Guide to best travel insurance in Singapore [2023]

TL;DR

• The best travel insurance in Singapore should ideally be affordable and provide coverage for trip cancellation, damaged or lost luggage, as well as your medical bills overseas and back in Singapore.
• The FWD Business Travel Insurance is the cheapest amongst the various travel insurance plans we compared, and can be considered for travelers who want a peace of mind without spending too much.
• The Starr TraveLead Comprehensive Gold Insurance offers good coverage across all categories and is a value-for-money option.
• The Singlife Travel Plus Insurance also offers decent coverage across most categories and is affordable. However, it has a lower coverage for personal accidents compared to the other insurance plans. 

With the year-end school holidays approaching, it’s the best time of the entire year to travel with your family. 

After booking the flight tickets and accommodations, it’s time to finalise the itinerary and draw up a comprehensive packing list. 

As you are busily tidying up the loose ends of holiday planning, don’t forget to buy travel insurance which covers all your family members for peace of mind. 

In this article, we answer your burning questions about family travel insurance:

1. Should I buy travel insurance for my family holiday?
2. How do I choose the right family travel insurance?
3. Should I buy single-trip or annual travel insurance? What’s the difference?
4. When should I buy travel insurance? Can I buy travel insurance when I am already overseas?
5. What’s the best family travel insurance?

Read on to find out the best travel insurance in Singapore for 2023!

Should I buy travel insurance for my family holiday?

As any parent of young kids will attest to, travelling with your family is a whole new ballgame compared to travelling alone. With more people travelling together, more unexpected things could happen on your trip in a foreign land. 

When you travel with kids in tow, you’ll soon realise that getting financial and even health protection in case something goes wrong on the trip is worth it:

• In the event of trip cancellation, your trip expenses for pre-booked, big ticket items can be covered: the airfare for each member of the family and the pre-booked accommodation expenses adds up to a lot
• You can reduce the cost of any damaged or lost luggage: gone are the days when you could travel with one carry-on backpack, so getting some protection for the multiple pieces of check-in luggage you’re bringing is wise
• Medical bills can be covered if anyone falls ill on the trip: kids have lower immunity in general so having sufficient cover for both overseas medical treatment and treatment when back in Singapore (including for COVID-19) would be extremely useful 

Travel with peace of mind by buying a travel insurance plan that covers each member of the family, including the kids, in the event of an emergency. 

Furthermore, many insurers offer more cost-effective family travel insurance plans that could be cheaper and easier to keep track of (in the event of a claim), than buying individual insurance for each family member. 

A family travel insurance plan is one which covers the policyholder and his/her immediate family, i.e. spouse and children. Do note that some insurers impose a cap on the total number of insured persons, so reading the policy wording is key. 

In this article, we help you in your search by compiling a handy list of family travel insurance plans which include COVID-19 medical coverage. 

How do I choose the right family travel insurance?

There are certain key areas to take note of when purchasing family travel insurance plans. Top of mind would be covering for medical-related expenses, trip cancellation and lost/delayed baggage as you would not want anything unexpected to spoil your holiday!

Medical coverage overseas and in Singapore: Generally the more coverage, the better. Things get trickier for family travel insurance plans - when reading the policy wording, double check if there are maximum limits for Family plans and also if the limits for a child differ from an adult (adults are usually covered for more). Do look out for the amount of coverage for emergency medical evacuation and repatriation too. 

COVID-19 related coverage: Ideally, your family travel insurance plan should cover for a range of COVID-19 related expenses you might encounter during your travel and even before you fly. So, be on the lookout for coverage for trip cancellation, trip postponement and medical expenses due to COVID-19.

Trip cancellation: Most travel insurance plans cover for trip cancellation, which protects you for travel costs prepaid in advance that you can’t get a refund for. Do note that this is mostly applicable only if you do not proceed with your journey, the cancellation is due to a named event (e.g. serious illness or accident, strike/riot/civil commotion, etc) and the named event occurs within a specific timeframe before your trip departure. Travel insurance plans differ on the list of insured events covered, so do check the policy wording carefully.

Lost or delayed baggage: Many plans pay $100 for every 6 consecutive hours your baggage is delayed, up to a certain maximum amount. For lost or damaged baggage, the maximum amount covered differs more widely across insurers, with limitations per item and per laptop computer to take note of for some plans.

What’s the best family travel insurance?

In the following table, we checked out the best family travel insurance in Singapore. 

As a family of 2 adults and 2 children looking for the best-value medical and COVID coverage on a 10 day trip to worldwide destinations/USA, what are the premiums and coverage like?

