Baby Insurance. Protecting Their Future, Today.
Thinking about insurance for your newborn? It’s quite an overwhelming decision with numerous options and considerations. So, let’s break down some of the common types of insurance to think about for your baby, why you really want to secure policies early on, and a few worth considering.
Getting insurance for a newborn is only natural for some parents to feel like the next step in securing their future. To others, it may not make much sense for babies to be insured; after all, they are young and healthy, so what will they need to be insured for? Having insurance for the newborn may bring some much-needed financial protection and peace of mind. Let us look closer into four common kinds of insurances that many parents consider for their newborns and why these policies may be beneficial.
Best Insurance Plans for Newborns
You can insure your newborn in various ways in Singapore, from government-sponsored plans to private insurance coverage. If your child is a Singapore citizen or a Permanent Resident, they will be automatically covered under MediShield Life-a basic health insurance scheme administered by the CPF Board. This scheme covers the basic treatments for some major medical illnesses, helping to cover certain costs arising from hospitalization and selected treatments.
New parents may want to enhance their child’s basic MediShield Life insurance with other insurances, such as Personal Accident, Critical Illness, Endowment, and Integrated Shield Plans catering to newborns. Such policies sold by private insurers give additional coverage over and above MediShield Life coverage, allowing the access of patients to more hospitals with better medical benefits.
Give Your Little One a Secure Start with Baby Insurance
Our curated picks provide a balance of affordability and value, with coverage tailored to meet both immediate and long-term needs. Since many of these plans offer overlapping benefits, you may not need to invest in all four types—after all, a thoughtful approach ensures the right protection for your child without unnecessary costs. We’re here to help you prioritize, so you can rest assured knowing that your precious one is covered in all the ways that matter most.
Health Insurance
While basic health coverage in Singapore is afforded by MediShield Life, an Integrated Shield Plan offers your child higher health options, including all private hospitals for delivery and more comprehensive coverage. Early health insurance provides a better safety net for your baby, assuring that he or she will grow up protected with access to needed care if they were to fall ill.
Critical Illness Insurance
The insurance would serve as your cushion in the event that your child is diagnosed with a bad illness. This would be a sad but welcome support for the parents, who might then take some time off from work to care for the child without the stress of their lost income. A type of insurance like this could make the financial impact of a rather emotionally and financially trying time a little more bearable.
Personal Accident Insurance
Health insurance covers major treatments, whereas personal accident insurance regulates outpatient treatments and other sudden medical expenses due to minor injuries. An accident in childhood is a common phenomenon because children are naturally active and curious about different aspects of the world surrounding them. In that case, this kind of insurance helps you deal with those minor accidents without being concerned about extra medical bills.
Whole Life Insurance
Whole life insurance acts to fill in the role of forced savings by building up cash value over a period of time. This policy serves to provide lifelong coverage for your child, and in due course, the policy can be passed on as an asset. It is a very practical and meaningful way of building up a safety net that the children shall benefit from most part of their lives.
Don't Overpay for Baby Insurance
Choosing health insurance for a new baby may be a tough decision with all choices available in the market today. At InsuranceJobs, we understand how overwhelming this whole process can get, and hence we are here to make this process simpler for you.
We have done the research and compared the best health insurance for newborns in Singapore so that you won’t have to. We work directly with all the major insurers to make the latest plans available, so you are guaranteed the most comprehensive coverage available.
Our team carefully considers a wide range of policies, from mere basic health coverage to more premium plans, keeping in view every minute detail about the health needs of your newborn. Be it hospital cover, outpatient care, or even added advantages like cashless treatment privileges, we will guide you through selecting just the right policy-one that fits both your newborn’s needs and your budget.
We work hard to provide you with clear, concise comparisons where you can make the best choice without spending money on extras you may not need.
By signing up today, you’ll get a customized guide by one of our specialists in baby insurance, walking you through the latest health insurance policies available for newborns. Our expert advice ensures you make an informed decision and helps you secure the right coverage for your little one’s health while avoiding unnecessary costs.
Rest assured, it’s the protection your newborn needs and deserves, without having to hassle yourself through the angst of dealing with the insurance market on your own.
Why Health Insurance for My Child?
