What do you think of when you hear the acronym “NTUC”? The FairPrice supermarket, of course, said any self-respecting aunt. But ordinary travelers can also opt for NTUC Income’s popular travel insurance plan, as it is one of the largest travel insurance providers in Singapore.
However, NTUC Income insurance plans are also reputed to be expensive. Some Internet users also complain about the difficulty of filing claims.
Are those rumors true? Let’s get out once and for all.
NTUC Income has two travel insurance plans:
Each insurance plan is further subdivided into 3 plan levels that offer other degrees of coverage:
The premiums your travel insurance pays depend largely on the country you are traveling to. Usually, the farther away your destination country is, the more expensive your travel insurance will be. These are the countries covered by NTUC travel insurance:
Countries covered: Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia, Sudan, Syria
Here’s a quick look at the premiums and coverage for the NTUC Travel Insurance Standard plans:
Between $250,000 and $1,000,000, NTUC Insurance’s overseas medical policy is generous compared to some of its competitors, such as Sompo Travel Insurance’s overseas medical limit between $200,000 and $400,000.
However, please note that Emergency Medical Evacuation has the same overseas medical claims limit for seniors aged 70 and over, which may not be enough if you are in this age range, experiencing an adverse medical situation abroad, and need immediate care and a medical flight back to Singapore. If medical insurance is vital to you, FWD travel insurance offers an unlimited policy for medical evacuation and repatriation.
One of the wonderful benefits of NTUC Income’s insurance is the premium vacation cancellation coverage, which ranges from $5,000 to $15,000. Other insurance providers might not be so generous. For example, Great Eastern offers between $2,000 and $15,000, while AIG offers between $2,500 and $15,000. .
NTUC Income is one of the few insurers in Singapore that offers comprehensive insurance plans that cover pre-existing fitness situations such as asthma, eczema, diabetes, high blood pressure, and even core diseases. The other two that cover pre-existing situations are MSIG insurance and Etiqa insurance.
The maximum apparent difference between a Pre-Ex insurance plan and a regular insurance plan is, of course, the price. The cheapest NTUC PreX plan costs more than twice the value of a regular NTUC insurance plan!
For those who have major health problems, you don’t have much of a choice. There’s no point buying a cheap normal insurance with no coverage for you at all because you definitely will not be able to claim medical expenses, evacuation costs or travel delays linked to a flare-up of your condition.
This is especially beneficial if your illness is life-threatening or if it is too expensive to treat abroad.
However, if you have a condition that’s pure suffering not immediately life-threatening, such as eczema, then it is your choice whether you want to spend more on Pre-Ex travel insurance for better coverage.
It’s important to look at the coverage limits if you’re seriously considering pre-existing travel insurance. Why? If you’re travelling to somewhere with really expensive healthcare, like Europe or the US, you might want to upgrade to the Enhanced PreX Prestige plan.
Is NTUC insurance useful for pre-existing fitness situations?For one, NTUC PreX insurance covers Covid-19, while MSIG Pre-Ex and Etiqa Pre-Ex do not cover it for Covid-19. So, if you need pre-existing fitness situations and Covid-19 coverage on your insurance, NTUC Enhanced PreX is your only option.
Although NTUC Pre-Ex insurance gives you Covid-19 cover, the problem is that it has reduced the medical benefits you get if you are 70 years or older.
For example, for Americans over the age of 70, NTUC PreX’s out-of-country emergency and medical evacuation coverage offers an overall claim limit of $500,000 for your plan basis point (compared to up to $250,000 in out-of-country medical expenses and $500,000 in medical evacuation policy for those under 70).
For comparison, MSIG Pre-Ex Fundamental offers $250,000 / $50,000 physicians (under 70 years / over 70 years of age) and $1,000,000 of evacuation regardless of age, while Etiqa Pre-Ex Fundamental offers $200,000 of physicians and $1,000,000 for the evacuation and repatriation of mortal remains.
Otherwise, NTUC PreX’s miscellaneous trip cancellation and baggage delay benefits are pretty good.
Whether you purchase NTUC Standard travel insurance or an NTUC Enhanced PreX travel insurance plan, have the relief of knowing that all NTUC travel insurance plans automatically come with Covid-19 coverage.
You may not find the Covid-19 policy chart in the same old wording of the NTUC insurance policy. Instead, there is a separate document with NTUC Covid-19 insurance policy formulas that you should refer to.
Few of us take a look at our insurance’s individual coverage limits, convinced that they cover the essentials.
The good news is that the Covid-19 extension of NTUC insurance is undeniable and appropriate. Take, for example, Covid-19 medical coverage abroad, NTUC provides $150,000 while MSIG’s fundamental plan provides $75,000. Then there’s the Covid-19 quarantine abroad money subsidy, which NTUC provides $100 a day, up to $1,400, but Etiqa’s fundamental plan provides $100 a day, up to $500 only.
Since our last review in July 2022, NTUC has updated its Travel Insurance policy to include more common vacation activities like scuba diving and skiing.