Here’s our comparison of 8 insurance policies with premiums in a similar range of $200+ (after discount from ongoing promotions):

• FWD Travel Insurance - FWD (Business)
• Starr TraveLead (Comprehensive Gold)
• Singlife Travel Insurance (Travel Plus)
• TIQ Travel Insurance (Savvy)
• Great Eastern TravelSmart (Elite)
• MSIG TravelEasy (Elite)
• AIG TravelGuard (Classic)
• Allianz Travel Insurance (Silver)

Overall, Starr TraveLead’s Comprehensive Gold plan and Singlife’s Travel Plus plan stand out from the competitors for their value-for-money, high coverage for medical expenses overseas and in Singapore (including COVID-19 cover), trip cancellation and loss/damage of baggage.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is solely for information purposes only. Please check the policy wordings before purchasing your travel insurance plan. 

Which travel insurance is the cheapest?

The entry level travel insurance plan for a 10-day trip for a family of four would cost between S$50 to $67 per individual.

The cheapest travel insurance plans would be the FWD travel insurance, Starr TraveLead, and Singlife travel insurance. 

Which travel insurance has the best overseas medical expenses coverage?

The travel insurance plans we compare offer overseas medical expenses coverage in the range of up to S$200,000 per individual to $2,000,000 per individual. 

The Singlife Travel Insurance has the highest coverage of up to S$2 million per individual.

The Starr TraveLead Insurance plan also has good coverage of up to S$650,000 per individual.

The AIG TravelGuard Insurance plan has the lowest coverage of up to S$200,000 per individual.

Which travel insurance has the best post-trip medical expenses incurred in Singapore?

The travel insurance plans we compare offer post-trip medical expenses in Singapore coverage in the range of up to S$5,000 per individual to $50,000 per individual. 

The Singlife Travel Insurance has the highest coverage of up to S$50,000 per individual.

The MSIG TravelEasy Insurance plan and Starr TraveLead plan also have good coverage of up to S$35,000 and S$29,000 per individual respectively

The TIQ Travel Insurance plan has the lowest coverage of up to S$5,000 per individual.

Which travel insurance has the best Personal Accident (Accidental Death & Total Permanent Disability)?

The travel insurance plans we compare offer personal accident coverage in the range of up to S$60,000 per individual to $310,000 per individual. 

The Starr TraveLead plan has the highest coverage of up to S$310,000 per individual.

This is followed closely by the Great Eastern TravelSmart plan which has a coverage of up to S$300,000 per individual. 

The Singlife Travel Insurance has the lowest coverage of up to S$60,000 per individual.

Which travel insurance has the best trip cancellation coverage?

The travel insurance plans we compare offer trip cancellation coverage in the range of up to S$10,000 per individual to $60,000 per family. 

The Starr TraveLead plan has the highest coverage of up to S$60,000 per family.

This is followed closely by the Great Eastern TravelSmart plan which has a coverage of up to S$50,000 per family. 

The Allianz Travel Insurance has the lowest coverage of up to S$10,000 per family.

Which travel insurance has the best loss/damage of baggage coverage?

The travel insurance plans we compare offer loss/damage baggage coverage in the range of up to S$1,500 per individual to $7,500 per individual.

The Starr TraveLead plan has the highest coverage of up to S$7,500 per individual.

The Allianz Travel Insurance has the lowest coverage of up to S$1,500 per individual

Should I buy single-trip or annual travel insurance? What’s the difference?

A single-trip travel insurance plan is a short-term policy covering a specific trip, usually commencing from and returning to Singapore. Annual travel insurance, on the other hand, is a policy issued for a one-year period covering trips commencing from and returning to Singapore. 

Which type should you buy for your family? This depends on how often your family travels and how far you travel. For instance, other than the school holidays, does your family often travel over long weekends too?

If your family travels frequently, buying annual travel insurance could make sense as you pay one flat premium to cover the entire family for one whole year of travel. Not only could you cut down on costs, you’ll also save time from buying insurance every time you travel overseas. 

But you should still compare the various policies online before you commit to one. Figure out what is the breakeven number of times you need to travel in a given year to make the annual insurance plan worth it. 

When should I buy travel insurance? Can I buy travel insurance when I am already overseas?

You can buy travel insurance any time before your trip and some insurers will allow you to purchase it when you are already overseas. But you should definitely buy it as soon as you’ve planned your trip, regardless. 

Doing this maximises the coverage you can get from the policy. That’s because so many things can go wrong to disrupt your trip, even before you set off for Changi Airport! It’s no use buying travel insurance only after an event has happened to disrupt your travel plans, as your claim will not be accepted by the insurer.

For example, if you hadn’t bought travel insurance yet and a natural disaster struck the country you were going to visit, you won’t be able to claim anything for trip cancellation. Similarly, flight delays and cancellations affecting your outgoing flight won’t be covered if you only buy travel insurance at the last minute.

