Singapore is known for its bustling hawker centres, great shopping malls and for being home to the world’s most fun-filled airport.
If you’re raring to explore its clean, green streets, travel insurance for Singapore can help to protect you while you’re there.
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.
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 free travel insurance comparison service to see what policies we have to offer.
Every policy has a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). Check your policy’s 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.
Medicare doesn’t cover overseas medical expenses or medical treatment, so you could end up paying hefty medical bills if you are injured or fall ill overseas. Travel insurance cover can assist with overseas medical expenses, including costs associated with hospitalisation, medical evacuation or repatriation back to Australia.
Singapore can also experience natural disasters such as earthquakes and monsoons. During monsoon season, heavy rain and severe storms could impact your holiday.
Monsoon season typically occurs from December to March and June to September. While it’s advisable to keep a watchful eye on weather reports around the time you want to travel, your travel insurance for Singapore may reimburse you for any cancelled or delayed flights that arise due to bad weather.
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.
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.
Suppose your travel plans get disrupted and you need to cancel your trip due to unforeseen events, or your travel 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.
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:
For more information on what’s covered and excluded from policies, visit our travel insurance section of Sergei’s Solutions Hub.
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.
Singapore has jail time or the death penalty for certain acts. It may seem harsh to some Australians, but in Singapore breaking such laws can have real consequences. Always check what local laws you may not know about before entering any country, including Singapore, and if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask your travel insurer, a local expert, or look it up online with a verified source.
Singapore has some cultural sensitivities around dress codes, public displays of affection and same-sex acts between women. It is illegal for men to engage in same-sex acts. When in doubt, seek local advice, either through people you might know or hotel staff.
Singapore has strict laws and penalties around public amenity offences. These include:
Singapore can be a hotspot for diseases such as:
The risk of illnesses and other insect-borne diseases increases in the wetter months, including November to March and July to September.
Singapore may use fogging with toxic chemicals to prevent the spread of insect-borne diseases.1 Avoid travelling through any areas immediately after fogging has taken place.
Looking for travel insurance to protect you on your Singaporean adventure? Use Compare the Market’s free comparison tool to compare levels of cover, benefits, excesses and more from a range of policies.
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If you’re thinking of travelling elsewhere in Asia, why not check out our pages on Thailand or Bali, or browse our Asia destinations hub. Alternatively, check out our travel insurance guides for different countries.
1 Smartraveller, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Singapore. Last updated January 2023. Accessed January 2023.
