[Beginners’ Guide] Buying Insurance In Singapore

This article was first published on 23 January 2018 and updated with additional information.

Insurance is one of the key components of personal finance. Buying the right type of insurance can not only protect ourselves, but also our loved ones who may be reliant on our income.

If budget is of no concern, all of us would want to buy the best possible coverage for ourselves and our loved ones. However, we live in a real world where we face budget constraints and have other financial objectives such as retirement planning that we also have to work towards. Hence, it’s essential to ensure that you buy the right coverage you need, not just what your insurance agent is trying to sell you.

To help you understand the different types of insurance policies that you may need, we have this simple guide. This guide compiles all the useful insurance articles that we have written on DollarsAndSense.

If you are new to insurance and want to learn more, this guide is meant for you. You can read the articles in the links below in sequence, as we have designed it to educate readers in a step-by-step manner. However, if there are specific areas about insurance that you wish to find out more, feel free to skip to the parts that are most relevant to you.

More importantly, we hope that this guide will help ensure that you buy the right insurance policies that you need.

To start off, we should first understand the importance of insurance. There are three main types of insurance policies that we can consider. Health insurance, life insurance and general insurance.

Health Insurance

Health insurance protect us against the possibility of falling ill and incurring high healthcare cost.

Government Health Insurance Policies: In Singapore, MediShield Life provides basic, compulsory coverage, while Integrated Shield Plans are optional policies that provide additional benefits.

Beginners Guide To Understanding How MediShield Life Works

Complete Guide To Buying A Private Integrated Shield Plan

Here are 5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Upgrade Your MediShield Life To An Integrated Shield Plan

Do Singaporeans Living Overseas Enjoy MediShield Life Coverage?

 

Medical Expense Insurance: Cover your hospital and surgical expenses.

Integrated Shield Plan With New Co-Pay Riders: What To Consider When Making A Decision

Why Being Responsible Parents Means Protecting Yourself First (Before Your Children)

Healthcare In Singapore Isn’t Going To Get Cheaper: Here’s How You Can Ensure Your Loved Ones Are Adequately Insured

Here are 5 Ways To Ensure You Avoid Overspending On Health Insurance In Singapore

Here Are 5 Common Misconceptions Singaporeans Have About Private Hospitals

Working Adult Guide: Health Insurance In Singapore, And Why You Should Consider Buying Them

 

Critical Illness Insurance: Gives you a lump sum pay out to help with expenses when you are diagnosed with a major illness

LIA’s CI Definitions Changed: What You Need To Know About Plans You Bought (Or Intend To Buy)

Understanding Critical Illness Plans: How Different Types Of CI Plans Work

Guide To Understanding How Critical Illness Policy Works

We Explain How An Early Stage Critical Illness Plan Work

Is An Early Stage Critical Illness Plan Really Necessary?

4 Major Misconceptions That Singaporeans Have About Their Critical Illness Insurance Plan

Why You Should Consider Getting A Multiple-Payout Critical Illness Plan

5 Factors To Consider Before You Get A Critical Illness Plan In Singapore

5 Reasons Why Many Singaporeans Have A Huge Critical Illness Protection Gap

 

Long-Term Care Insurance: Pay the cost for care you need when you are too weak to look after yourself.

CareShield Life Will Replace ElderShield From 2020 – Here’s 12 Things You Need To Know

Turning 40 This Year? Here’s What You Need To Know About ElderShield

CareShield Life Vs ElderShield: Understanding The Differences Between These Two Policies

Guide To Understanding The Different Types Of Disability Insurance Policies In Singapore

Life Insurance

While health insurance is meant to cover our healthcare cost in the event of an illness, life insurances provide coverage for our loved ones in the event that we are no longer around to provide for them.

There are two main kinds of life insurance policies. Term and Whole Life. Term provides life insurance coverage for a limited term period while whole life insurance, as its name suggests, provide coverage for life.

Here are some articles that you can read to better understand these two types of life insurance policies.

Term Life Insurance

Should You Get A Term Life Insurance Plan? We Explain How It Works

How To Understand A Term Insurance Illustration

Why Buying Term Insurance And Investing The Rest Is Worth Considering For Your Financial Well-Being

Term And Whole Life Insurance: Which Is Better?

Single With No Dependants? Here Are 6 Reasons Why You Should Still Consider Life Insurance

 

Whole Life Insurance

Understanding How Whole Life Insurance Works

Should You Get A Whole Life Insurance Policy? We Explain In Details How It Works

Here Is Why You Should Not Expect Returns From Your Life Insurance Policies

General Insurance

General insurance is meant to protect the assets you own. Example of general insurance policies include home content insurance, travel insurance, maid insurance and even pet insurance. You can find out more about each type of policy in the links below.

 

Car Insurance: Compulsory insurance for damages (including third-party liability) for your vehicle.

5 Things To Know About Vouch No Claim Rebate (NCR) For Drivers

Driving A Rental Car Overseas – Should You Risk Not Getting Comprehensive Car Rental Insurance Coverage?

 

Personal Accident Insurance: Insures you against accidents of all kinds.

How Personal Accident Plans In Singapore Work

Personal Accident Insurance: What Are Some Policies That Cover Your Child For HFMD?

Are Carpooling Rides In Singapore Insured? Here’s What You Need To Know

4 Scenarios Where PMDs Can Ruin Your Life – Even If You Don’t Own One (And How Insurance Could Help)

 

Home Content Insurance: To protect the content in your home

Completed Your Dream HDB Renovation? Here’s Why You Should Buy Insurance Immediately To Protect Your Home

Bought Your Dream Condominium? Here’s Why Your Next Step Should Be To Buy Home Contents Insurance

 

Travel Insurance: To cover the cost of any travel inconvenience you may sustain while you are outside Singapore

Complete Guide To Buying Travel Insurance In Singapore

Is Buying An Annual Travel Insurance Plan Worth Your Money?

Why You Should Compare Travel Insurance Policies Before Buying

5 Important Factors Singapore Travellers Need To Know When Buying Travel Insurance

 

Maid Insurance: Health insurance coverage from your domestic helper in Singapore

Guide To Buying Maid Insurance In Singapore

 

Pet Insurance: Pet insurance provides coverage for pets.

Guide To Buying Pet Insurance In Singapore

How Dog Insurance Policies Work In Singapore

Should I Buy Insurance For My Pet?

Pet Insurance 101: Here’s How It Works To Help You Protect Your Cat Or Dog

 

Group Employee Benefits: Insurance coverage provided by your company as part of a benefits package.

Already Have Group Employee Insurance Benefits From Your Company? Here’s How It Works And How It Complements Your Own Personal Coverage

Buying Insurance For Others

Lastly, if you are thinking of buying insurance policies for others, here are further readings you can consider.

For your children:

What Type Of Child Insurance Should You Buy For Your Little One?

Type Of Baby Insurance To Buy For Your Newborn Child

Types Of Insurance To Buy For Your Children

What Insurance Policies Can You Buy If You Are Born With A Genetic Condition?

For your elderly parents:

Why You Should Care About Your Parents’ Health Insurance Needs

For your foreign spouse:

Healthcare Insurance For Foreigners Living In Singapore

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