Options for Outpatient Insurance in Singapore

Hospitalisation insurance is very common in Singapore. But normal hospitalisation insurance does not cover outpatient expenses. My clients ask me frequently, what insurance should I buy to cover outpatient costs? The answer to this question is not so straight-forward as hospitalisation insurance. Let me answer from three perspectives.

1. Accidental Medical Expenses Insurance

This is the outpatient coverage purchased by most individual clients. It can cover outpatient medical expenses for accidental injury such as sprain and falling. The outpatient entities include General Practitioners, Accident and Emergency Clinics, Specialists, Certified Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners, and Certified Physiotherapists, etc. This type of insurance is value for money. It is a common complement for hospitalisation insurance.

2. Company Group Outpatient Insurance

Many large and medium companies in Singapore purchase group outpatient insurance for their employees. It at least covers General Practitioners, Accident and Emergency Clinics, and Specialists. The advantage for companies to get this type insurance is that they can utilise the economies of scale brought by the large number of employees to reduce the cost of insurance per person.

3. Outpatient Benefit as a Rider for Private Hospitalisation Insurance

Some private hospitalisation insurance offer clients an option to add outpatient benefit as a rider. Unfortunately, there is no such an option for Integrated Shield Plans, which are commonly purchased by Singapore residents as hospitalisation insurance. So only few clients take up this option.

After going through the three perspectives above, we can conclude that there is no standalone outpatient insurance (covering both accidental and non-accidental outpatient expenses) offered by the insurance companies in Singapore. Most clients purchase accidental medical expenses insurance for themselves, or utilise the group outpatient insurance offered by the employers, or take both. The reason for taking both is that under the group outpatient insurance system, the employee has to get a referral letter from General Practitioners in order to visit Specialists. And it usually doesn’t cover Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment or Physiotherapy. However, when a person gets injured, he or she usually wishes to visit a Specialist, a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner or a Physiotherapist for quick recovery. In this case, accidental medical expenses insurance and company group outpatient insurance are not duplicated.

You are welcome to contact me for further inquiries.

P.S. I’m Tony, Your one stop trustworthy financial service provider. Find Out More …