Find the cheapest travel insurance plans – we compare highest medical coverage, flight delays, missing/damaged baggage, and even adventurous activities!
You know, it’s so ironic how travel insurance, a thing that’s supposed to give you some peace of mind, can give you such a headache. There’s so many options to choose from and on top of that, so much fine print to go through!
If you’re looking for travel insurance coverage for COVID-19, check out this COVID-19 Travel Insurance Guide instead!
Who’s got the time for that? Not you – but we do, and that’s why we’ve compiled a list to give you an overview of the best travel insurance for travellers!
Best Travel Insurance in Singapore (2020)
Best For | Travel Insurance Provider & Plan |
Overall Coverage | FWD Premium |
Cheapest Travel Insurance | Etiqa eProtect Travel |
Highest Medical Coverage | Allianz Travel Gold |
Travel Delays | Sompo TravelJoy Elite |
Lost & Damaged Belongings | Allianz Travel Silver |
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions | MSIG Travel Easy Pre-Ex |
Pregnancy | Aviva Travel Prestige |
Adventure Activities | MSIG TravelEasy Elite |
1. Best for Overall Coverage: FWD Premium
For most travellers, FWD Premium hits the sweet spot of affordability and coverage. As an example, travel insurance coverage for a 1-week trip to Thailand from FWD costs S$24.30. For that amount, you get ample coverage for the sections that mostly concern travellers: overseas medical coverage, personal accident, trip cancellation, baggage and travel delay, as well as loss of travel documents and cash. As an added bonus, FWD Premium covers adventurous activities such as paragliding and scuba diving!
Provider | FWD Premium |
Cost | $24.30 (basic) |
Overseas medical coverage | S$200,000 |
Personal accident (death or permanent disablement) | S$200,000 |
Trip Cancellation | S$7,500 |
Baggage delay | S$150 per 6 hrs (S$150 max) |
Travel delay | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$300 max) |
Loss of travel documents & theft of money | Personal money: S$300 (either/or) Personal documents: S$300 |
Adventurous activities covered | Full list here |
2. Best for Cheapest Travel Insurance: Etiqa eProtect Travel
Let’s face it, we all want to get the biggest bang for our buck. As such, us Singaporean travellers are always on the lookout for the best bargains. We’ve narrowed it down to Etiqa eProtect Travel and FWD Premium for the cheapest travel insurance. For illustration purposes, here is the breakdown for a 1-week trip to Thailand:
Provider | Etiqa eProtect Travel | FWD Premium |
Cost | $23.43 (basic) | $24.30 (basic) |
Overseas medical coverage | S$200,000 | S$200,000 |
Personal accident (death or permanent disablement) | S$200,000 | S$200,000 |
Trip Cancellation | S$5,000 | S$7,500 |
Baggage delay | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$200 max) | S$150 per 6 hrs (S$150 max) |
Travel delay | S$50 per 3 hrs (S$300 max) | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$300 max) |
Loss of travel documents & theft of money | Personal money: S$150 Personal documents: S$250 | Personal money: S$300 (either/or) Personal documents: S$300 |
As you can see, the coverage that’s relevant to us travellers between these providers are mostly comparable, save for the trip cancellation and loss of travel documents and theft of money. Even though you get less money out of a trip cancellation with Etiqa, most of us would still go ahead with the trip to sate our adventurous spirit.
What’s more likely to happen during the trip is if you lose your travel documents or money, in which Etiqa has clearer caps. You also stand to get more money back, because the combined cap for Etiqa is $400 compared to FWD’s $300.
If your bag took a detour and arrived fashionably late, depending on how late it is, you stand to get more money from that delay as well. Even though Etiqa’s rate starts out lower at $100 every 6 hours, its cap is $200 after 12 hours. In the same timeframe, you will only get $150 with FWD. Might as well save that your money, right?
3. Best for Highest Medical Coverage: Allianz Travel Gold
Currently, there are two providers in Singapore that offer the highest or unlimited medical coverage: Allianz Travel Gold and Aviva Travel Prestige. Chances are, if you’re looking for a travel insurance plan with the highest medical coverage, you’d be okay with shelling out a little bit more for a peace of mind. However, paying more for a week’s trip to Thailand doesn’t necessarily mean better, as the table shows below:
Provider | Allianz Travel Gold | Aviva Travel Prestige | |
Cost | S$52.80 | S$57.45 | |
Overseas medical coverage (pre-existing conditions) | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
Personal accident (death or permanent disablement) | S$100,000 | S$500,000 | |
Trip Cancellation | S$25,000 | S$20,000 | |
Baggage delay | S$200 per 6 hrs (S$1,400 max) | S$200 per 6 hrs (S$2,000 max) | |
Travel delay | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$1,500 max) | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$2,000 max) | |
Loss of travel documents & theft of money | Travel documents: S$10,000 Lost cash: S$350 | Travel documents: S$5,000 Lost cash: S$500 |
This is a tough comparison because they trade blows with each other. Allianz Travel’s personal accident S$100,000 coverage seems a bit stingy in comparison to Aviva’s S$500,000, but it’s more than made up for the fact that you get S$25,000 coverage for trip cancellation, as opposed to S$20,000 from Aviva.
