I’m not a big fan of “spin the wheel, pick a single risk” policies.
Think of it this way. Cancer is bad. Cancer surely requires medical care, in some cases it can cause you to miss work (and lose income), and in some cases it’s fatal (permanent loss of income). Is cancer the only ailment that can result in these life altering problems? No, not even close. So why would you want to pay separately and extra for one cause of these life altering problems? Don’t you want to protect against the life altering problems, no matter what the cause? Stroke, diabetes, heart disease, etc., etc?
I much prefer “all risks” coverage. Yes, of course, “all risks” coverage can cost more (not always, surprisingly), but that’s because you’re actually insuring yourself better.
So, before you even consider “single risk” coverage (and I wouldn’t), focus on defending against life altering problems no matter what the cause(s). That usually means what I call the “Big 3”:
* Adequate catastrophic medical insurance. I think Prudential’s public hospital A ward plan, with their “Lite” rider if you want to cap out-of-pocket costs, is a good value. I don’t think MediShield Life is enough, but I’m glad it sets a floor.
* Disability income insurance. If you cannot work because of disability, you cannot work. It doesn’t matter to you whether that’s because of cancer or dementia or stroke or a concussion. Loss of income is loss of income. Yes, this insurance is “expensive,” but shop around. I’d much rather have $3,000/month of genuine disability income insurance than $4,500/month of cancer only coverage. There are at least 4 carriers in Singapore that offer disability income insurance.
* Simple term life insurance, only if you have dependents who would end up in serious financial trouble without you.
Once you cover those 3 bases (or 2 if you don’t need life insurance), then you might consider something else. Actually, the 4th highest insurance priority in my view is travel medical insurance with medical repatriation, if you travel overseas. I currently like Bupa Global’s Basic annual plan, priced in British pounds and purchased directly online, with a coupon code if you look around. They offer a much better value than anything I’ve found locally, and they’ve got agreements with lots of medical providers around the world for direct billing. Travel medical insurance covers you if you need emergency medical care overseas, and it gets you home (to Singapore) once you’re stable enough to travel. You don’t need anything beyond that, such as lost baggage insurance — just use a credit card that includes that feature when you buy your trip if you want coverage above what the airline provides. (There are several such credit cards, including at least a couple of the no annual fee CIMB credit cards that offer some decent non-medical travel insurance, if that’s what you want.)
Anyway, the highest priority when buying insurance is to protect against catastrophic, life altering events no matter what the cause, insofar as possible. Everything else is at least secondary, or unnecessary. Losing some underwear and a couple shirts is not catastrophic and life altering. Cancer can be life altering, sure, but it is far from the only medical calamity that is life altering — it’s only one cause, and it’s not even the most common cause among working people.
....OK, with that background, no, I’m not a fan.
