Singaporeans have a wide variety of insurance plans to choose from with a plethora of companies offering different insurance plans to cater to all their requirements. They need to first have a thorough knowledge of all the different insurance products available, compare and then choose the plan that suits them the best. Depending on their lifestyle or the phase of life they are in, customers can choose the kind of insurance plan that they would need.
Every insurance plan should be tailor made to suit policyholders’ needs and each plan will be different for different individuals. Salaried employees can take all-inclusive plans for their personal belongings, cars, homes and other emergencies. Senior citizens will benefit from health, life and retirement plans providing financial assistance during their retirement years. Business owners and industrialists should take comprehensive business insurance plans to protect their plants and industries against risks. So, depending on the specific requirement of the policyholder, companies offer custom made plans providing maximum advantage and coverage in Singapore.
As we sail through the journey called life, every day brings in something new or unexpected. It is always a good idea to be well prepared for unpredicted events and be protected against all possible risks that life might throw at you. Getting insured helps you financially combat unforeseen situations and also ensures peace of mind for individuals and their families.
Insurance companies in Singapore offer an eclectic array of insurance products and customers can pick and choose any plan that would provide assistance to them and their families. Insurance in Singapore is broadly categorized into three types - Life Insurance, Health Insurance and General Insurance.
Life Insurance in Singapore provides protection to policyholders and their families against all emergencies and calamities related to personal accidents, bodily injuries, permanent disabilities and death. During these unforeseen circumstances, a life insurance policy pays out an assured sum of money to financially support the policyholder’s family or dependents. Life insurance policies are also available as retirement plans for senior citizens, savings and investment plans in Singapore. Retirement plans are very helpful for senior citizens, providing an annuity during their retirement years. Whole life plans, endowment plans and investment linked plans (ILPS) offer the combined benefit of savings along with the protection of an insurance plan. In these cases, the premiums might vary and might be slightly higher than a regular insurance plan for the extra level of savings or investment benefits they offer.
Mortgage term reducing insurance is also a form of life insurance product offering financial protection to families of policyholders. The insurance company pays the mortgage amount required for a property, in case of death of the policyholder or the main home loan borrower.
A health insurance policy caters to all your health, wellness and medical treatment / nursing costs with additional coverage for loss of income during hospitalisation. A critical illness insurance plan pays a portion of the sum insured during diagnosis of critical illness or trauma. Medishield Integrated Shield Plans and other hospital / medical plans reimburse medical bills and pay a portion of the costs involved in surgeries and hospitalisation, if the policyholder is suffering from sickness or injuries due to an accident. In cases, where the policyholder’s family does not receive an income due to the policyholder’s hospitalisation, then the insurance company compensates for the loss of income using hospital cash insurance. Disability income insurance plans offer income replacements to families in cases where the policyholder is unable to work due to medical conditions. Most employers in Singapore provide health insurance benefits to their employees. Long term care insurance plans like ElderShield and ElderShield Supplements pay for severe disablements or if the individual is too weak to look after themselves.
General Insurance
Home Insurance, Motor insurance, Fire Insurance, Travel Insurance and Pet insurance fall under the category of General Insurance products. These insurance types are offered by most companies in Singapore with a variety of schemes under each type. A general insurance plan gives policyholders financial coverage against losses of personal belongings, private cars or homes. The insurer covers the entire amount of loss incurred with the sum insured or up to an extent as decided in the agreement with the policyholder.
Home Insurance - Home owners can provide complete protection to their homes, flats and household contents along with other personal belongings and safeguard these against damages with a comprehensive home insurance policy. Home Insurance compensates for repairs of home appliances and for replacement of household contents as stipulated in the insurance agreement. A home insurance policy can be taken by both home owners and tenants in Singapore.
Motor insurance - Motor insurance comprises of two type of insurance products- car insurance and two wheeler insurance. In Singapore, car insurance is available for private cars as well as high-end luxury cars. An all-inclusive car insurance policy covers all types of losses or damages to cars including theft and break-ins. Most insurers offer the services of authorized garages for car repairs to policyholders and also include the feature of cashless settlements at these garages. Two wheeler insurance offers complete protection against damages to two-wheelers and covers any legal liability that policyholders might face.
