Quote:
Originally Posted by Hurricane88
Thanks for highlighting travel insurance...this is good but no good for immediate...travel insurance cannot give you immediate medical care...you need to deposit cash...travel insurance is good after you recovered and claim the expenses...  |
You are very wrong on this.
It depends on the travel insurance. Some refund expenses, some other advance all expenses directly to the hospital, ambulance service, etc.
My travel insurance (I pay 400+ SGD/year from my own pocket, and my company does not refund it because they have another insurance, but I prefer to be double covered rather than being unsure) gives me:
- coverage in all countries of the world except USA/Canada (because there hospitals are among most expensive in the world);
- for as many trips per year as I wish
- direct payment to hospitals, ambulance, helicopters, flight, whatever, up to maximum 2 or 3 millions SGD (I do not remember exactly);
- 24/24 emergency call center, to coordinate assistance, contact hospitals, call local doctors, decide for evacuation, etc. etc. (without calling the number and their coordination, advance payment to hospital and assistance is not given).
Please note that it is possible also to get an insurance per each single trip, but if you travel more than 2-3 times a year it is not convenient. To give an idea, a similar insurance for a single trip to Singapore/Batam/Malaysia lasting say 10 days would cost me on the order of 100-150 SGD.
I must say that so far I must have paid this insurance for, say, the last 5-10 years, but fortunately I have never needed it, except once when in Ecuador I fell very sick for some flue or food poisoning. I called the 24/24 number, they provided me medical counseling via phone, offered to take me to an hospital if the situation would have got worse, advised what medicine to take. Fortunately the situation solved in a couple of days. One week later I was back to my country, and they called me again to be sure everything was fine and if I needed anything else.
It is not an exception. Most travel insurances by major insurance companies offer the same. The difference is on the prices, max coverage, countries, etc.
I do not know what to recommend to a Singaporean who, at most, travels to Batam, but in case of repeated travels abroad a good insurance is a must.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hurricane88
Many foreign hospital do not provide any medical assistance if they do not see cash deposited into the hospital during admission for foreigners... |
Cash deposit, credit card with enough capacity, or a
travel insurance which guarantees direct payment.