Connect with us

General Insurance

How Does Pet Insurance Policies Work In Singapore?

Unlike you, your beloved pet does not have MediSave or MediShield to help offset medical bills.


This article was contributed to us by .

For pet owners in Singapore, an insurance policy to insure their pet against unexpected medical cost or third-party liability is something which they should consider getting. While pet insurance is a relatively new product in Singapore, more pet owners in Singapore are starting to see the benefit of getting insurance coverage for their pet.

In Singapore, most pet insurances cover your pet dog or cat.

What Does Pet Insurance Cover?

Pet insurance protects your pet, and by extension you as the pet owner, from hefty medical bills, third party liability and death or injury arising from accident or theft. Pet owners can submit their claim to their insurer in order to receive reimbursement for these claimable expenses or to receive a payout if an insured event occurs (e.g. death by accident to the pet).

Based on Liberty’s PetCare (Dog) insurance policy, we can take a look at some common coverage areas that you can enjoy when you buy an insurance policy that covers your pet dog or cat.

Accidental Death:The policy pays out a lump sum amount if your pet dog passes on due to an accident.

Accidental Injury: The policy provides a coverage for vet expenses arising due to an accidental injury.

Third Party Liability: A risk you should not underestimate is the liability that you may need to bear if you are found to be culpable for mischief caused by your pet. These include your pet damaging someone else’s property, or causing injury to someone.

Theft of Pet: If your pet is stolen from you, you may claim for an insurance payout.

Medical Benefits (Illness) – Veterinary Expenses: You can claim for both non-surgical and surgical veterinary expenses arising due to an illness.

Medical Benefits (Illness) – Other Coverages: You may also claim for other medical benefits expenses incurred such as Chemotherapy, room & boarding expenses and post-surgical expenses.

How Much Coverage Do You Need?

Taking the example of Liberty’s PetCare (Dog) insurance policy, we can see that there are three different levels of coverage that pet owners can choose from – Standard; Enhanced; Superior. Superior provides the most comprehensive coverage that pet owners can opt for, but also costs the most in terms of annual premium. Standard provides basic coverage but costs the least.

As with all insurance policies, the idea behind getting insured is to protect yourself against adverse losses. So determine for yourself the risk that you are able to stomach, against the premiums you need to pay to get coverage for your pet.

It’s also worth noting that not all pet dogs and cats can be insured. In general, microchipping is required for most pet insurance policies. Also, some policies may exclude diseases and conditions that specific breeds may be prone to, as well as pre-existing illness. So be sure to read the policy conditions on what’s covered and what’s not before buying a pet insurance policy.

Bear in mind that if your pet is older than 10 years old you can only buy pet insurance if you have started to insure your pet before that age. In that case coverage can continue until 13 years of age.

Insurance Market has a pet insurance comparison tool that allows you to compare the various types of insurance policies that you can buy in Singapore for your pet dog or cat. So check it out to see if it helps you choose the right policy to buy for your pet.

Premiums range from $350 a year (Standard) to $750 a year (Superior).