The latest plans are updated as of 28 May 2019. We’ve also included a travel insurance policy that’s specifically catered to adrenaline junkies and sports enthusiasts!
Which Travel Insurance Is The Best For Me?
I often ask myself this question when I start planning my travels.
And unfortunately, most people make the common mistake of buying travel insurance way too late.
Before you read on, here’s rule #1 of travel insurance…
Always BUY your travel insurance when you book your flights! Not a week after booking. And not a day before you fly. IMMEDIATELY!
This is due to complications that can happen prior to your trip (eg. volcanoes erupting or snow storms that bury towns… basically natural disasters which we as Singaporeans never stop to think about because of where we are situated).
Anyways, if you’d like to find out what’s the best travel insurance to get for your overseas travels, then you’ve come to the right place!
To make it even easier for you to decide on the best travel insurance, you can even check out our Seedly Reviews where you can read close to a thousand unbiased reviews left by real users from our Seedly community!
TL;DR: Best Travel Insurance 2019
| Category | Winner | Coverage | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Overall Value | MSIG Travel Easy | Up to $250k for medical expenses and accidents | Overall with the buying and claiming experience, for it's price, it is one of the most competitive products |
| Best For Personal Accident and Medical Expenses | Great Eastern Travel Smart Basic | Up to $300k to $500k | Usually a more expensive plan than the others |
| Best for Cancelled Trips | FWD Travel Premium | Up to max $7,500 | FWD places emphasis on this cancelled trip segment |
| Best for Lost Belongings | AXA TravelSmart | Up to 800 per item, pair, or set of items | AXA places the most emphasis on lost items |
| Best for Pre-existing condition | NTUC Enhanced PreX | Up to $200k medical expenses overseas | The only plan in the market which covers pre-existing medical conditions which include any known injury or sickness before you travel |
| Best for NS Men | AVIVA Travel Lite | Up to $250k medical expenses overseas | Because you are a NSman and if you have the AVIVA MHA/MINDEF insurance, you get 30% off the premiums |
| Best for Adrenaline Junkies | Etiqa eProtect Travel | Up to $200k medical expenses overseas | Offers coverage for activities like bungee jumping and sky diving in their basic packages |
Important things to note:
- The rates quoted are for adults under 70 years old for Single Trips
- The quotes are for the most basic plans offered by each company
Obviously, you can opt for higher or more coverage, but that will naturally cost more.
A Typical Traveller’s Experience When Choosing The Best Travel Insurance
So you’ve just confirmed your flights and you have your accommodations all set.
While confirming all of this you:
- Have considerations like what’s the difference in the price for travel insurance as a single traveller or a family
- Might have chosen not to buy the travel insurance bundle because you think you can find a better deal
- Might want to compare and see which travel insurance best suits you based on price and value
Want a quick, painless way of figuring out which travel insurance is the best for you?
Why not look at Seedly Reviews? We have compiled a list of the most popular travel insurances on the market (and are constantly adding as we go), and real users from our extensive community have left their unbiased thoughts with regard to aspects like:
- How easy is it to make a claim?
- Who has the best customer service?
All of which are important questions which travel companies don’t usually answer or advertise.
And you can get them FOR FREE on Seedly Reviews!
In fact, once you start reading the reviews, you’ll quickly realise that promos, discounts, and the price might not be the most important criteria when selecting the most suitable travel insurance for you! Getting to read real unbiased user reviews however will definitely help you find the correct plan that will give you peace of mind before, during, and even after your travel.
Best Travel Insurance Comparison 2019
1) For Best Value: MSIG TravelEasy
Overall: With the $150k personal accident coverage, and a relatively generous lost belongings coverage at $500 per item. The plan arguably offers the best bang for the buck.
| Product Name | MSIG Travel Easy Standard |
|---|---|
| Personal Accident Payment | $150,000 |
| Medical Expenses (Overseas) | $250,000 |
| Cancelled Trip | Max $5,000 |
| Lost Belongings | Up to $500 per item, pair, or set of items |
Recently, they made an improvement to this plan to cover pre-existing illness with the MSIG TravelEasy Pre-Ex option which you can also buy from their site.
