Best Travel Insurance for Malaysia

Gearing up to resume your Malaysia getaways? Don’t forget to obtain travel insurance coverage. Here are four travel plans that offer a good balance between benefits and cost.  

Best travel insurance plans for travelling to Malaysia

Starr TraveLead Travel Insurance | FWD Travel Insurance | TIQ Travel Insurance | MSIG TravelEasy

Now that borders have fully opened and it seems we’re on the verge of the end of COVID-19 lockdowns (fingers tightly crossed), many of you may be resuming your regular travels be it a packaged trip to Japan or a short getaway to Malaysia for good food, affordable holidays and an all-around good time. Crossing the Causeway will soon (or may have already) become such a regular activity you wonder if you still need travel insurance if you drive into Malaysia.

Well friends, the answer is always “yes”, just on the off chance that something bad happens and you find yourself in need of emergency assistance or medical attention while in a foreign land. We know that looking for the best travel insurance plans can be tedious, especially when all you want is to get your holiday started already. Here’s a shortcut – start by checking out these four travel insurance plans for travelling to Malaysia. If short getaways are your cup of team, here’s also a guide to help you with getting your travel insurance for Bali - which is one of the most popular travel destinations for Singaporeans!

How to choose travel insurance for travel to Malaysia?

A general rule when getting travel insurance is to purchase a sufficient amount of coverage, not too much and not too little. 

What counts as “sufficient” depends on the country you are travelling to. Some countries have high medical expenses, which means you’ll need a higher level of coverage. Another factor is how accessible your location is – this is important if you should require emergency evacuation and/or repatriation of your remains. 

For travel to Malaysia, our currency advantage, coupled with relatively affordable healthcare costs, allows us to choose a lower level of medical coverage. 

In terms of evacuation, however, you’ll want to consider what kind of environs will your holiday activities take place in – evacuation from an emergency in a city setting is likely to be easier (and thus less costly) than say, having to be airlifted from the middle of the rainforest. 

Other than medical expenses and emergency evacuation, the other travel insurance benefits you’ll want to think about are around trip cancellation and personal belongings and luggage. 

Again, you are unlikely to require high coverage in these areas, as plane tickets and or coach rides to Malaysia are relatively cheap, and most likely your mobile phone is the most expensive of your personal belongings. 

In short, when travelling to Malaysia, you are likely to only require a basic level of travel insurance coverage. 

Four best travel insurance plans for tourists in Malaysia

*Based on single trip, 1 adult, over four days in Malaysia

Starr TraveLead Travel Insurance (Comprehensive) – Bronze 

Despite its low price, StarrLead Travel Insurance (Comprehensive) – Bronze offers a lot. 

You’ll get up to S$200,000 in overseas medical coverage (S$15,000 for COVID-19), and overseas hospital cash benefit of S$200 per day (capped at S$5,000). 

There’s also follow-up medical treatment benefits of up to S$15,000, and allowances for alternative treatments such as Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Physiotherapy and Chiropractic.

Emergency evacuation and/or repatriation coverage is unlimited, and there’s also a hospitalisation guarantee of up to S$7,000; the latter means you don’t have to scramble for a source of funds when admitting yourself or fellow traveller for treatment. 

Trip disruption benefits and personal luggage coverage are also generous (for the premium), with up to S$2,000 coverage for travel document loss and alternative accommodations (S$400 per day), and up to S$5,000 in trip curtailment benefits. 

As for personal belongings, you’ll be covered for up to S$3,000 – with S$1,400 sub-limit for laptops, and S$1,000 sub-limit for cameras. 

If you’re planning to rent a vehicle in Malaysia, there’s a S$500 rental excess waiver, which, while nice to have, is a little low and probably best beefed up with an additional policy. 

FWD Travel Insurance – Premium

FWD Travel Insurance is slightly costlier than Starr TraveLead (well, a lot more costly if you count the COVID-19 add-on), and offers a similar scope and level of coverage for travellers to Malaysia. 

You’ll get up to S$200,000 in overseas medical coverage (with overseas hospitalisation cash benefit of S$200/day, up to S$5,000); unlimited coverage for emergency evacuation and repatriation; up to S$7,500 cover for trip cancellation and up to S$3,000 cover for personal luggage (with S$1,000 sub-limit for laptop/tablet, and S$300 sub-limit for mobile phone). 

However, there’s no COVID-19 coverage bundled by default, and you’ll need to purchase that as an add on (at an additional S$11.06 in our example). 

Nevertheless, FWD Travel Insurance is noteworthy for its inclusion of personal accident cover; you’ll receive S$200,000 in benefits in case of accidental death or total and permanent disability. 

Those without a life policy or standalone personal accident plan should consider getting this plan just in case. 

TIQ Travel Insurance – Entry

TIQ is offering a 40%-off promotion on its Travel Insurance product, making it one of the cheapest insurance options for your trip to Malaysia. This is despite having to purchase COVID-19 cover as a separate add-on, which thankfully also included in the discount.

TIQ Travel Insurance – Entry offers a similar level of coverage as its contemporaries. The plan includes up to S$200,000 in overseas medical benefits (with overseas hospitalisation cash benefit of S$200/day, up to S$5,000 and hospital allowance in Singapore of S$50/day, up to S$500); up to S$1 million for emergency evacuation and repatriation; up to S$5,000 for trip cancellation and S$3,000 for travel curtailment.

For personal luggage, you’ll be covered for up to S$2,000 (with S$1,000 sub-limit for laptop, and S$250 sub-limit for all other items). Travel documents cover is low though, at just S$150. 

One noteworthy inclusion is the hijacking or kidnapping clause, which provides up to S$1,000 in benefits. This can be helpful if you meet with a carjacking while travelling in Malaysia. 

MSIG TravelEasy – Standard

Another good option for travel to Malaysia is MSIG TravelEasy – Standard, which provides S$250,000 in overseas medical cover (S$75,000 for COVID-19); this is the highest level of cover out of all four plans highlighted in this article. 

In addition, there’s also a further S$25,000 sum assured for follow-up medical expenses in Singapore, and S$5,000 for emergency dental benefits, making it one of the most robust travel plans in terms of medical coverage. 

Other areas of coverage aren’t too shabby either. You’ll get S$1 million cover for emergency evacuation and repatriation, as well as S$150,000 in personal accident benefits. It’s also worth pointing out that the higher tiers provide a larger sum assured, and a public transport double indemnity (which doubles the payout should accidental death arise from use of public transport). 

As for trip inconvenience,  you can receive up to S$5,000 for travel cancellation and for travel curtailment, while any disruptions to your travel plan entitle you to up to S$1,000 in compensation.

For personal items and documents, you’ll also receive up to S$3,000 cover for luggage (with S$1,000 sub-limit for laptop and tablet, and S$500 sub-limit for all other items), and up to S$2,000 for loss of travel documents.

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