What you need to know about medical insurance in Singapore

 

Singapore is well known for its enviable public health care system. In fact, all citizens and permanent residents of this country are provided with compulsory health insurance in the form of MediShield Life. This policy covers the basic treatment in a general ward in public hospitals. There is also a MediSave savings account which complements the MediShield plan.

However, the claim limit in both these insurance systems may not cover all your requirements. Hence if you want complete coverage of all your hospital bills and outpatient treatments then you will have to opt for private medical insurance companies.

Here you should bear in mind that you need to pay premiums, deductibles, co-insurance, and any cost above the claim limit. This applies to both the government and private medical insurance systems. Hence you should bear in mind that you should get the right amount of sum assured in case you need to make a claim.

For this, you should consult a good insurance advisor employed by the best insurance companies. They will assess your health risks and will suggest the right sum assured. You need to pay the premiums according to the sum assured you think you will require in case of hospitalisation and outpatient treatment.

It is also important to bear in mind that there is no cashless hospital treatment in Singapore. You need to pay a large amount of your treatment cost yourself before you claim it from the insurance company.

The government has created this rule to protect the medical insurance companies in Singapore. This prevents the policyholders from making unreasonable claims or booking a deluxe suite in the hospital just because they have insurance covering their hospital expenses.

You also need to bear in mind that private insurance is also meant for the people living in Singapore who are not citizens or permanent residents. The insurance companies provide comprehensive insurance which helps you in getting treated in the best private hospitals.