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Income Travel Insurance Review: Pros and Cons, Fees, and More

Yen Joon

Yen Joon

Last updated 18 December, 2022

Income Travel Insurance is one of the few insurers in Singapore that provides coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. It also offers coverage for the usual suspects: trip cancellations, travel delays, personal accidents, and damages to personal belongings. Learn more in our review.

If you’re shopping around for a travel insurance plan, chances are that you’ve come across Income Travel Insurance. But that’s hardly surprising considering that it’s one of the biggest household names around.

What makes Income Travel Insurance stand out is that it’s one of the few insurance plans out there which offer coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. On top of that, you’ll also get coverage for COVID-19, along with overseas medical expenses, personal accidents, travel delays, trip cancellations, baggage loss, and more.

However, it’s also one of the most expensive insurance plans out there. So, is it worth splashing on? Let's find out!

Income Travel Insurance product summary

1. Coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and emergency evacuation (for Income Travel Insurance Enhanced PreX only)

Income is one of the three insurance providers in Singapore (the other two being MSIG and TIQ) that provides coverage pre-existing medical conditions. These include asthma, eczema, diabetes, epilepsy, high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.  

However, note that pre-existing condition coverage is only available under the Income Enhanced PreX plan (see the different types of plans and tiers below).

That said, it’s also worth noting that Income’s Travel Insurance plans combine overseas medical and emergency evacuation limits together, resulting in lower overall coverage. In contrast, both MSIG and TIQ offer separate limits for both claims. 



2. COVID-19 coverage

Travel Insurance also cover COVID-19-related inconveniences such as trip cancellations/postponements, medical expenses, quarantine allowance, evacuation costs, and more.

Also read: Best Travel Insurance Plans With COVID-19 Coverage

3. Sports coverage

While Income does provide coverage for sports, the coverage is quite limited. You get coverage for scuba diving and skiing, but not for other extreme sports/outdoor activities such as paragliding, skydiving, parachuting, bungee jumping, marathons, jet skiing, mountaineering, etc.

4. Coverage for overseas medical expenses, personal accidents, baggage loss, etc.

Aside from COVID-19 coverage, Income Travel Insurance also provides good coverage for various benefits, including personal accidents (up to $200,000), trip cancellations (up to S$15,000), baggage loss (up to S$8,000), travel delays (up to S$2,000), and more.  

 

Pros and cons

Pros

Cons

Coverage for pre-existing conditions (for Enhanced PreX plans only)

Overseas medical expenses and emergency evacuation limits are combined

Coverage for COVID-19

Pricier than most insurance plans

Higher-than-average coverage for trip cancellations, travel delays, and baggage loss

No coverage for extreme sports such as skydiving and bungee jumping

List of exclusions

  • Pre-existing conditions (except for PreX plans)

  • Pregnancy coverage

  • Cosmetic or elective surgery

  • Metastatic or terminal illness

  • Items taken/destroyed by customs officers

  • Extreme sports

  • Fragile items, attiques, dentures, artefacts

  • Baggage checked in separately or unattended items

  • Business goods

  • Sports equipment

You may see the full list of exclusions here.

 

Plan types

Income offers two travel insurance plans:

  • Income Travel Insurance Standard
  • Income Insurance Enhanced PreX

As previously mentioned, the difference is that the Enhanced PreX plans provide coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, while the Standard plans do not.

Both plans are further divided into three tiers, which provide different coverage amounts:

  • Income Travel Insurance Standard: Classic, Deluxe, and Preferred

  • Income Enhanced PreX: Basic PreX, Superior PreX, and Prestige PreX

Let’s take a look at the plans and coverage amount (per insured person for adults below 70 years old):

Income Travel Insurance Standard

Plan type

Classic

Deluxe

Preferred

Overseas medical expenses

S$250,000

S$300,000

S$350,000

Emergency medical evacuation

Combined with medical expenses

Combined with medical expenses

Combined with medical expenses

Personal accident

S$100,000

S$125,000

S$200,000

Travel delay (S$100 every six hours)

S$1,000

S$1,500

S$2,000

Trip cancellation

S$5,000

S$10,000

S$15,000

Baggage loss

S$3,000

S$5,000

S$8,000

Baggage delay (S$200 every six hours)

S$1,200

S$1,200

S$2,000

Sports coverage

Included

Included

Included

COVID-19 coverage

Included

Included

Included

Income’s Standard plans offer the standard (pun intended) coverages you’d expect from a travel insurance plan, including medical expenses, personal accidents, trip cancellations, and baggage delays.

