What Child Insurance Does Your Child Need In Singapore
Insurance plays a crucial role in protecting us from unexpected financial burdens caused by accidents, illnesses, or hospitalisations. Most working adults in Singapore are likely to have insurance coverage, whether through personal policies or those provided by their employers.
However, when it comes to children, the responsibility falls on parents to ensure they have the appropriate coverage. Securing insurance for your child as early as when they are a newborn can be a smart move, offering peace of mind as they grow. From covering medical bills to safeguarding against accidents, having the right insurance in place can make a significant difference in managing the costs associated with Singapore’s healthcare system and unexpected events.
Why You Should Insure Your Child
Children are naturally adventurous and often engage in physical activities, whether it's through play, sports, or other daily routines. This increases their exposure to potential accidents or injuries. Having insurance for your children can help alleviate the financial strain of medical treatments or hospital stays if an unexpected injury or illness occurs.
Ensuring your child has the right coverage allows you to focus on their recovery, knowing that medical expenses are covered. Here are two essential types of insurance plans every parent should consider for their child:
- Health insurance: Covers medical expenses, hospital stays, and outpatient treatments for illnesses and injuries.
- Personal accident insurance: Provides financial support in case of accidental injuries, disability, or death, and may cover selected infectious diseases.
Health Insurance
Health insurance helps to cover the cost of medical expenses when your child suffers an injury, illness or a disability. MediShield Life is a basic health insurance plan that offers lifetime protection against large hospital bills and selected costly outpatient treatments for all Singapore citizens (SCs) and permanent residents (PRs), including those with pre-existing conditions. The level of benefits corresponds to the cost of Class B2 or C wards and subsidised treatment in the public hospitals.
Integrated Shield Plans (IPs)
While MediShield Life provides basic hospitalisation protection, you may want the option of upgrading your child’s ward entitlement to an A ward or consider admitting your child into a private hospital where waiting times are generally shorter and private rooms are available. In either case, having an Integrated Shield Plan (IP) like Enhanced IncomeShield is worth considering, as it helps reduce the out-of-pocket costs associated with treatment.
As a parent or soon-to-be parent, Enhanced IncomeShield offers as-charged coverage for eligible inpatient and outpatient hospital treatment. You can also pay for premiums using your MediSave account, up to $600. This makes it an effective way to ensure your child is protected from an early age.
Personal Accident
Personal Accident (PA) insurance isn’t just for adults working in high-risk professions. The reality is that misfortune can happen to anyone at any time—and children are no exception. Younger children, with their natural curiosity and energy, are often prone to accidents. On the other hand, teenagers can also get injured during extracurricular activities or even from something as simple as slipping on the bathroom floor.
It doesn’t take much more than a minor accident to result in a hefty hospital bill. To get a sense of these costs, you can refer to the Ministry of Health (MOH) benchmark estimator. That’s why having the right personal accident coverage is so important. Below, we’ll explore the types of accident insurance plans that Income offers to help protect your child from unexpected expenses.
PA Assurance
For child insurance, PA Assurance offers extensive coverage like:
- Up to $20,0001 medical expenses coverage per accident. Reduce your financial burden in the event of unexpected accidents, including sports injuries2.
- Coverage for chiropractors and TCM treatments in the event of an accident, including sports injury2.
- Reimbursement for post-accident home modification and physiotherapy expenses incurred due to accidents.
This plan covers some of the most common childhood injuries such as food poisoning, drowning hazards and bumps and scrapes at home. And with the Infectious Disease Cover, your child is protected from up to 25 common childhood illnesses such as hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD), chicken pox, shingles, dengue fever and more.
Is Personal Accident Protection Necessary If You Have Health Insurance?
Health insurance and personal accident insurance serve different purposes, but both are essential for comprehensive protection. Health insurance primarily covers medical treatments for illnesses and hospital stays, while a personal accident (PA) plan can significantly reduce the financial burden if your child experiences an unexpected injury . Having a PA plan ensures that your family is protected from unexpected costs that may arise from accidents.
Here are the key differences between the two plan types:
| Health Insurance | Personal Accident Insurance |
|
|
Having both health insurance and a personal accident plan ensures that your child or newborn is comprehensively protected from a wide range of risks, whether due to illness or accident. To see how these two policies work together to reduce financial strain, let’s take a look at an example:
Scenario: Young Child Suffers Food Poisoning and Needs Hospitalisation
Peter, a 5-year old, was diagnosed with food poisoning after experiencing high fever and vomiting. He received inpatient care at a private hospital provided by our panel for six days which amounted to a total bill of $6,000 for his hospitalisation and treatments.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how Peter’s parents were able to minimise the impact of his medical bill by protecting him with Income’s Enhanced IncomeShield with a Classic Care Rider and PA Assurance Superior plan with Infectious Disease Cover.
| Admission & Hospitalisation | ||
| Coverage | Claimed with Enhanced IncomeShield | Claimed with PA Assurance |
| Hospitalisation and treatment at a Private Hospital | Yes ($2,250 under the Preferred Plan; $3,150 under Classic Care rider; $600 out-of-pocket amount) | $600 out-of-pocket claimable under ‘Medical Expenses’ coverage |
| Daily Hospital Income | No | Yes (6 days X $200 a day = $1,200) |
| Discharge & Recovery | ||
| Infectious Diseases Medical Expenses | No | Yes ($600) |
Having PA Assurance can make a big difference in covering the cost of Peter’s medical bill. With the Classic Care Rider, Peter’s parents only need to pay ten per cent co-payment of the total bill— treatment provided by our panel which is up to $3,000.
The total payable out-of-pocket amount before PA Assurance coverage is
$3,000 (10% co-payment) + $600= $3,600.
PA Assurance can help to reduce out-of-pocket amount that is not covered under EIS Preferred plan and Classic Care rider by providing the following payouts to cover other expenses incurred during Peter’s hospitalisation and recovery:
- Medical expenses ($600)
- Daily hospital income ($1,200)
- Total claimable under PA Assurance: $1,800
The final payable out-of-pocket after PA Assurance coverage is $3600 - $1,800 = $1,800
Ready to Learn More About Income’s Health and Personal Accident Plans?
Having the right health insurance coverage to protect your children from injury or illness is important, as is having the ability to select the hospital, ward and doctor that best suits their needs.For more comprehensive protection, however, a combination of policies that complement each other—such as health insurance and personal accident insurance—is essential.
These policies work together to provide greater peace of mind, ensuring you can give your children the best possible medical care while minimising the financial impact of healthcare costs.
Learn more about how Income’s Enhanced IncomeShield and PA Assurance plans can help you better protect your children for peace of mind.
1 This benefit limit is applicable under Prestige Plan. We pay for the medical expenses for injury due to an accident up to the maximum benefit limit or up to a period of 12 months from the date of the accident, whichever comes first.
2 Coverage for sports injury is subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. Please refer to the policy conditions for the full list of exclusions.
This article is meant purely for informational purposes and does not constitute an offer, recommendation, solicitation or advise to buy or sell any product(s). It should not be relied upon as financial advice. The precise terms, conditions and exclusions of any Income Insurance products mentioned are specified in their respective policy contracts. Please seek independent financial advice before making any decision.
These policies are protected under the Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme which is administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC). Coverage for your policy is automatic and no further action is required from you. For more information on the types of benefits that are covered under the scheme as well as the limits of coverage, where applicable, please contact Income Insurance or visit the GIA/LIA or SDIC websites (www.gia.org.sg or www.lia.org.sg or www.sdic.org.sg).
This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
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