You might be asking yourself whether health insurance is really necessary since your child is already well. The surprising truth is that the fact your child is present in good health, and still young, makes this an ideal time to invest in coverage. Health insurance provides protection to your child against the unexpected, peace of mind for you, and a secure foundation for the future. Here is why it makes sense to consider it now:
Coverage for Unforeseen Medical Issues
The fact that children are prone to various illnesses and accidents, children are victims of medical needs and emergencies. In Singapore, Medisave covers up to $450 a day for hospitalization charges and $300 a day for surgical costs. In the case of more serious ones, this limit can be exceeded. Health insurance covers any difference in medical expenses beyond the above limit and thus provides a safety net so that you will not face an unexpectedly high out-of-pocket cost in the event of any emergency.
Full Coverage Without Exclusions
By securing health insurance early, you can obtain comprehensive coverage for your child without any exclusions. Insurers often don’t cover pre-existing conditions, so if you wait until a health issue arises, you may have limited options for coverage. Insuring your child now, while they are healthy and have no medical history, ensures that they will have complete protection. This means that if they do develop any health concerns later, their coverage will remain intact without restrictions.
Lower Premiums and Long-Term Savings
Since healthy and young children represent low risk for insurance, premiums are significantly lower. For health insurance at this stage, you can afford it, and you can pay the premiums using Medisave, without any out-of-pocket costs. Locking in these lower rates secures avoidance of the potentially astronomically increased premiums typical with age or health complications later in life.
Planning Your Future with an Endowment Plan
Besides that, health insurance can be a good way to secure your child’s future financial position with an endowment plan. An endowment insurance policy combines the benefits of insurance protection with long-term savings, leading to the build-up of funds that may eventually be required for paying the tuition fees of your children or any other important milestone in life. Beyond health protection, an endowment plan helps you save consistently and provides both security and financial flexibility for your child in the future.
About the Singapore Baby Bonus Scheme
The Baby Bonus Scheme is a Singapore government initiative to further help parents with the financial burden associated with raising each child. The two majors under this initiative, the Baby Bonus Cash Gift and the Child Development Account, are both for families but work in different ways.
Finally, every newborn Singaporean citizen qualifies for the MediSave Grant for Newborns at $4,000. For that, a CPF MediSave account will be automatically created for every child, and the grant will be credited into his account. The Medisave Grant can be used to pay for your child’s healthcare needs, which cover MediShield Life premiums, childhood vaccinations recommended under the National Childhood Immunisation Programme, hospitalisation charged to MediShield Life or Integrated Shield Plans, and approved outpatient treatments.
BBCG provides the cash payout for every six months, continuing until the child turns 6.5 years old. In addition, the amount is determined by birth order: for both first and second-order births, the amount is $11,000, and for third and higher-order births, the amount is $13,000. This gift would offer ongoing financial support to help defray the costs of early childhood.
The CDA is a dedicated savings account supplied by both parental and governmental contributions. All children automatically get a First Step Grant of $5,000 deposited into the CDA. In addition to the grant, the government will match, dollar for dollar, any subsequent parental contribution to the CDA, up to a cap that depends on birth order. This top-up in savings helps parents build up a stockpile of funds to be used for education and healthcare for their child.
Moreover, the child should be a Singapore Citizen, and his/her parents must be legally married for the child to qualify under the Baby Bonus Scheme.
Parents can apply for the scheme online through the LifeSG portal when they apply for birth registration or apply later. When the CDA is set up, parents can log in to manage their accounts via the online portal and/or mobile application of the bank linked to their CDA.
The funds in the CDA can be used for various expenses related to the child, such as approved childcare and educational services, medical bills, premiums for certain health insurance plans, assistive technology devices, and eye care products and services. This allows the funds to cover necessary developmental and health needs throughout the child’s early years.
At the age of 12, all unspent money in the CDA is transferred to a PSEA, which can be utilized for further education. Parents may continue depositing money into the CDA to maximize the government matching grant until they reach the cap or until the child turns 18 years old, whichever happens earlier.
For more details, parents can check their eligibility at go.gov.sg/bbeligibilitycheck. Additionally, they can view a list of approved institutions where CDA savings can be used on the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s website.