On top of this, all their plans come included with COVID-19 benefits, which is something that isn’t available in most travel insurance plans.

Lastly, you’ll also get coverage for medical expenses ranging from S$250,000 to S$350,000.

However, while this is adequate for most, remember that the limit is shared with emergency medical evacuation, so the coverage may not be enough if you need emergency medical treatment and a flight back to Singapore.


SS_TI_REBOUNDTAG_BLOGARTICLE_KV2

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Income Enhanced PreX Travel Insurance plans

Plan type

Enhanced PreX Basic

Enhanced PreX Superior

Enhanced PreX Prestige

Overseas medical expenses

S$500,000

S$500,000

S$1,000,000

Overseas medical expenses, emergency evacuation and repatriation (for pre-existing conditions)

S$150,000

S$150,000

S$300,000

Emergency medical evacuation

Combined with medical expenses

Combined with medical expenses

Combined with medical expenses

Personal accident

S$200,000

S$200,000

S$500,000

Travel delay (S$100 every six hours)

S$1,500

S$1,500

S$2,000

Trip cancellation

S$10,000

S$10,000

S$15,000

Baggage loss/damage

S$5,000

S$5,000

S$8,000

Baggage delay (S$200 every six hours)

S$1,500

S$1,500

S$2,000

COVID-19 coverage

Included

Included

Included

Income’s PreX plans offer S$150,000 to S$300,000 to cover medical expenses and emergency evacuation. But as we’ve pointed out, the downside is that the limits for both are shared. You’ll also get coverage for overseas medical treatments, emergency evacuation, or travel inconveniences if they’re related to your pre-existing condition.

You can also claim up to 50% for travel inconveniences (cancellations, postponements, delays) if you buy their Superior or Prestige plans. Though, keep in mind that you need to co-pay 50% of the amount too, should you make a claim.

Pricing

Like many other travel insurance plans out there, the premiums are based on the plan and your travel destination. In general, the farther you travel, the higher the premium.

Income offers yearly and single-trip plans for both individuals and families. Here’s the list of countries/regions that are covered under Income:

ASEAN

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam

Asia

All ASEAN countries and Australia, China (except Mongolia and Tibet), Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Macau, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Taiwan

Worldwide

All countries

Countries not covered

Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia, Sudan, and Syria

Here are the premiums for its Standard and PreX plans:

Income Travel Insurance Standard

Income Travel Insurance plan type

Classic

Deluxe

Preferred

Price (ASEAN)

S$61 per week

S$75 per week

S$98 per week

Price (Asia)

S$70 per week

S$88 per week

S$122 per week

Price (global)

S$137 per week

S$156 per week

S$195 per week

Income Enhanced PreX

Income Travel Insurance plan type

PreX Basic

PreX Superior

PreX Prestige

Price (ASEAN)

S$102 per week

S$128 per week

S$149 per week

Price (Asia)

S$121 per week

S$156 per week

S$183 per week

Price (global)

S$194 per week

S$240 per week

S$277 per week

Not surprisingly, Income’s PreX plans are priced higher due to the pre-existing coverage. The cheapest PreX plan would cost you S$102 for a week for a trip to ASEAN countries.

Let’s see how Income compares against other popular travel insurance plans such as MSIG, FWD, and TIQ.

Income Travel Insurance vs MSIG TravelEasy vs FWD Travel Insurance vs TIQ Travel Insurance

Insurance plan

Income Travel Insurance

MSIG TravelEasy

FWD Travel Insurance

TIQ Travel Insurance

Price (per week)

S$61 to S$195

S$61 to S$205

S$30 to S$87.60

S$39 to S$72

Overseas medical expenses

S$250,000 to S$350,000

S$250,000 to S$1,000,000

S$200,000 to S$1,000,000

S$200,000 to S$1,000,000

Emergency evacuation

Combined with medical expenses

S$1,000,000

Unlimited

S$1,000,000 to S$1,800,000

Trip cancellation

S$5,000 to S$15,000

S$5,000 to S$15,000

S$7,500 to S$15,000

S$5,000 to S$10,000

Travel delay

S$1,000 to S$2,000

S$500 to S$1,500

S$300 to S$1,000 (S$100 every six hours)

S$300 to S$500

Buggage loss/ Loss of personal belongings

S$3,000 to S$8,000

S$3,000 to S$7,500

S$300 to S$1,000

S$2,000 to S$3,000

Buggage delay

$150 every six hours (max S$600)

S$200 every six hours (max S$1,000)

S$150 to S$900 (S$150 for every six hours)

S$200

COVID-19 coverage

Included

Included

Add-on

Add-on

Among the four, Income has the highest coverage for baggage loss, and its travel delay coverage is also higher than FWD and TIQ. For baggage delay, the coverage is pretty much similar across the board.

