FAQs

Yes, it is possible to transfer your contents insurance from one residence to another, however, there may be additional premium to be paid, or special conditions to be met depending on your new home (eg security). You should also be aware that while your belongings are in transit they will not be covered by your contents policy and you should make sure that the moving company you have engaged has suitable cover in the event that anything is lost or damaged.

Most contents policies will have a per claim deductible. What this means is that every time you make a claim, there is an amount that you have to pay before your insurance will cover you. For belongings of particular value, like jewellery, art or antiques, it is possible to itemise these belongings on your policy so that should you need to make a claim in respect of one of those itemised valuables there will be no deductible.

Most insurers will not require you to itemise particular items that are in excess of $5,000, however there are a number of benefits in doing so that you may wish to consider. Firstly, by itemising particular items you are ensuring that should they be lost, stolen or damaged you will recover the full value of the item or the amount that it will cost to replace that item. In addition, itemised articles are not usually subject to a deductible nor will they be subject to depreciation, or a reduction in value for wear and tear.

Home insurance policies generally cover both your building and contents. However, if you rent, which many expats do in Singapore, you do not need building insurance. Most home insurance policies will allow you to insure just your contents, or personal belongings, without having to take out building insurance as well.

Coverage outside the home or overseas will depend on your individual contents policy. There are policies available that will cover your personal belongings while you are travelling, including cover for loss, damage or theft. Some policies will limit the amount you can claim for particular items while other policies will cover your belongings up to their full value. It is important to review the terms and conditions that are attached to worldwide coverage in your particular policy to fully understand the extent of cover you have.

A single trip travel policy is designed to cover one specified trip and when you take a single trip policy you must specify both your date of departure and date of return. If your trip extends beyond those dates you will not be covered, unless you have notified your insurer and extended your policy.

The countries that are covered by your travel insurance policy will depend on the geographical scope you have selected. Most insurers offer three different zones, or areas, which are typically Asia Pacific and Worldwide or global. It is important to make sure that the country or countries you are travelling to are covered by your particular policy and if you are unsure you should consult your advisor or insurer directly.

No, your travel insurance plan will not renew automatically. Typically you can expect to receive a renewal invitation 4-8 weeks ahead of the expiry of your policy. At this time you can make changes to the geographical scope of your cover but you will need to notify your insurer should you wish to renew your policy.

No, an annual travel policy allows you to make unlimited number of trips in 12 months, provided that no single trip exceeds 90 days. Each trip must also start and finish is Singapore (or the country in which you have taken out your policy).

Yes, many travel policies will cover you for these activities, but you may need to be suitably qualified or have an instructor with you.

You must purchase your travel insurance policy a specified period of time in advance of your trip, for example, 14 days in order to benefit from the cancellation clause and this can help you determine when you should purchase your travel insurance policy. Most travel insurance policies provide cancellation cover if you have paid for tickets, accommodation or tour bookings in advance and can no longer undertake your trip for medical reasons (there are specific terms and conditions that apply to the cancellation cover).

Usually off-piste skiing is not covered by a travel insurance policy, and you should always make sure that you refer to the exclusions carefully should you plan to go off-piste skiing or snowboarding.

Scuba diving is usually covered by most travel insurance policy, with very strict conditions. The depth of your dive is limited to no more than 30 metres and you must be either PADI qualified or diving with a certified instructor. It is important to check the requirements for scuba diving before your trip to make sure that you are covered.

In many cases you can transfer your NCD from your home country to Singapore to apply to a motor policy. Your previous NCD cannot be more than 12 months old and it may not always convert to the same discount amount. Your insurer, or advisor, will be able to advise you on whether you can apply to transfer your NCD.

Ordinarily yes, you will lose your No Claims Discount if you make a claim, however, you can also take a No Claims Discount protector when you purchase motor insurance and this will protect your No Claims Discount in the event of an accident.

Insurers offer three main types of motor insurance policies – Comprehensive cover, Third Party Fire & Theft and Third Party cover. The level of cover you buy will depend on your needs. Optional benefits are also available to meet your individual needs such as windscreen damage, a replacement vehicle in the event your car needs to be repaired and dealer workshops.

