Best Travel Insurance Plans for Road Trips

When it comes to road trips, there are certain coverages you'll need to pay closer attention to. Find out what they are and check out the best travel insurance plans to hit the roads!

Best Road Trip Travel Insurance: Allianz Travel Insurance | Allied World Travel Insurance | FWD Travel Insurance | MSIG TravelEasy | Singlife Travel Insurance | Starr Travel Insurance

Best Travel Insurance: TIQ Travel Insurance | MSIG TravelEasy | Allianz Travel Insurance | Ergo TravelProtect | Singlife Travel Insurance | Sompo Travel Insurance | Tokio Marine Travel Insurance | Allied World Travel Insurance | Starr Travel Insurance | FWD Travel Insurance | AIG Travel Guard

For the most part, travel insurance plans do a good job of covering you against the common risks of overseas travel. But if you are planning to take a road trip, there are some things that travel insurance might not cover you for.

Hence, you’ll likely need to purchase the relevant add-ons to get the coverage you need. Here’s how you can properly insure yourself when going on your long-awaited road trips, complete with car-karaoke and HTHT sessions.

Table of contents:

• Travel insurance promotions
• Insuring yourself on road trips
  • Travel insurance
  • Car rental insurance
• Best travel insurance plans for road trips
  • Allianz Travel Insurance
  • Singlife Travel Insurance

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Travel insurance promotions

SingSaver's Best Price Travel Campaign: All successful applicants of participating Travel Insurance products will receive 1x draw chance to enter our weekly lucky draw where 1 lucky winner will stand to have their flight ticket reimbursed (up to a maximum of $2,000). Valid till 31 July 2023. T&Cs apply.

Travel Insurance	Premium for Individual Cover	Covid-19 Coverage	Promotion
Allianz Travel Insurance Apply Now	from S$34.10 (for 1 week in Asean)	Yes	Use promo code AzSSV to get a 45% discount (Exclusive to SingSaver) and up to $60 via PayNow. Valid till 30 June 2023. T&Cs apply
MSIG Travel Easy Apply Now	from S$34.10 (for 1 week in Asean)	Yes	Score an Airalo eSIM with 1GB data and receive it within 4 working days when you apply now! Valid till 12 June 2023. T&Cs apply.   Enjoy 40% off your Single Trip premium and 20% off your Annual Trip premium. Plus, receive up to S$38 via PayNow when you apply. Valid till 31 July 2023. T&Cs apply.
Etiqa (TIQ) Travel Insurance Apply Now	from S$39 (for 1 week in Asean)	Yes	Single Trip: Use promo code TIQSINGSAVER to enjoy 40% off when you apply. Annual Trip: Use the promo code TIQSINGSAVER to enjoy a 60% discount and S$20 cashback on your COVID-19 add-on. Valid till 18 June 2023. T&Cs apply.
Starr TraveLead Travel Insurance Apply Now	from S$11.05 (for 1 week in Asean)	Yes	Use the promo code SSVTL35 to enjoy up to S$48 via PayNow, a 35% discount, plus an exclusive Agoda promo code. Valid till 30 June 2023. T&Cs apply.
FWD Travel Insurance Apply Now	from S$22.50 (for 1 week in Asean)	Yes	Score an Airalo eSIM with 1GB data and receive it before you travel! Valid till 2 July 2023. T&Cs apply.   Use the promo code TRAVEL25 to get 25% off on Single Trip and Annual Trip plans. Valid till 5 June 2023. T&Cs apply.
AIG Travel Guard® Direct  Apply Now	from S$30 (for 1 week in Asean)	Yes	Score an Airalo eSIM with 1GB data and receive it within 4 working days when you apply now! Valid till 16 June 2023. T&Cs apply.   Single Trip: Use promo code SSFLASHSALE to get 10% off and up to $50 Dairy Farm eVoucher (fulfillment by AIG). Valid till 30 June 2023. T&Cs apply.

Find the Best Travel Insurance for You

Insuring yourself on road trips

Before we start, let’s establish the context for the discussion to follow. When going on a road trip, there are two forms of insurance you need – travel insurance and rental car insurance. While there may be areas of overlap, it may be more prudent to consider each one separately. 

Here are the differences between the two:

Travel insurance	Rental car insurance
Provides cover for you, your passengers, and your belongings	Provides cover for your rental car, as well as third party liability
Benefits include personal accident, overseas medical, luggage and travel disruption/cancellation	Benefits may include loss or damage of rental car, emergency assistance and evacuation, overseas medical expenses, personal accident
Purchased on your own from insurer of your choice	May be offered by rental car company, or independent vendor

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Travel insurance

Travel insurance plans typically provide personal accident cover and overseas medical benefits, which account for two of the most important areas of coverage when taking road trips overseas. 

A travel insurance will safeguard you against any medical expenses you incur, as a result of any injury or illnesses from your trip.

If you're on a road trip, it's best to get a travel insurance with high medical expenses coverage in the event of the unfortunate happens. Though we wish that no claims will be required to make, it's better to be safe than sorry.

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Rental car insurance

As you will very likely be driving a rental vehicle, there is one other area of coverage you shouldn’t miss out on – insurance for your rental vehicle. 

It sounds counterintuitive, but rental cars don’t come with very much by way of insurance. Car rental companies are only required to provide third-party liability, which only covers you against claims made by someone injured in a traffic accident involving your rental car. 