Conversely, MSIG, FWD and TIQ all offer higher overseas medical expenses and emergency evacuation coverage compared to Income. Income Travel Insurance is more expensive than FWD and TIQ, but slighter cheaper than MSIG.


FWD

FWD Travel Insurance Promotion: Use the promo code TRAVEL25 for Single or Annual Trip to get a 25% discount on your plan! Valid till 31 March 2023. T&Cs apply.


Income Enhanced PreX vs MSIG TravelEasy Pre-Ex vs TIQ Travel Insurance Pre-Ex

Insurance plan

Income Enhanced PreX

MSIG TravelEasy Pre-Ex

TIQ Travel Insurance Pre-Ex

Price (per week)

S$102 to S$277

S$70.50 to S$192.50

S$93 to S$254

Overseas medical expenses (for pre-ex conditions)

S$150,000 to S$300,000

S$75,000 to S$150,000

S$75,000 to S$150,000

Emergency evacuation (for pre-ex conditions)

Combined with medical expenses

S$100,000 to S$200,000

S$150,000 to S$200,000

Trip cancellation

S$10,000 to S$15,000

S$5,000 to S$15,000

S$5,000 to S$10,000

Travel delay

S$1,500 to S$2,000

S$750 to S$2,000

S$300 to S$500 (S$50 every three hours)

Baggage loss

S$5,000 to S$8,000

S$3,000 to S$7,500

S$2,000 to S$3,000

Baggage delay

S$1,500 to S$2,000

S$600 to S$1,500

S$200 (S$100 every six hours)

COVID-19 coverage (for pre-ex conditions)

Yes

No

Add-on

As mentioned, Income, MSIG, and TIQ are the only insurers in Singapore that provide coverage for pre-existing conditions at the moment.

As you can see, Income Income Enhanced PreX plans have the highest premiums among the three. However, you get better coverage for most categories, including trip cancellations, travel delays, and baggage delays. Additionally, it also comes included with COVID-19 benefits.

That said, the caveat is that the medical coverage is comparatively lower than its counterparts since the limit is combined with emergency evacuation.

For example, Income’s Enhanced PreX Basic’s overseas medical expenses and emergency evacuation have a combined coverage of S$500,000.

In contrast, MSIG TravelEasy Pre-Ex Standard offers S$500,000 for overseas medical expenses and S$1,000,000 for emergency evacuation.

On the other hand, TIQ Travel Insurance Pre-EX Entry offers S$200,000 and S$1,000,000 for overseas medical expenses and emergency evacuation respectively.

Therefore, if you’re on a budget or want higher medical coverage, then MSIG and TIQ travel insurance plans are better options. Though, remember that MSIG doesn’t provide any COVID-19 coverage while TIQ only has a COVID-19 add-on option.


TIQ-1Etiqa travel insurance provides protection for pre-existing condition, optional COVID-19 coverage, and also covers overseas medical expenses and follow-up treatment. It's also one of the best budget travel insurance around. 


How to make a claim

You can make a claim via Income’s claims hotline at +65 63381222. Alternatively, you can also make a claim by filling the online form with supporting documents including invoice, flight itinerary, police report, medical report, etc.

Otherwise, you can also drop an email to Income customer service team at pcc@income.com.sg.

Read these next:

Best Travel Insurance In Singapore
Which is Better: Individual Or Group Travel Insurance?
Best Travel Insurance Plans And Promotions In Singapore
Is Travel Insurance With COVID-19 Coverage Still Necessary?
Top 3 Things Travel Insurance Should Cover (And How Much is Enough)

In my past life, I was always broke because of a lack of financial literacy. Now, I publish a few posts every week* on personal finance to help you manage your money better. *I mean, I’ll try