Also, you get a staggering S$10,000 cover with Allianz Travel for the loss of travel documents as opposed to Aviva’s S$5,000.
Realistically, travel delays are usually less than 24 hours, making the benefit provided by Aviva a little hard to maximise. To qualify for the cap of S$2,000, your travels have to be delayed by 2 days. The rates that Allianz Travel and Aviva offer are the same, at S$100 every 6 hours, making it a wash if you take a realistic view on it.
Baggage is a little dicey because sometimes your bag might be somewhere else before you arrive, and it can take days before that happens. In this regard, Aviva clearly wins.
However, with all that taken into consideration, Allianz Travel still offers the best overall product, with the added benefit that it’s cheaper for most travellers.
4. Best for Travel Delays: Sompo TravelJoy Elite
Travel delays are the bane of any traveller, myself included. My BFF and I were due to hop on a flight in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to fly to Bali, and we planned everything so perfectly! We’d be arriving in KLIA at 1pm and our flight to Bali would be at 4pm. The flight itself would be 3 hours and we’d arrive at 6pm Bali time, just in time for us to catch the sunset and then have a nice dinner.
“HA HA HA!”, laughed the universe, because upon our arrival at KLIA at 1pm, we learned that the flight was underbooked and the plane TOOK OFF WITHOUT US, so that same plane could be used for the later flight at 10pm. What bollocks!
To make matters worse, my BFF and I were kind of just, winging it (see what I did there) with that trip so we didn’t even think to buy travel insurance. If only we knew. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Anyway we learned our lesson and that’s why I’m writing this piece about travel insurance. This issue struck a particular nerve with me so I’m trying to find the best travel insurance that covers travel delays and they’re Allianz Travel Silver and Sompo TravelJoy Elite. Let’s have a look in the table below for a 1-week trip to Thailand:
Provider | Allianz Travel Silver | Sompo TravelJoy Elite | |
Cost | S$35.40 | S$38.40 | |
Overseas medical coverage | S$1,000,000 | S$1,000,000 | |
Personal accident (death or permanent disablement) | S$80,000 | S$500,000 | |
Trip Cancellation | S$15,000 | S$15,000 | |
Baggage delay | S$200 per 6 hrs (S$1,400 max) | S$200 for the first 6 hrs, $125 per 4 hrs after that (S$1,000 max) | |
Travel delay | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$1,600 max) | S$100 for the first 6 hrs, S$65 per 4 hrs after that (S$2,000 max) | |
Loss of travel documents & theft of money | Travel documents: S$7,500 Lost cash: S$350 | Travel document: S$1,000 Lost cash: S$500 (included with travel document limit) |
Going by the exact scenario that my BFF and I went through, we’d get more money out of Sompo’s TravelJoy Elite. We were stuck at KLIA from 1pm to 10pm, which is a grand total of 10 hours, meaning that we’d be able to get S$165 from that delay. If we went with Allianz Travel Silver, in that same timeframe we’d only be able to get S$150. Plus, in the event that you get delayed for even longer, you stand to get more with Sompo because of the S$2,000 limit.
5. Best for Lost & Damaged Belongings: Allianz Travel Silver
I remember when I was 13, my family and I went on a trip to Brunei with extended family members. Everything was fine and dandy until we arrived at Brunei International Airport. My brother, myself, and my extended family got their luggage… except my mother. We waited close to two hours for it to arrive, but it never did. My poor mother had to borrow my aunt’s clothes for the rest of the trip.
If only we knew about Allianz Travel Silver or AXA SmartTraveller Comprehensive back then. Even if my mother’s luggage decided to emigrate, we should at least get some compensation for emotional damages. After all, those were some of my mother’s favourite clothes.
Provider | Allianz Travel Silver | AXA SmartTraveller Comprehensive | |
Cost | S$35.40 | S$62.71 | |
Overseas medical coverage | S$1,000,000 | S$600,000 | |
Personal accident (death or permanent disablement) | S$80,000 | S$350,000 | |
Trip Cancellation | S$15,000 | S$12,000 | |
Baggage delay | S$200 per 6 hrs (S$1,400 max) | S$150 per 6 hrs (S$1,800 max) | |
Travel delay | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$1,500 max) | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$2,000 max) | |
Baggage loss | S$12,000 (S$500 per article) | S$10,000 (S$500 per article) |
Based on the table above for 1 week trip to Thailand, I think it’s pretty obvious which one the winner is. For S$35.40, you get S$12,000 worth of coverage for your lost baggage, in addition to comparable coverage for nearly every other factor that’s relevant to us travellers. Complete no-brainer to go Allianz Travel Silver, as it’s roughly half the price of AXA’s SmartTraveller Comprehensive.