Here’s what a community member had to say about their service:
“I switched to MSIG when I realised the price can be quite comparable/competitive to others when they offer a discount (they offer discounts quite frequently). What I find specifically superior about MSIG’s coverage is that baggage delay can be claimed in blocks of 6 hours when most insurers cover in blocks of 8 hours. This proved to be of value to me when I found myself experiencing a 36 hours delay in my baggage when taking MAS to Seoul. When I first arrived at Incheon Airport and found out that my luggage was still stuck at KL airport during the stopover, I called the MSIG travel insurance helpdesk and the customer service officer was very patient to assure me of my coverage and also explain to me what I need to do in order to smoothen my claim process.
MSIG to my surprise and delight, not only responded to me quickly (within a week) but decided to give me benefit of the doubt and paid out to me maximum claim for the delay ($900 x 3 pax = $2.7k). I cannot remember exactly how long it took to receive the payout in my bank account but my impression was it didn’t take long. Due to this pleasant experience (albeit unpleasant travel experience) with MSIG, I highly recommend everyone to consider buying from them too.”
2) For Accident And Medical Expenses: GE TravelSmart Basic
Overall: It has one of the highest Personal Accident and Medical expenses coverage at around $300k and $500k respectively, just for a basic plan.
| Product Name | GE Travel Smart Basic |
|---|---|
| Personal Accident | $300,000 |
| Medical Expenses (Overseas) | $500,000 |
| Cancelled Trip | Max $5,000 |
| Lost Belongings | Up to $500 per item, pair or set of items |
Here’s what a community member had to say about their service:
“Bought a travel insurance on discount last November. Unfortunately, my baggage was damaged. Fuss-free and not much to submit, most importantly, I got my claim very fast!”
3) For Cancelled Trips: FWD Travel Premium
Overall: Probably the youngest entrant on the market, this allows them to combine the best customer experience with very affordable premiums. FWD has a pretty decent coverage for cancelled trips.
| Product Name | FWD Travel Basic |
|---|---|
| Personal Accident | $200,000 |
| Medical Expenses (Overseas) | $200,000 |
| Cancelled Trip | Max $7,500 |
| Lost Belongings | Up to $300 per item, pair or set of items |
Here’s what a community member had to say about their service:
“I purchase FWD travel insurance for a trip to Beijing last year. My china eastern flight was delayed for take-off due to heavy snow. Luckily, the airline arranged hotel accommodation for us. With the documents issued by the airline confirming the flight delay, cause and the amount of time it lasted. I got a compensation of about $150 from FWD. The process is hassle-free and easy via the online platform of FWD.”
4) For Lost Belongings: AXA TravelSmart
Overall: A stalwart in the insurance scene, AXA’s offering allows you to claim the highest amount per item for lost belongings.
| Product Name | AXA SmartTraveller Basic |
|---|---|
| Personal Accident | $250,000 |
| Medical Expenses (Overseas) | $300,000 |
| Cancelled Trip | Max $6,000 |
| Lost Belongings | Up to $800 per item, pair or set of items |
Here’s what a community member had to say about their service:
“I made a medical claim against the insurance through its online claim form. The process of filling up the form was relatively quick and easy, and supporting documents were required to be attached with the form to validate your claim. The claim went through in around 1 week plus without any issues. All in all, the application and claiming process could be done quickly and easily. Quite a pleasant experience. “
5) For Pre-Existing Condition: NTUC Enhanced PreX
Overall: The only player in the market which takes on the risk to insure the pre-existing clients for overseas travel, usually at a premium. This will save you the pain and trouble of what happened to a sad case where a family had to raise money to bring their comatose father home from Japan in 2017.
| Product Name | NTUC Enhanced PreX |
|---|---|
| Personal Accident | $150,000 |
| Medical Expenses (Overseas) | $250,000 |
| Cancelled Trip | Max $5,000 |
| Lost Belongings | Up to $500 per item, pair or set of items |
Here’s what a community member had to say about their service:
“I went for my study trip overseas for 3 months. I compared NTUC income with various companies and the plan price and payout was most compatible for me. What I liked about it was it’s easy to comprehend terms and conditions, with less jargon.. basically it is made simple. I came into a mishap in the UK and was thankful for the relatively smooth service provided by NTUC Income at the time when I first contacted them as well as the follow thru with claims. A good experience with my purchase of travel insurance with them!”
