Travel Insurance Comparison: Singlife vs FWD vs MSIG

We compare plans from three popular travel insurance providers – Singlife, FWD and MSIG – across five key areas. Which one gives you the best bang for your buck?

The challenge in comparing travel insurance plans stems from how different insurers offer different coverage and benefits. It’s no different with Singlife, FWD and MSIG, which are three popular choices among travellers. 

In this article, we’re taking a deep dive into travel plans from these three providers, comparing common benefits across five key areas: 

• personal accident and overseas medical coverage
• COVID-19 cover
• trip cancellation and disruptions
• luggage and personal belongings
• other features and optional add-ons

Important note: For the sake of brevity, the following tables contain selected key benefits only; for the full range of benefits, consult the respective product brochures. 

Also, the figures displayed in the tables below are the maximum benefit allowed under the highest-tier plan. Be aware that sub-limits may apply, and that some benefits may not be offered for lower-tier plans.

Compare Best Travel Insurance

Personal accident and overseas medical coverage

Travel insurance plan	Key benefits
Singlife Travel Insurance	Accidental death and disablement: S$500,000 Public transport double indemnity: Yes Overseas medical expenses: Unlimited (S$8,000 for pregnancy-related events) Medical expenses in Singapore: S$80,000 Emergency evacuation and repatriation: Unlimited
FWD Travel Insurance	Accidental death and disablement: S$400,000 Public transport double indemnity: n/a Overseas medical expenses: S$1 million Medical expenses in Singapore: S$30,000 Emergency evacuation and repatriation: Unlimited
MSIG TravelEasy	Accidental death and disablement: S$500,000 Public transport double indemnity: Yes Overseas medical expenses: S$1 million Medical expenses in Singapore: S$75,000 Emergency evacuation and repatriation: S$1 million

MSIG TravelEasy and Singlife Travel Insurance both offer higher maximum payouts for personal accident cover, at up to S$500,000 per individual. 

This can potentially be doubled should the accident take place on public transport, meaning that payouts can reach S$1 million per person. 

FWD Travel Insurance pays out at most S$400,000 for this benefit, and there is no double indemnity for public transport. 

The other important coverage here is the amount of overseas medical expenses you claim for. The winner here is Singlife, which offers unlimited coverage for this benefit for the highest tier plan, and up to S$2 million for the second-highest tier. 

Meanwhile, FWD and MSIG both offer up to S$1 million coverage for overseas medical expenses. 

As for follow-up medical treatment upon returning to Singapore, Singlife and MSIG both take the lead, offering up to S$80,000 and S$75,000 in benefits respectively. FWD comes in at a distant third, with up to S$30,000 coverage.

Lastly, all three plans include emergency evacuation and repatriation up to unlimited cover, or in MSIG’s case, up to S$1 million – which should be more than sufficient in most cases.

Apply for MSIG's travel insurance now for your next trip!

COVID-19 cover

Travel insurance plan	Key benefits
Singlife Travel Insurance	Overseas medical expenses: S$200,000 Emergency evacuation and repatriation: Unlimited Overseas quarantine allowance: S$100 per 24 hours, max. S$2,000 Trip cancellation or postponement: S$2,000 Trip interruption: S$2,000
FWD Travel Insurance (paid add-on)	Overseas medical expenses: S$200,000 Emergency evacuation and repatriation: S$200,000 Hospital cash benefit: S$100 per 24 hours, max. S$1,400  Overseas quarantine allowance: S$50 per 24 hours, max. S$700 Trip cancellation or postponement: S$5,000 Trip interruption: S$5,000
MSIG TravelEasy	Overseas medical expenses: S$250,000 Emergency evacuation and repatriation: S$1 million Hospital cash benefit: n/a Overseas quarantine allowance: S$100 per 24 hours, max. S$1,400 Trip cancellation: S$5,000 Trip postponement: S$1,500 Trip interruption: S$5,000

The important thing to realise here is that while MSIG and Singlife automatically include COVID-19 in their plans, FWD does not. 

If you’re an FWD customer and want COVID-19 cover, you’ll have to purchase the COVID-19 Enhanced Travel Benefits add-on. Given the comparatively lightweight nature of the FWD Travel Insurance plan, this may prove to be a dealbreaker for some. 

Looking past that, which of the three insurers offer the highest COVID-19 coverage? MSIG came up ahead with a maximum of S$250,000 in coverage for overseas medical expenses, along with up to S$1,400 in overseas quarantine allowance. 

Singlife and FWD both provide slightly lower overseas medical cover of up to S$200,000. However, Singlife offers a quarantine allowance of up to S$2,000, whereas FWD only offers up to S$700. 

The other key benefit for COVID-19 cover lies in the reimbursement for cancelling or curtailing your trip. Here, MSIG and FWD both offer up to S$5,000 in benefits, while Singlife lags behind with up to $2,000 in coverage.

Apply for Singlife's travel insurance now!

Trip cancellation or interruption

Travel insurance plan	Key benefits
Singlife Travel Insurance	Trip cancellation: S$20,000  Trip postponement: S$3,000 Early return: S$15,000 Change in itinerary: S$3,000 Travel delay: S$100 per 6 hours, max. S$2,000
FWD Travel Insurance	Trip cancellation: S$15,000  Trip postponement: S$1,500 Early return: S$15,000 Trip diversions and travel delay: S$100 per 6 hours, max. S$1,000 Missed connections: S$100 per 6 hours, max. S$500
MSIG TravelEasy	Trip cancellation: S$15,000  Trip postponement: S$2,000 Early return: S$15,000 Trip diversions and travel delay: S$100 per 6 hours, max. S$1,500 Overbooked flights and missed connections: S$200 per 6 hours, max. S$400

What about for regular, non-COVID-related trip cancellations, such as emergencies, death in the family or sudden illness?