Fire Insurance - Fire insurance is mandatory for home owners for protection against damages caused to homes due to fire accidents. A fire insurance policy pays for repairs or replacements required due to losses or damages to homes caused by fire accidents, floods or burglary.
Travel Insurance - A travel insurance policy compensates for loss of baggage/personal effects, trip delays, medical expenses incurred during travel, baggage delays, theft of money and travel documents, cancellations, missed flights and overbookings, hijacking, personal liabilities and loss of use of hotel facilities. Travel insurance can be taken as single trip, multi-trip or as annual policies. A single trip insurance policy covers a single trip as the name suggests, while multi-trip policy can be taken by frequent travellers for unlimited number of trips in a single policy year. Annual policies can be taken for trips starting and ending at Singapore only.
Pet Insurance - Insure your pedigree pets with a pet insurance plan compensating the cost of vet’s bills, pets’ hospitalisation fees and kennel fees. Some insurance policies also compensate the death of pets and the cost required to advertise if owners have lost their pets.
Business Insurance
Business owners generally face multiple challenges while running their businesses or industries and might not have the financial capacity to cover or mitigate these risks. Any hindrance to the regular functioning of a business will lead to losses for owners, thereby affecting their overall business performance. A comprehensive business insurance policy helps industrialists protect their plants and businesses from losses or damages occurring from any calamity or minor disruptions. Business insurance lends financial support to combat all types of business risks, ensuring continuity of production. Generally companies in Singapore offer Business Insurance solutions comprising of the following elements - Commercial property insurance, General Accident and Liability insurance, Construction and Engineering insurance, Group health, accident and travel insurance, Marine insurance, Professional Liability insurance, Product/Package Protection, Trade Credit protection and Work Injury Compensation.
The primary cost involved in any insurance policy is the premium amount that policyholders pay in return for the coverage they get. There are some additional costs included as well.
Mortality Charges – These charges translate to the amount a policyholder will being for every $1,000 worth of coverage.
Morbidity Charges – Very similar to Mortality charges, but it comes into effect only for critical illnesses.
Additional Charges – These charges include administrative charges, policy fees and other charges adding up to insurers’ operational costs.
Commission Charges – Payment or commission to insurance agents for providing their services to customers.
Customers in Singapore can submit claims for any type of insurance using the particular company’s website, which generally provides detailed instructions to initiate and submit a claim. Along with the claim form, NRICs of claimants and other supporting documents, which need to be indicated on a claim form have to be submitted to the insurer, depending on the type of claim made.
After the required documents have been received by the insurer, the claim is processed and the settlement is made as stipulated in the insurance agreement. Some insurance claims might require inspectors to scrutinize the damages or losses incurred by the insured and then settle on a claim amount befitting the damages sustained.
Insurance companies in Singapore generally grant a 14-day cooling-off period for health, accident and life insurance policyholders to review the insurance product that they have purchased. Customers can read through their policy documents and analyse if the insurance policy that they have taken actually meets their financial needs. If customers realise that the purchased policy is falling short of their requirements, then they have the option of sending a written notice to the insurer to cancel the policy within a period of 14 days. The insurer will refund all the premiums paid deducting the expenses that have already incurred. In some scenarios, insurers might also deduct medical expenses will doing the refund, if it is an investment based policy.
Every individual needs to safeguard himself, his family and personal belongings against all possible risks and calamities. In today’s world, protection is available for every type of risk, regardless of the cause. An insurance policy provides financial assistance during emergencies and calamities to policyholders and their families. Individuals need to understand and assess their requirements with regards to buying an insurance plan. They should buy a policy which covers eventual risks associated with their lives. It is not necessary that they take insurance protection for everything that they own, but mainly for those personal entities that face higher risks and require policyholders to shell out huge amounts of money from their savings to cover up for the losses. Any insurance plan should be adequate enough to cover the requirements of policyholders and their dependents, be it for unexpected medical expenses, personal commitments or for long-term savings.
Traveling is an integral part of our lives today. May it be going on an office tour for expanding your business overseas or making a trip to an exotic location with your family, meeting relatives after a long time who stay in a foreign country or attending a wedding back in your home land – we are always traveling for one reason or another. Read More…