Ordinarily you will receive your renewal notice 4-6 weeks before your policy is due to expire.

Your annual premium can be reduced a number of ways. Firstly, you can elect to take your vehicle to insurer authorised workshops, rather than any workshop of your choice. Secondly, you can elect to increase your policy excess, which can also reduce your premium. Finally, your NCD, which increases each year, will also reduce premium.

This is going to depend upon the plan your employer has selected for the company. In Singapore many insurance companies only offer maternity as an optional cover and when companies take up this option there is a waiting period everyone must go through in order to use this benefit. Typical waiting periods will be 12 months. What this means is that you have to have been a member of your company plan for a minimum of 12 months before you can claim maternity related expenses. If your employer benefits do not include maternity benefits, then you will not be able to claim any of your maternity related expenses, regardless of waiting periods.

Cover for your new born baby will depend on whether or not your employer's plan extend to dependents. If it does then one should expect to be able to add the new born baby to the medical coverage, however many insurers will only allow the addition of the new born 15 days after birth and once the baby has been discharged from hospital. It is important to understand exactly when your new baby can be added to your plan and this information will be in the policy documents you have. It is also important to notify the insurer as soon as possible about the addition of your new born. You can expect to have to provide a copy of the birth certificate as well as the Baby Booklet from the hospital. You may also have to complete a medical declaration form for the new born. Requirements vary by insurer.

Children are considered 'dependents' under their parent's insurance policy (either a private one or one provided by your employer) until the age of 18 or, if they full time students living at home, up to a maximum age of 26. This maximum age will, however, vary from insurer to insurer. Once they are no longer considered dependents, children can then take a policy in their own name.

This is a tricky situation that varies by insurer and is dependent upon whether or not your employer has chosen a medical insurance plan that extends beyond employees to family members. We are seeing that more and more insurance companies are allowing domestic partners to be covered as a dependent on the medical insurance plan.

Commonly known as an "EAP" this is a confidential short term assistance counselling service for employees who may be experiencing issues that are effecting work performance. A number of MNC's do offer this as a benefit but it's not something that is mandatory or should be expected when working for a company in Singapore. The idea behind this benefit is to help reduce stress which may lead to poor performance, absenteeism and turnover.

All of this insurance is available in Singapore, however we have found it is usually reserved for top management or companies wanting to be in top tier or the 75 percentile. This means that only 25% of companies may offer these type of benefits to their employees.

This is dependent upon the insurance company plan that your employer selects. There are insurers that allow employees who are leaving employment to convert their group membership into an Individual plan offered by that insurer. The benefits might not be exactly the same as what was offered on the Group plan your employer selected but it should be very similar. Our advice is to ask the person in your company who oversees the insurance arrangements. If your particular group plan does not allow you to transfer your cover to an individual plan, then should you leave your employer, you also leave behind your benefits. You will then need to consider whether you replace them with a personal policy, or look to replace them with other employer benefits when you start work with your new employer.

This term is quite common in the exclusions section of medical insurance policy and it is the insurer's way of saying that they will not pay claims where the medical or dental charges exceed what is reasonable and customary by Singapore standards. This mostly applies to people who seek treatment outside of Singapore if their medical insurance is designed to cover expenses taking place outside of Singapore.

This depends entirely upon your circumstances, assets, liabilities and future goals but recent reports into the protection gap have reported this to be between 10 to 20 times annual salary.

Possibly. Many Life Insurance Policies carry a clause that prevents the policy paying out if the life assured leaves their home or inception country. This can simply be checked with the insurer and it is advisable to get the response in writing. As the cost of Life Insurance is linked to our age, normally the policies we have taken out earlier on in our lives offer great value. Although, it is still worth reviewing that the level of insurance, the term of insurance and coverage meet your needs.

It is possible to add a range of riders on a Life Insurance Policy such as Permanent and Total Disability, Critical Illness Cover and Waiver of Premium.

Possibly. This depends on the purpose of the insurance e.g. Family Protection, Business Protection, Key Man Insurance or Inheritance Tax Planning. It also depends on who the planned beneficiaries are. In addition, there may be tax considerations to be made especially for couples that have different home countries. We would recommend speaking to one of our specialist business partners to review your cover.