In this area, Singlife takes the lead with up to S$20,000 in coverage for trip cancellations, while MISG and FWD comes close with up to S$15,000 cover. All three insurers provide benefits if you need to postpone the commencement of your trip, ranging from up to S$3,000 for Singlife, up to S$2,000 for MSIG, and up to S$1,500 for FWD. 

However, should you be forced to cut your trip short and come back early, all three insurers cover you for up to S$15,000.

In terms of travel delays, Singlife offers the highest benefits of up to S$2,000, followed by MSIG at S$1,500 and FWD at S$1,000.

Apply now for FWD's travel insurance!

Luggage and personal belongings 

Travel insurance plan	Key benefits
Singlife Travel Insurance	Delayed baggage: S$200 per 6 hours overseas or S$150 per 6 hours in Singapore, max. S$2,000 Loss of baggage: S$8,000 Loss of valuables: S$3,000 (S$500 for cash or bank notes) Loss of passport or travel documents: S$5,000 Fraudulent use of credit card: S$1,000
FWD Travel Insurance	Delayed baggage: S$150 per 6 hours, max. S$900 Loss of baggage: S$7,500 Loss of passport, travel documents or cash: S$1,000 (S$300 for cash) Fraudulent use of credit card: S$1,000
MSIG TravelEasy	Delayed baggage: S$250 per 6 hours, max. S$1,500 Loss of baggage: S$7,500 Loss of cash: S$500 Loss of passport or travel documents: S$5,000 Fraudulent use of credit card: S$3,000

For loss or damage to luggage, all three plans offer similar levels of benefits, with Singlife pulling slightly ahead with up to S$8,000 in coverage, while the other two insurers offer up to S$7,500. 

Delayed luggage is another (unfortunately too common) risk faced by travellers, so having higher coverage may prove useful. MSIG offers the highest rate of S$250 for every 6 hours your luggage is delayed, although the maximum payout is capped at S$1,500. 

Meanwhile, Singlife offers up to S$200 per 6-hour block (maximum of S$2,000), and FWD offers up to S$150 per 6-hour block (maximum of S$900).

In the case of lost passport or travel documents, Singlife and MSIG policyholders will be covered for up to S$5,000 in benefits. For FWD policyholders, the maximum cover is S$1,000. 

Fraudulent credit card use is also covered in all three plans, to the tune of S$3,000 for MSIG, and S$1,000 for both FWD and Singlife.

Other features and optional add-ons 

Travel insurance plan	Key benefits
Singlife Travel Insurance	Pre-existing conditions: n/a Rental vehicle excess: S$2,500 Home contents: S$15,000 Pet care: S$50 per 24 hours of extended stay in petcare facility, max. S$1,000 Automatic extension of cover: 30 days Optional add-ons: Overseas wedding and photoshoots Golf holiday Winter sports Adventurous water sports
FWD Travel Insurance	Pre-existing conditions: n/a Rental vehicle excess: S$1,000 Automatic extension of cover: 21 days Optional add-ons: Pet care Sports equipment protector Home contents cover
MSIG TravelEasy	Pre-existing conditions: yes Rental vehicle excess: S$1,500 Wedding clothes and accessories: S$3,500 Automatic extension of cover: yes Adventurous activities: covered Golfer’s cover: S$1,500 Home contents: S$15,000 Pet care: S$75 per day, max. S$750 Unused entertainment ticket: S$1,000

The most important difference here is that MSIG is the only insurer out of the three that covers pre-existing conditions. You’ll need to look for the TravelEasy Pre-Ex version, but this is only available for single trips not more than 30 days. 

Another difference is that MSIG doesn't have any optional add-ons. Instead, the plan includes even fairly niche benefits such as wedding clothes and golfing equipment cover.  This may not sit well with those who do not believe in paying for insurance cover they do not need.

Rental vehicle excess is included by default in all three plans – up to S$2,500 for Singlife, up to S$1,500 for MSIG and up to S$1,000 for FWD. 

Home contents cover of up to S$15,000 is included by both Singlife and MSIG, whereas in FWD’s case, it’s available as an add-on.

Singlife, FWD or MSIG – Which one should you choose? 

Let’s quickly compare the premiums for these three plans, for a single-traveller, single-trip plan, over a 6-day trip. We’re picking the highest tier for each insurer, and going with the non-pre-ex version for MSIG. 

Singlife	S$91.75
FWD	S$79.89  - S$62.40 + S$17.49 (COVID-19 cover)
MSIG	S$71.77

Based on the trip parameters we chose, it appears that MSIG offers the best balance between cost and coverage, which is always the sweet spot we want to look for when it comes to insurance. That it also happens to be the most affordable option is just the icing on the cake.  

Singlife offers some of the highest coverage limits, but you’ll need to pay a higher price. 

Alas, FWD took themselves out of the running by making COVID-19 cover a paid add-on, while offering a less robust suite of coverage and lower benefits in comparison. 

Otherwise, the lower cost of the plan might still have preserved the plan as a viable choice in the eyes of bargain hunters. 

Read these next:
Best Travel Insurance Plans And Promotions In Singapore
Best Covid-19 Travel Insurance Plans (2023)
Travel Insurance Guide: Five Things All Travellers Must Know
Travel Insurance For Cruise To Nowhere In Singapore
Travel Insurance Add-ons: Which Ones Are Worth Your Money?