If you already have children or are planning to have children soon, it’s important to ensure that they are fully protected in all aspects of their life. This of course includes physical concerns such as babyproofing your home, but you should also focus on non-tangible areas like saving up for their education, and ensuring you have sufficient finances in case of emergencies.

One way to financially protect your growing family is by having comprehensive health insurance plans for you, your spouse, your children, and any other dependents. This provides your loved ones with a safety net during an unexpected crisis, and gives you more options when accessing healthcare or hospitalisation options as well. Here’s how you can choose the right health insurance for families in Singapore:

1. Prenatal or maternity insurance

It’s best to start preparing for your family’s future even before your child is born. 

Prenatal or maternity insurance plans are a type of health insurance specifically intended for pregnant women, and are meant to cover health and medical concerns related to pregnancy. These plans offer coverage for a range of pregnancy complications that could threaten the mother or baby’s health, medical care or hospitalisation benefits, and even coverage for congenital conditions in your newborn (depending on the terms of the policy). 

Common coverage in such plans may include:

• Pre-labour complications (e.g. Abruptio Placentae, Preeclampsia, Eclampsia)
• Labour or delivery complications (e.g. Amniotic Fluid Embolism, Postpartum Haemorrhage)
• Stillbirth
• Congenital illnesses in newborns requiring immediate medical care (e.g. Cerebral Palsy, Cleft Lip/Palate, Spina Bifida, Transposition of Great Vessel)
  

This coverage may take the forms of medical reimbursement, lump sum payments, hospital benefits, or options to convert to a life insurance plan. As the terms laid out in these types of insurance are highly specific and do not extend to generic pregnancy-related concerns (e.g. regular checkups or scans), it is recommended to purchase prenatal or maternity insurance on top of your existing health insurance policies.

While no parent wants to consider the worst case scenario, it’s important to remember that pregnancy and childbirth do always carry some level of risk for both mother and baby – even in a country like Singapore with advanced medical facilities. Having prenatal insurance can help give you peace of mind throughout your pregnancy and postpartum recovery period, just in case anything unexpected happens.

2. Integrated Shield Plans

Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) are fortunate to have access to basic health insurance from birth via MediShield Life. However, many parents may choose to boost their coverage by opting for additional Integrated Shield Plans (IPs). IPs give you access to greater choices and comfort when you require medical care or hospitalisation, such as allowing you to stay in higher-class wards in selected healthcare institutions.

This can be especially useful in the first few years of your child’s life while their immune system is still developing. While adults can fight off coughs, fevers, or colds within a few days, these same conditions can be serious or life-threatening for newborns, infants, and toddlers. IPs enable you to seek quality medical care for your child in such situations without worrying about paying for mounting hospital fees.

3. Personal Accident Insurance

While PA insurance is separate from health insurance, it can help offset hefty bills if your child requires medical care or hospitalisation after an unexpected fall or even a vehicle accident. Most people hear about Personal Accident (PA) insurance and what first comes to mind might be an adult involved in a workplace or car accident. 

However, children are just as susceptible to unexpected accidents whether at home or when out and about in the world. Some PA insurance policies even include specific coverage for diseases such as Hand Foot Mouth Disease (HFMD), or injuries such as food poisoning and falls at home that are common in young children. This can go a long way during one-off unexpected events, giving you medical benefits on top of your basic health insurance coverage.

Protect Your Growing Family Today

Finding the right health insurance or other types of insurance plans for your family can feel daunting at first, especially with the vast number of insurance providers available to choose from in Singapore. Additionally, you don’t want to have to deal with complicated medical terminology and confusing policy terms on top of preparing for your baby’s arrival in the world. MoneySmart makes it easy to select the best and most relevant health insurance policies for your family. Conveniently compare different insurance plans across multiple providers on MoneySmart’s platform so you can find the right plan that offers the best coverage for your family’s needs.