An insurance is type of service that you are bound to need at one point of your life. It is a long-term commitment which must be financially planned so that you do not get overburdened with too much installments.
Insurance in Singapore
Singapore, like any other countries has some of the top international insurance companies operating there. Among the top insurance companies here include:
- AIA – One of the most established insurance companies here established in 1919
- Prudential Assurance
- AXA
- Aviva
- HSBC Insurance
- Manulife
- NTUC Income
Types of Insurance
There are a few major types of insurance that you can buy in Singapore. Some are more common which is usually needed by most people while there are some which can be customized. Some insurance are mandatory where they must be taken by certain individuals or companies while there are some which are totally up to the discretion of the policy buyer. Meanwhile, there are some which are totally needed only if necessary. Here are some of them.
Life Insurance
This is often seen as the most essential type of insurance. How it works is that you pay a pre-agreed amount until the policy matures. Life insurance offers protection for you and for family where it protects your income loss in an event of disability or death. Life insurance is one of the most sought after insurance which is provided by almost every major insurance company in Singapore.
Critical Illness
This type of insurance is another common one where the policy holder gets coverage against types of critical illness and the loss of income. This usually covers known illnesses like cancer and diabetes and the many different types of critical illness which would require a lot of funds for treatment.
Medical insurance
Perhaps one of the most sought-after insurance because medical bills can be very expensive in Singapore. Consumers buy this insurance so that it helps to pay for hefty medical fees as well as for stays and other payments required. In the event of an accident or the person needs to seek treatment in the hospital, this insurance would cover most, if not all of the charges
Savings and Retirement
This type of insurance is entirely meant for future savings. You get into this commitment so that you can cash-out after the policy matures. This means that you should get a large portion of what you paid to the insurance company with very good and stable interest rates. However, it means that your insurance protection would be lower. For some, it is very common to use this policy for retirement purposes where you can only withdraw it after you reach that age.
Child Education
As the name implies, this type of insurance plan is designed to build a fund for your child’s education. For this type of plan, you want to start as early as possible because you have to consider inflation rate and to ensure your child has enough when he reaches the tertiary education age whether they intend to study locally or overseas.
Supplementary Retirement Insurance
This type of insurance policy is designed to help build more in your retirement savings. This is in the view that what you have might not be enough when you reach that age. The good thing about this type of insurance plan is that it uses tax deductible money and can enhance your savings quite substantially.
Comprehensive Home Protection Program
This is one of the most interesting customized insurance plan. It works as another option for insured members and their families to cover the outstanding housing loans in the event of any form of incapacity be it permanent disability or death
Home Insurance
This is a must-have for everyone. In fact, it is mandatory to buy this insurance to protect your home against the likes of accidents and unwanted incidents like:
- fire
- explosion
- malicious damage
- theft and burglary
- natural disasters
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is usually offered by the service provider like airlines. However, insurance companies do offer these packages for you especially when you are travelling a lot. In most cases, such insurance covers areas such as baggage loss or damage, delays and such.
Personal Accident Insurance
This type of insurance is usually bought by individuals to cover any type of injury or loss caused by any form of accident, deliberate or otherwise. In most cases, such insurance covers the policy holder even if you are overseas.
Motor Insurance
This is a compulsory insurance policy that you must take if you own a vehicle. It is a comprehensive coverage for your vehicle that protects you from damages in accidents and other mishaps.
Overseas Study Insurance
Specially designed for those studying overseas, this type of insurance provides the assurance so that you can have the peace of mind when abroad. It helps to protect you against loss of property and any other unforeseen circumstances.
Golfer’s Insurance
This type of insurance is unique because it protects you when you are enjoying the game. The policy usually covers you when you are playing the game both at locally and overseas.
Cruise Insurance
For those who like to go on a cruise, this insurance policy would be an ideal one to buy. This is because it covers you when you are travelling in the ship. In most cases, you will be on international waters which means you would need a different form of protection.
Comprehensive Medical Plus
One of the more popular names in this is the HealthShield. In most cases, this type of insurance can be very extensive. Its coverage is very high and goes on for a long time. This enables you to have the peace of mind so that you know your medical treatment is taken care of. The HealthShield meanwhile maximizes your CPF MediSave account that goes up to nearly half a million.
Credit Insurance
It can be quite risky when you have a property loan especially when its for a long term. As such, this type of insurance covers any outstanding loan in the event that the policy holder is unable to continue paying the loan due to permanent disability or death.
Business Insurance
This type of insurance is perfect for business owners. It helps to protect the business against any losses incurred due to certain circumstances. However, the premium for this type of insurance can be a lot higher than other types of insurance.
Group Insurance
This type of insurance is commonly used by businesses where it offers comprehensive benefits for its employees. Because it is paid according to a group, the coverage will be more generic. It usually covers areas like hospitalization, critical illness, outpatient treatment and others.
Public Liability Coverage
This insurance helps to provide protection for the policy owner against having to pay compensation for damage of harm caused by accidents of a third party.