insurance for Singapore
A guide to travel insurance for Singapore
Last updated March 13, 2024
Why take out travel insurance for Singapore?
While there are many reasons it’s important to consider taking out travel insurance for Singapore, here are three things your comprehensive policy may help with:
- Medical expenses. If you suffer an unexpected injury and illness overseas, the medical cover in your policy can help you claim reimbursement or some of your medical bills.
- Lost or stolen luggage. If you are vigilant with your belongings when in airports, on public transport and in other busy tourist areas, but they still get stolen, travel insurance may cover some of the costs of replacing your items.
- Cancellations. You may need to cancel your trip for a number of reasons such as falling sick and being unable to go or an unforeseen natural disaster might impact your trip. In these cases, and more, travel cover could reimburse some of your trip expenses.
Choosing cover for your trip to Singapore
Before choosing a policy and venturing across the Timor Sea, you should consider your individual circumstances to help ensure that your policy is one that matches your needs.
- If you have any pre-existing medical conditions, search for products that allow you to declare these conditions as part of your travel insurance application. However, not all pre-existing conditions can be covered, and others may require an increased premium.
- If you’re a senior traveller, you should check the age limits of any policy you’re considering to make sure you are eligible for your cover. These age limits will differ depending on the travel insurance company and policy.
- If you’re planning a family trip, you may find more value in choosing travel insurance for a family that may cover everyone under a single policy, rather than having to purchase multiple individual policies.
Expert tips for choosing the right travel insurance for Singapore
Our Executive General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, has a few tips on searching for policies that suit the needs of your upcoming trip.
Adrian Taylor
Executive General Manager – General Insurance
Check if you’re covered for COVID-19
While many insurers may provide cover for COVID-19 (coronavirus) related losses, in most cases you will need to purchase their top tier policy for COVID-19 cover to be included. When using our comparison service, look for the COVID-19 icon when you compare products.
Purchase cover as soon as you book your trip
It’s a good idea to compare policies and purchase comprehensive travel insurance as soon as you make a booking or pay any deposits. This way you may have cancellation cover from before you depart should an unexpected event cause you to need to cancel your trip.
Consider what level of coverage suits your trip
While a basic, medical-only policy can be useful if you’re on a budget, you may want a higher level of cover to get financial protection against medical expenses, theft, and more. Depending on your plans, you may also want cover for any adventure activities, cruises or rental car excess. If you’re a frequent traveller you may also consider taking out an annual multi-trip plan over a single policy.
Understanding travel insurance for Singapore
Do I need travel insurance for Singapore?
Singapore might be a world-class city, but a travel insurance plan is still a smart idea and may provide you with cover for accidents, illnesses, or last-minute cancellations. Travel insurance can give you peace of mind that you’re financially protected against many unforeseen events, including potentially shocking out-of-pocket expenses.
Your travel insurance policy can also cover more than one destination. So, if you’re planning on traversing all across Asia, from Japan to Thailand or even India all on a single trip, you may be covered all under the same policy.
Want to know more? Check out our list of destination pages here.
What should my travel insurance for Singapore include?
When travelling to Singapore, consider taking out insurance to cover you for luggage and personal effects, trip cancellations and travel delay expenses, personal liability, medical and hospital expenses and emergency medical evacuation. Try our travel insurance comparison service to see what policies we have to offer.
Every policy has a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). Check the policy wording of your PDS to know the full extent of the inclusions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits of your travel insurance policy to ensure you have the cover you need. Also consider reading the Target Market Determination (TMD) to check your eligibility for a policy.
Medical cover
Medicare doesn’t cover overseas medical expenses or medical treatment, so you could end up paying hefty medical bills if you have a medical emergency while overseas. Travel insurance cover can assist with overseas medical expenses, including costs associated with hospitalisation, medical evacuation or repatriation back to Australia.
Damaged, stolen or lost belongings
Petty crimes, such as pickpocketing, can happen in Singapore. Keep an eye on your belongings at Changi Airport, tourist destinations, on public transport and in hotel lobbies. You won’t be covered by travel insurance in Singapore if you leave your belongings unsupervised in public and they are lost, stolen or damaged.
Your travel insurance policy can cover your personal belongings, credit cards, cash and travel documents (like your passport) up to certain limits as listed in your policy cover’s PDS.
Rental car excess cover
If you’re planning on renting a car in Singapore, you should consider purchasing rental car excess cover. If you are in an accident, the rental company could make you pay an excess to cover damages, but with this travel insurance add-on, you may be financially protected against this expense.
Cancellations and travel delays
Suppose your travel plans get disrupted and you need to cancel your trip due to unforeseen events, or if flight delays bring about unexpected costs. In that case, your cancellation and travel delay cover can reimburse some or all of the associated costs depending on your policy’s limits and level of cover.
What is excluded from travel insurance for Singapore?
It’s important to note there will be instances when your travel insurance does not cover you, so it’s a good idea to check with your travel insurance provider to see what you are and aren’t covered for.
Some common travel insurance exclusions include the following:
- If cover is purchased after the incident. You must hold a policy before the need to claim arises.
- Unattended luggage is stolen. The loss of personal items, luggage and belongings that are left unattended in a public space commonly get excluded.
- Government travel advice is disregarded. If Smartraveller has a ‘Do Not Travel’ warning in place, your policy won’t cover you.
- Injuries while under the influence. Claims made due to drug or alcohol-related incidents generally won’t be covered.
- Driving vehicles without a license. Driving and motorcycling is common in Singapore, but be wary of accidents. Short-term travellers will need a valid Australian license and an International Driving Permit (IDP) to drive. Medical costs that may arise due to unlicensed driving aren’t likely to be covered.
For more information on what’s covered and excluded from policies, visit our travel insurance section of Sergei’s Solutions Hub.
Is Singapore safe?
Most of the time, Singapore is safe. However, being mindful of your surroundings and local laws can help you have a fantastic, safe and fun experience.
In an emergency, you should dial 112 or contact local police in a non-urgent case. Your travel insurer should also have a 24/7 emergency assistance hotline for you to contact for assistance.
Contact your insurer within 24 hours of an incident and include supporting documentation, like a police report, photos or receipts. Remember that you also have support from the Australian Government in the form of consulates and embassies should you find yourself in need.
Meet our travel insurance expert, Adrian Taylor
As the Executive General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor believes in educating customers about the importance of travel insurance so that anyone can kick back and make the most of their time away from home. While no one wants a disrupted holiday, a suitable travel insurance policy can provide a financial safety net for yourself, your belongings and your trip in case things go wrong.