Overseas visitors will now be able to buy inbound travel insurance coverage for Covid-19 related costs incurred in Singapore, Changi Airport Group (CAG) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) announced, on behalf of the Emerging Stronger Taskforce Alliance for Action (EST-AfA) on enabling safe and innovative visitor experiences.
Inbound insurance coverage has been identified as a key enabler to facilitate the resumption of travel to Singapore.
In line with the EST-AfA’s focus on public-private partnerships, CAG, STB and the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) led an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise to reach out to interested private sector insurers to provide such coverage.
In response to the EOI, three insurance companies, AIG Asia Pacific Insurance, Chubb Insurance Singapore and HL Assurance, have developed travel insurance products which provide at least S$30,000 in coverage for Covid-19 related medical treatment and hospitalisation costs.
A minimum of S$30,000 in coverage is recommended by the Ministry of Health based on Covid-19 bill sizes at private hospitals, which is where inbound travellers typically receive care for Covid-19.
Inbound foreign travellers entering Singapore via the various Safe Travel Lanes are required to bear the full cost of medical treatment, tests and isolation, should they be suspected of being infected with Covid-19, or require medical treatment for Covid-19 while in Singapore. With immediate effect, they will be able to purchase a travel insurance plan to help them cover some of these costs.
Lee Seow Hiang, Changi Airport Group’s CEO and co-lead of the Alliance said, “We have been actively engaging the insurance community since August this year, through an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise, to develop inbound travel insurance products as Singapore progressively reopens. We noticed such products were not available in the market, and wanted to encourage insurers to develop such products and offer them to travellers at a reasonable price.”
Ho Kai Weng, General Insurance Association (GIA) of Singapore’s Chief Executive said, “With the gradual resumption of travel and the re-opening of borders, having robust travel insurance options in place is integral to ensuring a successful and sustainable revival of inbound travel to Singapore. The general insurance sector is committed to providing travellers visiting Singapore the protection they need to travel here with confidence.”
Earlier in September, the EST Alliance for action on enabling safe and innovative visitor experiences announced that it will be testing a prototype for safe tradeshows and exhibitions, as well as safe itineraries for event attendees.
The new insurance products will complement this earlier work in resuming safe travel.
Premiums for these inbound travel insurance plans start from S$5.35 (inclusive of GST) and can be purchased directly from the insurers through their respective websites.
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