Still, thrill-seekers would probably have to opt for a more lenient insurance provider like Direct Asia Travel Insurance, which covers extreme sports and martial arts very well.
To be fair, NTUC insurance is sufficient if you need to approve snorkeling or sign up for a guided tour organization with an approved outdoor adventure operator. But if you’re an adrenaline junkie, you might need to take a look around.
If you’re thinking about getting NTUC insurance, it deserves to be compared to established family insurance providers like MSIG and Etiqa.
The three insurers, NTUC, MSIG and Etiqa, will automatically offer the Covid-19 policy in their insurance plans. Other plans that come with an automatic Covid-19 policy include Starr TraveLead Comprehensive, Bubblegum Travel Insurance, Singlife Travel Insurance, and DBS Chubb Travel. Sure.
In terms of medical expenses abroad, MSIG offers a policy comparable to NTUC’s insurance. When it comes to other related and logistical policies, such as vacation cancellation and lost luggage, NTUC and MSIG insurance plan policies are also more or less on par.
At the end of the day, NTUC and MSIG insurance plans are eerily similar and competitive. A key difference is the emergency medical evacuation policy for seniors aged 70 and over – NTUC insurance fleets that are below the overseas medical spending limit.
When you pit NTUC travel insurance against one of the most popular “budget” travel insurance providers, FWD, you’ll realise that the travel insurance offerings are very similar and competitive.
Between NTUC insurance and FWD insurance, the policy is really comparable if you are considering a basic insurance plan with the Covid-19 policy. However, FWD costs are lower even if you purchase the Covid-19 add-on.
At a glance, here’s how NTUC Income’s insurance compares to other leading insurers in Singapore.
Even though many Singaporeans probably don’t mind paying more for NTUC travel insurance just because it’s a household brand name, their travel insurance plans are actually pretty expensive.
However, with ongoing promotions like the existing forty-five percent off promotion, it can be good value for money. All popular packages that coincide with the holidays are eligible for the promotion. For example, if you need to stop at temples for a week in Myanmar, the cheapest Classic package will charge just $33. 55 after the discount. Here are the premiums paid with the existing forty-five% promotion:
In addition, Income is offering an additional 15per cent off Enhanced PreX per-trip plans with complimentary personal accident coverage for six months.
If you stick to insurance discussions on forums or even reach out to your friends about kopi-related insurance claims, you’ve probably heard about NTUC Income’s bad reputation when it comes to claims.
Unfortunately, online forums like Hardwarezone and Reddit are full of stories from users claiming that their NTUC insurance claims were slow, long, and fraught with difficulties. According to reports from users with NTUC claims, emphasis has been placed on the desire to submit originals. Bills.
To be honest, among those unsavory stories, there will also be the users who managed to file an NTUC insurance claim smoothly and won their checks in the mail.
So how do you make a claim? Your first stop will be to contact NTUC Income as soon as possible.
NTUC Travel Insurance Emergency hotline: Call the NTUC emergency assistance hotline at +65 6788 6616
This is where it gets confusing. You want to identify the type of claim you’re making and the “right” way to file it. Very important: All claims must be made within 30 days of the event or incident.
NTUC Travel insurance online claims: Submit NTUC travel insurance claims online with supporting documents such as invoice, flight itinerary, police report, etc. through their website. You can do so for the following benefits:
NTUC Paper Claims: For medical expenses, you must complete the NTUC Travel Insurance Claim Form and register the paper form along with supporting documents such as hospital bill, medical report, boarding pass, etc. , at an NTUC Income branch.
NTUC Email Claims: For claims that do not involve inconvenience (see above) or medical expenses (see above), you will need to complete the NTUC Travel Insurance Claim Form digitally and email it with your supporting documents to pcc@. Income. sg. Include your policy number in the subject line.
NTUC Claim Resolution Time: If there is no dispute, NTUC Income will resolve your claims within 10 business days or more in high-volume travel periods, such as school holidays.
NTUC insurance isn’t the cheapest on the market, but their regular insurance plans are very affordable and value for money when there’s a 45% promotion.
However, just because it’s a brand name doesn’t mean that their coverage is the highest in town, especially when you compare it with newcomers like FWD. That’s not a problem for most travellers though, unless you’re going to a super expensive country or encounter some unusual scenario.
For most Singaporeans who only need to eat, relax and unwind during the holidays, NTUC insurance is more than adequate, especially as it also provides protection against Covid-19. However, daredevils deserve to note that it doesn’t cover more exciting activities like mountaineering. and other excessive sports.
If you have a pre-existing medical condition, NTUC Enhanced PreX is one of the few insurance features that’s right for you. It’s expensive, of course, but it’s probably worth it if you have a life-threatening condition, such as asthma or downtown sickness. Make sure the plan is sufficient to cover your overseas and/or evacuation expenses.
READ ALSO: How Travel Insurance Can Protect Your Refund Rights in the Event of a Flight Cancellation or Delay
This article was first published on MoneySmart.