Longterm visit pass insurance

[VPM_Research]

My wife holds Long term visit pass.

Can she buy health and life insurance in Singapore?

Thanks HWZoners.

 

[dendii]

Generally yes but may not be all plans. Which country is she from and what kind of insurance protection are you looking at? Hospitalisation/Life/CI?

 

[BBCWatcher]

Watch out for policy limitations that might cause issues for a foreign claim. For example, there are about three disability income insurance products in Singapore, but to my knowledge only one of them will pay out claims if the beneficiary happens to be outside Singapore. A LTVP holder has pretty good immigration stability, but I think it's still prudent to anticipate "What if?" scenarios if the LTVP holder has to leave Singapore (upon the death of the LTVP holder's sponsor, for example).

To my knowledge all the Integrated Shield plans are available to foreigners, although the premiums are a bit higher since they don't have base MediShield Life coverage or as many public provider subsidies. However, if you have an Integrated Shield plan already then the LTVP holder should be able to get the same plan, assuming you're happy with yours.

 

[VPM_Research]

Watch out for policy limitations that might cause issues for a foreign claim. For example, there are about three disability income insurance products in Singapore, but to my knowledge only one of them will pay out claims if the beneficiary happens to be outside Singapore. A LTVP holder has pretty good immigration stability, but I think it's still prudent to anticipate "What if?" scenarios if the LTVP holder has to leave Singapore (upon the death of the LTVP holder's sponsor, for example).

To my knowledge all the Integrated Shield plans are available to foreigners, although the premiums are a bit higher since they don't have base MediShield Life coverage or as many public provider subsidies. However, if you have an Integrated Shield plan already then the LTVP holder should be able to get the same plan, assuming you're happy with yours.

Thanks for the clear info. She's Thai. It sure does seem that foreigners purchasing insurance coverage here in Singapore, with meaningful intention of residing in Singapore, will have to pay more than what it would cost a Singaporean/PR.

 

[VPM_Research]

Generally yes but may not be all plans. Which country is she from and what kind of insurance protection are you looking at? Hospitalisation/Life/CI?

Thanks alot for the information. She's Thai. Health, life and hospitalisation are the policies that we will consider, after comparing the premiums as well as the differential to purchasing in her home country. So long as she has the option to purchase in Singapore, we might have health insurance in Singapore, and life insurance from a Thai company.

Thanks!

 

[BBCWatcher]

It sure does seem that foreigners purchasing insurance coverage here in Singapore, with meaningful intention of residing in Singapore, will have to pay more than what it would cost a Singaporean/PR.

Not exactly, not always.

Let's take a look at NTUC's Integrated Shield plans, for example. They're called "IncomeShield." (A weird name in my view, but whatever.) Let's suppose this LTVP holder is 32 years old. She could buy IncomeShield Plan A for $394/year. That's exactly what a citizen or PR would pay for the same plan, except they would pay for it as $310/year for MediShield Life and $84/year additional to upgrade to IncomeShield Plan A. So in this particular example, the premiums are identical. They're just paid slightly differently, that's all.

One difference is that citizens and PRs can often pay for insurance using untaxed CPF dollars, so they often get some tax relief that foreigners don't. Another difference is that they can qualify for subsidized public hospital wards, so NTUC (for example) offers "Plan B" and "Plan C" options that are even more affordable that provide less coverage.

 

[fonjilo]

SC or PR can actually use his/hers MediSave to pay the premium of Non-Integrated Plans (without MediShield Life component) for Long term visit pass (LTVP) holder who is a dependent, subject to an annual withdrawal limit, and the excess will have to be paid by cash. LTVP will not get subsidized rate in B2 or C ward of restructured (government) hospital though, which is only for SC and PR (and perhaps LTVP+ holder).

At the moment, I find NTUC Income and Prudential has a good coverage and competitive pricing for B1/ A ward with 'As Charged' benefit for restructured hospital. Recently the maximum entry age has been increased to 75 year old.