Costs of having a baby in Singapore

[fichan]

We arrived in Singapore last year with our now 1 year old daughter, and are now thinking about having a second child. Can anyone help with advice about getting full pregnancy cover with an insurance company or buying a maternity package with an OB. I have heard a wide spectrum of prices and am now totally confused about which is the best route! As I'm not working and we only only have one income, costs have to be kept as low as possible. If anyone has any advise or experience I'd be really interested in in hearing from you. Thanks

[katd]

Hello!

We're about to move to Singapore and are in the same situation as yourself - that is thinking about the second child.

We're wondering whether there is a waiting period in the health insurance, ie need to be with the insurer for 12 months before getting pregnant, what are the costs without health insurance, are there any insurance schemes that recognise time with an Australian insurer and I guess whether the health insurance available will even cover the main pregnancy costs in Singapore.

Are there any useful links or websites that will provide this information?

Many thanks

Katrina

[IanRats]

I guess it depends on which medical insurance provider you have. We were covered through AETNA Global because my company is US owned and pregnancy was treated like any other medical condition, so we had a 10% co-pay which saved us something in excess of S$10K when you include all of the pre-natal stuff as well as the hospitalization for the birth.

There was no waiting period for us either since pregnancy cannot be classed as a pre-existing condition unless you'e pregnant when you take out the policy of course

However, I know others who have come from UK firms for example, haven't had the same luck!

[sq009]

Health insurance in singapore is pretty affordable (so far)
Waiting period can range between 30-90days depending on which company.

Depending on your needs, all plans are cheap for a reason and expensive for a reason too; one man's meat is another man's poison.

One of the best health insurance is with AIG, they are rather costly though. However I don't mind paying for what I get.

mmm...

NTUC Income is really cheap, but their claims experience is not really good, and they are rather stricts with claims

AIA/Aviva have really great claims effeciency system, aviva can be a little strict on claims too (was on the papers), AIA will have the disadvantage of heavy paper works when you sign up (but its fine after that)

Great eatern is rather balanced.

No comments on prudential and the others

Shop around for something that suit your needs. Its not really expensive.
My basic health insurance from US costs me US$100+, that premium can buy me a few good plans in singapore.

if you need any advices u can try contacting Donald, he's a juvenile planning specialist. He's can be hard to contact at times.

His email is [email protected], he did a great job for me and my family.

cheers

[katd]

sq009 - Thank you for the very comprehensive and helpful response! It certainly points us in the right direction for our health insurance needs. Much appreciated.