6. Best for Pre-Existing Conditions: MSIG TravelEasy Pre-Ex
When it comes to travel insurance for pre-existing conditions, there are only two providers: MSIG’s TravelEasy Pre-Ex and NTUC Income PreX. MSIG has the edge here because it’s cheaper, and its policy wording is clearer as compared to NTUC Income. Here’s the table breakdown for a 1-week trip to Thailand:
Provider | MSIG TravelEasy Pre-Ex Standard | NTUC Income PreX Basic | |
Cost | S$70.50 | S$86 | |
Overseas medical coverage | S$250,000 | S$300,000 | |
Overseas medical coverage (pre-existing conditions) | S$75,000 | S$100,000 | |
Emergency medical evacuation & repatriation (pre-existing conditions) | S$100,000 | Combined with overseas medical coverage (pre-existing conditions) | |
Personal accident (death or permanent disablement) | S$150,000 | S$200,000 | |
Trip Cancellation | S$5,000 | S$10,000 | |
Baggage delay | S$150 per 6 hrs (S$600 max) | S$200 per 6 hrs (S$1,200 max) | |
Travel delay | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$500 max) | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$1,500 max) |
The policy wording thing is incredibly relevant to us travellers because the last thing we want to do if anything happens is having to sift through your policy! MSIG has handily separated the clause for pre-existing conditions in section 52 of their policy wording, whereas for NTUC Income, the clause is folded into section 14, 18 and 19.
Also, for S$85, you get a total of S$175,000 worth of coverage split clearly into two sections, instead of S$150,000 split across 3 sections. Seems like a no-brainer, right?
7. Best for Pregnancy: Aviva Travel Prestige
Here’s the thing about pregnancy: it’s expensive. From visits to the gynaecologist, prenatal care and the impending cost of raising a child… you and your child will be in for a ride.
That’s why I’ve only listed out the insurers that provide maximum coverage, and they are Aviva’s Travel Prestige and AXA’s SmartTraveller Comprehensive. The table breakdown for a 1-week trip to Thailand is as shown below:
Provider | Aviva Travel Prestige | AXA SmartTraveller Comprehensive | |
Cost | S$57.45 | S$62.71 | |
Overseas medical coverage | Unlimited | S$600,000 | |
Personal accident (death or permanent disablement) | S$500,000 | S$350,000 | |
Trip Cancellation | S$20,000 | S$12,000 | |
Baggage delay | S$200 per 6 hrs (S$2,000 max) | S$150 per 6 hrs (S$1,800 max) | |
Travel delay | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$2,000 max) | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$2,000 max) | |
Pregnancy-related expenses | S$8,000 | S$8,000 |
While both of them offer the same S$8,000 for pregnancy-related expenses, for nearly every other coverage that’s relevant to us travellers, Aviva does a better job. Especially the unlimited overseas medical coverage… and all that for S$57.45, a cheaper price than AXA’s S$62.71? Hmm…
8. Best for Adventure Activities: MSIG TravelEasy Elite
Just because you wanna #YOLO doesn’t mean you should go in unprepared! What if you had an accident while you’re yeeting (read: launching) yourself down a mountain while skiing, and you somehow managed to make it out alive? You’d probably hate yourself because it had to happen that way, but at the very least, you have travel insurance to cushion you from that fall.
There are more and more insurance providers giving coverage for such adventurous activities, but out of all of them, only FWD’s Business Insurance Plan and MSIG’s TravelEasy Elite provide outstanding coverage. This is a travel insurance coverage breakdown for a 1-week trip to Thailand:
Provider | FWD Business | MSIG TravelEasy Elite | |
Cost | S$33.15 | S$38.25 | |
Overseas medical coverage | S$500,000 | S$500,000 | |
Personal accident (death or permanent disablement) | S$300,000 | S$200,000 | |
Trip Cancellation | S$10,000 | S$10,000 | |
Baggage delay | S$150 per 6 hrs (S$600 max) | S$200 per 6 hrs (S$1,000 max) | |
Travel delay | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$500 max) | S$100 per 6 hrs (S$1,000 max) | |
Adventure activities covered | Full list here | Full list here |
For outright coverage of adventurous activities, MSIG wins, hands-down. For just around S$5 more, at S$33.15, you get coverage for 14 more activities, including the newly-listed snow sports. Also, you get the same amount of overseas medical coverage and you stand to get more money if you encounter delays in your travel or luggage.
However, it’s not without its downsides; the personal accident coverage is only S$200,000, which is less than FWD’s S$300,000.
That being said, at least you aren’t as limited if you buy MSIG’s TravelEasy Elite. You’re most likely a free spirit with some common sense if you’re thinking of doing adventurous activities, and what MSIG is able to provide with their policy is probably exactly what you’re looking for.
Conclusion
I’m sure after scrolling down this exhaustive list, you’re quite exhausted by the amount of figures and details. But truth be told, you wouldn’t pore through every single providers’ policies, would you?
This list is as condensed as I can make it for you, with only the most relevant information that concern us travellers. Also, no matter where you fly to, always remember to use your YouTrip card to utilise YouTrip’s Wholesale Exchange Rates for favourable currency exchange rates!
Read: Does Travel Insurance Cover Novel Coronavirus COVID-19?
Read: Do Airlines Refund Flight Cancellations for Coronavirus COVID-19?
Read: COVID-19 Hotel Refunds & Cancellations Guide
Read: Carbon Offset Programme Types, Costs & Contributions
Read: Travel Insurance Coverages & What to Look Out For
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