Family Health Care Insurance

[chester]

Hi

I am moving to Singapore in three months and the company I have joined are providing me with Healthcare but I will have to pay for my wife and 2 young children.

Can somoeone please advise as to what cost this would be and whether anyone can recommend where to go - who to call?

any advise is greatly appreciated

Many Thanks

Chester

[sundaymorningstaple]

If your budget can stand it, Bupa would be a good way to go. Also, I believe Strong Eagle mentioned another by the name of GlobalHealth (google it).

Have a read of this thread: http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic78220.html

[chester]

thanks for your note -

[Saint]

First check with your company whether you add your family to your Heathcare plan and you pay the difference. My company does this and I know many others do as well. This would be the cheapest way as they are just adding family to the Company's group Heathcare policy.

[JayCee]

I've wondered this for a while, but do people who troll internet message boards offering their 'services' ever get any business this way?

If someone peddles their wares like that then it says to me that they're pretty desperate hence I wouldn't have much confidence in their business and wouldn't use them

[cbavasi]

We have always had separate insurance for myself and our children while living in Asia and have used GoodHealth, William Russell and Interglobal. I would hands down recommend InterGlobal in a heartbeat. We have had nothing but exceptional coverage/customer service - in particular with the coverage of our children. We used a broker out of Hong Kong (do a search on the site - I've posted several times) - but you can also contact directly for the same coverage cost.

[Kafaratus]

if you are looking to have coverage for your family maybe i can provide you with some info. i'm not a agent. am a engineer here working in sg, but have some basic knowledge to share if you're interested.

[sundaymorningstaple]

if you are looking to have coverage for your family maybe i can provide you with some info. i'm not a agent. am a engineer here working in sg, but have some basic knowledge to share if you're interested.

If you are not an agent, why don't you provide the information here on the board so that other readers can also benefit. Or do you get a finders fee from the agent?

moderator

[ouwl]

That as nice one.. Moderator..

[Kafaratus]

sorry , am new here and since someone posted a few informations above, i am just asking if there's any specific details that they would like to know more about. am not connected to any agency in anyway hahah.

but thanks for the reminder.

cheers

[cbavasi]

I cannot provide on local insurance - but I'm now MORE than qualified to offer experience for expatriates who are coming to Singapore and want to have International coverage outside of local providers.

In our 7 years in Asia we have had coverage from GoodHealth, William Russell and Interglobal. As I mentioned previously I couldn't recommend InterGlobal highly enough - especially in re: to children.

My son was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago (while we were under InterGlobal) and has undergone 15 months of chemotherapy in Singapore (in addition to countless MRIs, surgeries, consultations) and we are currently abroad while he is undergoing radiation and all has been covered by InterGlobal.

If you are an expatriate who is concerned about global coverage I highly recommend you consult an international broker. Do a search on this site as it's been discussed several times.

[LifePlanner]

Hi, My Name is Jeffrey.

No, you name is now History!

[DJP]

Regards to the type of medical insurance your family will need it depends on quite a few different factors, like how much you travel (and where), whether you want things like optical and dental (these will cost you much higher premiums) and obviously whether you need maternity cover for your wife.

If you only need cover for whilst you are in Singapore then try some of the local providers like NTUC, Prudential, AIA etc. I use something called Ideal Medical from Aviva which covers me for ASEAN countries including Singapore - quite good as the premiums are cheap and if i'm not holidaying in the UK (where I am covered by the government) then i'm generally in Bali or Thailand which is covered. I've already claimed on it three times and the service has been good.

The next level up in global cover excluding the USA. For this you can deal with companies like Aviva, BUPA and InterGlobal - i've heard good reports about InterGlobal and likewise BUPA is basically the Rolls-Royce of medical cover, but you obviously pay for this!

If you travel to the US frequently then you need full worldwide cover including USA and this is the most expensive cover.

One other point to note is that if you do need maternity cover, check the limits as many policies only cover you up to $10K in expenses. For a standard delivery this is about right, but if there are any complications the bill can go much higher than this so its worth double checking.

[soliciation removed -moderator]

[BillyB]

Regards to the type of medical insurance your family will need it depends on quite a few different factors, like how much you travel (and where), whether you want things like optical and dental (these will cost you much higher premiums) and obviously whether you need maternity cover for your wife.

If you only need cover for whilst you are in Singapore then try some of the local providers like NTUC, Prudential, AIA etc. I use something called Ideal Medical from Aviva which covers me for ASEAN countries including Singapore - quite good as the premiums are cheap and if i'm not holidaying in the UK (where I am covered by the government) then i'm generally in Bali or Thailand which is covered. I've already claimed on it three times and the service has been good.

The next level up in global cover excluding the USA. For this you can deal with companies like Aviva, BUPA and InterGlobal - i've heard good reports about InterGlobal and likewise BUPA is basically the Rolls-Royce of medical cover, but you obviously pay for this!

If you travel to the US frequently then you need full worldwide cover including USA and this is the most expensive cover.

One other point to note is that if you do need maternity cover, check the limits as many policies only cover you up to $10K in expenses. For a standard delivery this is about right, but if there are any complications the bill can go much higher than this so its worth double checking.

[soliciation removed -moderator]

BUPA is a complete rip-off and has little value-add than the other comprehensive plans despite being twice the price on average.

Look at Chartis or interglobal if you want comprehensive cover at a reasonable cost.

The local plans are only good if you want emergency cover and little else. They are ridden with clauses and conditions - like having to use selected hospitals and no direct billing.

Health insurance is expensive here, but you do get what you pay for.