6) For NSmen: AVIVA Travel Lite
Overall: The only player in the market who rewards you if you happen to be an NS Men who is STILL on the MINDEF/MHA life or personal accident policy.
| Product Name | Aviva Travel Lite |
|---|---|
| Personal Accident | $50,000 |
| Medical Expenses (Overseas) | $250,000 |
| Cancelled Trip | Max $5,000 |
| Lost Belongings | Up to $700 per item, pair or set of items |
Here’s what a community member had to say about their service:
“I always use this product because it gives a discount for Aviva insurance policy owners, which almost every guy in Singapore has.”
7) For Adrenaline Junkies And Sports Enthusiasts: Etiqa Basic eProtect
Overall: We actually got quite a few people asking about this in our community (probably due to the youthful nature of our community folks) and naturally, we decided to do some research on travel insurance for travellers looking to do leisure sports and extreme sports.
FYI: There is a BIG difference between leisure sports vs. extreme sports.
Common Leisure Sports
- Bungee Jumping
- Hiking (below 3,000m from sea level)
- Hot Air Balloon Ride
- Hand Gliding
- Paragliding
- Sky Diving
- Scuba Diving (within 30m)
- Non-competitive winter sports (Snow/Ice Sports, Skiing, snowboarding etc)
Most insurance companies will have coverage for the activities listed above. However, it is important to note that the coverage only comes with premium travel insurance plans.
The only basic plan which provides coverage for Common Leisure Sports is Etiqa eProtect Basic. If you’d like to have a look at the full policy wording, check out page 21 clause (o)i.
Common Exclusions (Extreme Sports)
Take note that the coverage here is NOT for competitions which are played in a professional capacity or in which the Insured Person(s) would or could earn or receive remuneration, donations, sponsorship or reward of any kind.
- Mountaineering or rock climbing that entails the use of specific climbing equipment and ropes
- Hiking or trekking above 3,000 meters from sea level
- Scuba Diving (beyond 30m)
| Product Name | Etiqa eProtect Basic |
|---|---|
| Personal Accident | $50,000 |
| Medical Expenses (Overseas) | $200,000 |
| Cancelled Trip | $5,000 |
| Lost Belongings | Up to $250 per item, pair or set of items |
Here’s what a community member had to say about their service:
“Submitted claim and it was approved in 2 days without any questions asked. WAY BETTER experience than another provider i was using for a previous trip – so now im using etiqa everytime im travelling. 🙂 “
Overall Best Travel Insurance Comparison 2019
| Products | Personal Accident Payment | Medical Expenses (Overseas) | Cancelled Trip (Max) | Lost Belongings per item, pair, or set of items) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FWD Premium | $200,000 | $200,000 | $7,500 | Up to $300 |
| Etiqa eProtect | $200,000 | $200,000 | $5,000 | Up to $250 |
| NTUC Travel Classic | $150,000 | $250,000 | $5,000 | Up to $500 |
| Liberty Tour Care Plus Standard | $150,000 | $250,000 | $5,000 | Up to $500 |
| Hong Leong Travel Basic | $200,000 | $150,000 | $5,000 | Up to $500 |
| AVIVA Travel Lite | $50,000 | $250,000 | $5,000 | Up to $700 |
| MSIG TravelEasy | $150,000 | $250,000 | $5,000 | Up to $500 |
| Sompo Travel Joy Vital | $150,000 | $150,000 | $5,000 | Up to $250 |
| AXA Smart Traveller Baisc | $250,000 | $300,000 | $6,000 | Up to $800 |
| AIG Travel Guard Standard | $100,000 | $200,000 | $5,000 | Up to $500 |
| Direct Asia DA150 Basic | $100,000 | $150,000 | $3,000 | Up to $500 |
| Great Eastern Travel Smart Basic | $300,000 | $500,000 | $5,000 | Up to $500 |
| Allianz Global Bronze | $35,000 | $400,000 | $5,000 | Up to $500 |
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