Remember, there’s no penalty from buying travel insurance early, so go ahead to secure your coverage as soon as the main parameters of your itinerary have been confirmed.

Are there any promotions for travel insurance?

SingSaver is offering a Best Deal Guarantee for all travel insurance signed up through the links below. 

SingSaver will double the price difference and reward you with vouchers of equivalent worth if you find a better deal elsewhere. T&Cs apply.

MSIG TravelEasy

• Get up to S$38 GrabVouchers (minimum premium S$65) when you APPLY NOW!
• Premium Size: S$65 - S$119.99: S$10 Grab Vouchers
• Premium Size: S$120 - S$239.99: S$18 Grab Vouchers
• Premium Size: S$240 and above: S$38 Grab Vouchers
• Promotion period: 1 – 30 November
• Enjoy 45% off for Single Trip and 25% off for Annual Plan. Promotion period: 1 - 11 November 2023

Apply for MSIG TravelEasy here.

Starr TraveLead

• Receive up to S$50 worth of Grab vouchers (minimum premium S$30)
• Premium Size: S$30 - S$99: S$10 Grab Vouchers
• Premium Size: S$100 - S$199.99: S$20 Grab Vouchers
• Premium Size: S$200 and above: S$50 Grab Vouchers
• Promotion period: 1 November - 31 December 2023.
• Enjoy 35% discount. Use promo code by Starr when you apply using the promo code SSVTL35. Promotion period: 1 November - 31 December 2023.

Apply for Starr TraveLead here.

Allianz Travel Insurance

• Get up to S$35 Grab Vouchers when you apply NOW!
• Use promo code SSV45 to get a 45% discount when you apply NOW! 
• Promotion period: 1 October - 31 December 2023.

Apply for Allianz Travel Insurance here.

FWD Travel Insurance 

• Score an Airalo eSIM with up to 3GB data (minimum premium S$60) when you apply now. Promotion period: 1 October - 30 November 2023.
• Single / Annual Trip: Use the promo code 11ELEVEN to get a 25% discount on your plan! Promotion period: 1 - 8 November 2023.

Apply for FWD Travel Insurance here.

Great Eastern TravelSmart

• Single Trip: Get an 30% discount when you use the promo code TSP30S. 
• Annual Trip: Get an 10% discount when you use the promo code TSP10A. 
• Promotion period: 1 October - 31 December 2023

Apply for Great Eastern TravelSmart here.

AIG TravelGuard

• Single Trip: Apply promo code SS20OFF to receive 20% discount and S$20 PayNow! Plus, every 11th customer gets an additional S$45 Paynow. (minimum premium $80)
• Annual Trip: Apply promo code SSTGD to receive $200 PayNow! (minimum premium $650)
• Promotion period: 1 - 30 November 2023

Apply for AIG TravelGuard here.

Singlife Travel Lite

• Score an Airalo eSIM with 3GB data. Receive it before you travel.
• Promotion period: 1 November - 31 December 2023.
• Single Trip: Get a 25% discount when you use the promo code TRAVEL25. Additionally, get a free 6 months heatstroke insurance. Promotion period: 1 - 9 November 2023.

Apply for Singlife Travel Lite here.

Allied World Travel Protector

• Single Trip - Enjoy a 45% discount when you apply now! 
• Annual Trip - Enjoy a 15% discount when you apply now! 
• Promotion period: 1 October - 30 November 2023

Apply for Allied World Travel Protector here.

TIQ Travel

• Single Trip: Use the promo code TIQSINGSAVER to enjoy a 40% discount. Annual Trip: Use the promo code TIQSINGSAVER to enjoy a 60% discount off COVID-19 add-on. Promotion period: 1 - 5 November 2023
• Additionally, enjoy a chance to win S$3,000 in TIQ's Travel Insurance monthly Lucky Draw when you apply! Terms and Conditions apply. Promotion valid until 31 December 2023

Apply for TIQ Travel here.

What would Beansprout do?

In summary, a good travel insurance is essential to allow us to travel with a peace of mind.

The FWD Business Travel Insurance is the cheapest amongst the various travel insurance plans we compared, and can be considered for travelers who want a peace of mind without spending too much. Apply for FWD Travel Insurance here.

The Starr TraveLead Comprehensive Gold Insurance offers good coverage across all categories and is a value-for-money option. Apply for Starr TraveLead here.

The Singlife Travel Plus Insurance also offers decent coverage across most categories and is affordable. However, it has a lower coverage for personal accidents compared to the other insurance plans. Apply for Singlife Travel Lite here.

Compare and purchase the best travel insurance here: