Best Personal Accident Insurance Plans For Foreigners In Singapore

In the heady excitement of settling into your new life in a new country, it’s easy to leave the hidden necessities on the back burner and regret it later. Your insurance coverage is one of them—specifically, personal accident.

If you’re a foreigner with an Employment Pass, S-pass or Dependent Pass based in Singapore, there’s a chance you might be here on a cushy expatriate package, with insurance included for your basic protection needs.

But hey, we’re in a situation where times are tough. If you happen to be in the tourism, F&B or aviation industries, there are valid reasons for you to be a little worried about what the future might hold, and also what little bit extra you can do now to protect against risks.

Also, if you’re a trailing spouse with a sideline business or a foreigner who’s left the rat race and decided to build a small start-up, it is worthwhile to look into what you need to get a basic insurance portfolio together.

In fact, even as an expatriate with health and medical insurance cover, you might want to invest a small sum to protect yourself (don’t forget the children, if any) with personal accident insurance, especially one that covers infectious diseases in this season of COVID-19.

The good news is, personal accident plans are affordable and can be purchased by foreigners in Singapore for the same premium (unlike say, Shield plans which might be differently priced for foreigners).

Why should expatriates buy a personal accident plan?

All the reasons that would’ve applied to locals would apply here too: 

1. Singapore may be one of the safest cities in the world but you are not immune to accidents. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
2. Outpatient and inpatient medical expenses, hospitalisation benefits, and accidental death and disability payout go a long way in coping with emergencies.
3. Personal accident plans come at a relatively low premium. 

For foreigners in Singapore who are self-employed or freelancing, buying a personal accident plan gives them some fundamental cover that they might have otherwise enjoyed if they were working for a big MNC with an expat package.

For those who find themselves in an unfortunate position of being terminated from employment and having their group insurance benefits taken away, having some kind of basic personal protection plan gives some measure of peace of mind.

And while you might indeed have purchased a personal accident plan in your home country, the cover (even if the plan does offer global coverage) might not extend to your long-term stay in Singapore (there is usually a maximum number of days you can stay overseas for the coverage only). 

The best bet is to buy a local plan, as it is quite affordable to do so anyway.

Which personal accident plans should expatriates buy?

Income PA Assurance

Income’s PA Assurance has been a popular choice for several reasons. If you’re in the market for strong family coverage on top of individual needs, this plan offers complimentary COVID-19 coverage and inclusion of physiotherapy/chiropractor ($1,000/$500), on top of $100,000 in sum assured. 

Unlike most other plans, fractures are covered up to $1,000—great for those who regularly engage in sporting activities or simply have tendencies of clumsiness. In addition to the expected accidental death and disability covers, Income PA Assurance offers a child support fund up to $35,000 (in case of death of policyholder). A rider is available to bolster coverage for 21 infectious diseases other than COVID-19.

AXA SmartPA Protect (Silver)

With even higher than most accidental death coverage of $150,000 and disability coverage of $225,000, this plan is worth considering, especially if you are lacking in any form of life insurance coverage. You also get free COVID-19 coverage until September this year (yay!) and pretty high inpatient medical expenses coverage of up to $4,000.  

You can also consider their add-on rider at $39 to cover your family, such as the Family Shield feature. It pays a lump sum of $15,000 to your surviving spouse or child. That’s not it; the add-on contains a whole suite of gems like a fractures benefit of $2,000 and daily hospital cash of $50. You could also get paid a home recuperation benefit of $1,000, a wonderful stack-up after you’re discharged.

Sompo PA Star

Sompo’s offering is worth considering as it ticks all the boxes for accidental death and disability protection, with a few interesting extras. They offer slightly higher limits for free child cover (25% as compared to 20% for Singlife’s option) and goodwill cash gift of $100 for every birth of your child (up to two newborn children, while the policy is in force). 

One other thing of note is that this plan also offers a domestic helper cover of up to $5,000 per policy period; with this in place, your entire household’s basic personal accident insurance needs are taken care of.

FWD Personal Accident Insurance

At a time when virus worries are top of mind (in addition to Dengue, another prevalent infectious disease with growing numbers in Singapore), this plan by FWD gives an added peace of mind because of the COVID-19 and infectious disease-related benefits it offers.

You might be interested to know that this plan also includes food poisoning. It is never a fun time having to deal with aggravated bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea, so this one’s for you if you’re on the wrong end of a foodie adventure in Singapore.

Coverage starts at S$100,000 and caps out at S$1 million. Despite the comprehensiveness of the plan, just 50% of the sum insured limit will be paid out if a claim is due to an infectious disease or food poisoning. On the bright side, this is much better than policies that do not even cover those mishaps.

There's also a nifty benefit in the form of a 24-hour medical helpline for emergency assistance and unlimited emergency medical evacuation when you are overseas. This is a lifesaver given that borders are set to reopen in the near future.

Starting at S$120 per year (individual cover), this is probably the best value you could find on the market to fortify what your company might already be offering.

Singlife Personal Accident (Lite)

Singlife’s most basic personal accident offering is a solid one if you’re new to the country and you’re looking to settle into a starter plan with decent coverage fast.

This is also a boon for expats who have brought their families over as it automatically offers free cover for children (up to a limit of 20% of policy benefits only), without having to name them. In terms of medical expenses coverage, while many other plans offer an average of $1,000 to $2,000 for in/outpatient treatments, this has slightly higher payout of up to $3,000—one of the highest for both local and overseas medicals.

In the event there is an accident that, unfortunately, caused collateral damage, you’re insured for a maximum of $100,000 in personal liabilities, which is the same amount as the accidental sum assured.

Ready to purchase a Personal Accident plan for yourself and your family?

Contact SingSaver Insurance Broker Pte.Ltd.at insurance_enquiry@singsaver.com.sg or call +65 31382648 if you have any enquiries on coverage related to personal accident plans.

Protected up to specified limits by SDIC.

Note: This is only product information provided. You may wish to seek advice from a qualified adviser before buying the product. If you choose not to seek advice from a qualified adviser, you should consider whether the product is suitable for you. Buying an insurance product that is not suitable for you may impact your ability to finance your future healthcare needs.

If you decide that the policy is not suitable after purchasing the policy, you may terminate the policy in accordance with the free-look provision, if any, and the insurer may recover from you any expense incurred by the insurer in underwriting the policy.

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