That means that you’re on the hook for all other loss and/or damage to the vehicle during the rental period, which can open you up to some pretty nasty bill shocks should someone rear-end you, break into your parked car, set it on fire, steal and thrash it in a joyride, etc. 

You may be able to use your regular car insurance plan (the one for the car you are driving in Singapore) to settle the rental company’s claims, but doing that will mean losing your No-Claims Discount (NCD). 

More insidiously, it will also subject you to premium loading – industry speak for upwards adjustment of your premiums upon the next renewal – independent of your NCD penalty. 

Hence, when going on a road trip, you need to make sure you have adequate cover against loss or damage of your rental car. This means that you should consider adding-on benefits such as:

• Collision, loss or damage waiver (although there still may be excess charges)
• Windscreen, windows and tyre repairs and replacements
• Relocation and towing benefits
• Theft protection

Different car rental companies offer some form or combination of these (and other) benefits, so be sure to check with them directly for personalised advice. 

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Compare Best Travel Insurance

Best travel insurance plans for road trips

Product	Product benefits highlights	Rental vehicle excess	Apply
Allianz Travel Insurance Platinum Plan Apply Now	Up to S$200,000 travel accident coverage   Up to S$1,000,000 overseas medical and dental expenses	S$3,000	Apply Now
Allied World Travel Protector Plan 3 Apply Now	Up to S$750 rental vehicle access   Up to S$500,000 personal accident coverage   Up to S$500,000 overseas medical expenses	S$750	Apply Now
FWD First - Asean (Annual) Apply Now	Up to S$400,000 death or permanent disability caused by accident Up to S$1,000,000 overseas medical expenses	S$1,000	Apply Now
MSIG Premier Plan Apply Now	Up to S$500,000 accidental death and permanent disability Up to S$1,000,000 overseas medical expenses	S$1,500	Apply Now
Singlife Travel Prestige Apply Now	Up to S$500,000 accidental death and permanent disability Up to unlimited overseas medical expenses	S$2,500	Apply Now
Starr TraveLead Gold Plan - Worldwide (Annual) Apply Now	Up to S$500,000 accidental death and permanent disability Up to S$1,000,000 overseas medical expenses	S$1,200	Apply Now

So, rental car insurance really should be considered separately, but does that mean that travel insurance policies are completely unrelated? Not exactly. 

You see, collision, loss or damage waivers may still include an excess charge, which is payable out of your own pocket. (You can opt for a higher-cost rental insurance plan that completely absorbs the excess charges, but not all rental companies may offer them.)

However, with a travel insurance plan that offers rental excess cover, you can reduce this extra expense, or even stave it off completely. 

Of course, car rental excess cover alone isn’t the only thing you should consider when choosing a travel insurance plan, so remember to examine the rest of the benefits in these two plans before making your choice. 

Two such plans are Allianz Travel Insurance, and Singlife Travel Insurance. Both offer car rental excess cover, as follows:

• Allianz Travel Insurance: Up to S$3,000
• Singlife Travel Insurance: Up to S$2,500

Best road trip travel insurance: Allianz Travel Insurance

When it comes to rental vehicle excess, Allianz emerges as the top with the highest coverage of up to S$3,000 when you purchase their Platinum plan.

They also have very decent coverage in other areas. For overseas medical and dental expenses, you can claim up to S$1,000,000, while personal accident will cover you up to S$200,000.

For travel inconveniences like trip cancellation or trip disruption, you can expect to claim up to S$15,000. For travel delays, you get S$200 for every 6 hours, up to S$2,000. Baggage lost, damaged or stolen can be claimed up to S$7,000, while baggage delays allow you to claim S$400 for every 6 hours, up to S$1,400.

Bonus mention: Singlife Travel Insurance

Singlife travel insurance is a strong contender when it comes to road trips, boasting high coverage for both rental vehicle excess and medical expenses.

For rental vehicle excess, they come close to Allianz of up to S$2,500 if you purchase their Prestige plan. They offer coverage of up to S$500,000 for accidental death and permanent disability, and up to unlimited coverage for overseas medical expenses — the highest coverage on the list so far.

You can claim up to S$20,000 trip cancellations, and they have this nifty coverage of up to S$2,000 for trip cancellations for any reason, with no questions asked.

You can claim S$100 for every 6 hours of travel delay, up to S$2,000, while you can claim S$200 for every 6 hours for baggage delay overseas and S$150 for every 6 hours for baggage delay in Singapore, up to S$2,000.

Conclusion: Always check with your insurer

The tricky thing about travel insurance is working out what events and occurrences your plan will actually cover, and under what circumstances. 

This can be further complicated by the fact that different insurers have different exclusions, which means that between two similar-looking plans, maybe only one will give you the cover you actually need. 

But fret not, confirming whether a particular travel plan is right for you is relatively simple. Just contact the insurance company, tell them exactly what you will be doing on your trip, and ask them to confirm if the plan will cover you. They’ll tell you yes or no – and suggest alternatives or add-ons in the latter scenario. 

And while you’re at it, might as well ask them if they allow double indemnity; i.e., whether you can make a claim on your plan if you are also claiming against your licensed guide, travel agent or relevant third party.

Yes, all that sounds like quite a bit of work just for a holiday, but the clearer you are about your coverage, the more you will be able to enjoy your road trip, water sports or extreme sports holiday.

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