By If you know me personally, you’d know I’m more of a furkid than actual-kid kind of girl. And unfortunately for pet parents like myself, if your dog or cat has so much as a flu, a trip to the vet will cost you a lot more than a visit to the family GP. That’s where pet insurance comes in.
Although the pet industry is booming, it would seem the insurers have yet to catch on. Only 4 insurers in Singapore – MSIG, Liberty, AIA and CIMB – have pet insurance plans, and they’re only for dogs and cats.
Let’s see how they stack up.
Contents
- Dog insurance plans in Singapore
- Cat insurance plans in Singapore
- CIMB My Paw Pal (underwritten by Sompo)
- AIA Paw Safe plan
- AON Happy Tails plan (underwritten by MSIG)
- Liberty PetCare plan
Pet insurance plans for dogs and cats in Singapore (2019)
First, an overview of the coverage for pet insurance plans in Singapore. If you want to dive straight into our analysis of the plans, click here.
Dog insurance plans
Here’s a comparison of the most basic (read: cheapest) plans for dogs. Please scroll to the right to view all insurance plans.
| AON Happy Tails dog & puppy fur plan (underwritten by MSIG) | Liberty PetCare standard plan | AIA Paw Safe | CIMB My Paw Pal (underwritten by Sompo) | |
| Annual premium (incl GST) | From $200+ | $350 | $79.49 (with microchip), $84.58 (without microchip) | $74.90 |
| Policy wording | Happy Tails policy | PetCare policy | Paw Safe policy | My Paw Pal policy |
| Coverage period | Lifetime | Until pet is 13 years old only | Until dog is 8 years old only | Until dog is 13 years old only |
| Accidental death | – | $1,000 | $1,000 or purchase price (whichever is lower) | $1,500 |
| Cremation or burial | – | – | $250 (due to accidental death) | $300 (due to accidental death) |
| Accidental injury | – | $500 ($50 deductible per claim) | $1,000 ($150 deductible per claim) | $3,000 per year |
| Theft | – | $300 | $1,000 or purchase price (whichever is lower) | – |
| Non-surgical medical treatment | – | $500 | – | – |
| Surgical medical treatment | $2,500 | $1,500 | – | – |
| Post-surgical boarding expenses | $250 | – | – | – |
| Post-surgical medical treatment | $150 | – | — | |
| Chemotherapy benefit | $1,000 | – | – | $350 |
| Third party liability | $100,000 | $100,000 ($500 deductible per claim) | $1,000,000 ($1,000 deductible per claim) | $250,000 |
| No claim discount | Up to 15% (3 years no claim period) | Up to 15% (3 years no claim period) | – | – |
| Other notes | $250 deductible + 20% to 40% co-insurance applies | – | – | Covers only up to 70% of medical expenses claimed |
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Cat insurance plans
For cats, there are only 3 insurers – MSIG, CIMB and Liberty. AIA doesn’t cover felines, sorry.
| AON Happy Tails cat & kitten fur plan (underwritten by MSIG) | Liberty PetCare Standard plan | CIMB My Paw Pal (underwritten by Sompo) | |
| Annual premium (incl GST) | From $200+ | $350 | $74.90 |
| Policy wording | Happy Tails policy | PetCare policy | My Pawl Pal policy |
| Coverage period | Lifetime | Until pet is 13 years old only | Until pet is 13 years old only |
| Accidental death | – | $1,000 | $1,500 |
| Cremation or burial | $250 | – | $300 (due to accidental death) |
| Accidental injury | – | $500 ($50 deductible per claim) | $3,000 per year (due to accidental death) |
| Theft | – | $300 | – |
| Non-surgical medical treatment | – | $500 | – |
| Surgical medical treatment | $3,800 | $1,500 | – |
| Post-surgical boarding expenses | $380 | – | – |
| Post-surgical medical treatment | $200 | – | – |
| Chemotherapy benefit | $1,200 | – | – |
| Third party liability | $250,000 | $100,000 ($500 deductible per claim) | $250,000 |
| No claim discount | Up to 15% (3 years no claim period) | Up to 15% (3 years no claim period) | – |
| Other notes | $250 deductible and 20% to 40% co-insurance applies | No coverage for funeral expenses and chemotherapy | Covers only up to 70% of medical expenses claimed |
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Comparing pet insurance in Singapore
As you can see, the coverage benefits differ quite a bit between the insurers. Some cover accidental death/injury only, while others only cover surgical or non-surgical medical expenses.
So aside from the annual premium price, you will need to consider what kind of expenses you want to protect you and your furkids from.
CIMB My Paw Pal
| CIMB My Paw Pal pet insurance for dogs & cats (underwritten by Sompo) | |
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Cheap premium | No coverage for pre-existing and congenital conditions |
| Covers accidental death & injury, and funeral expenses | No coverage for medical expenses, only accidental death/injury |
| Relatively high coverage accidental death, accidental injury and third party liability coverage | – |
| Covers all dog & cat breeds | – |
CIMB’s My Paw Pal is the newest pet insurance scheme to be introduced in Singapore. It is offered by Malaysian bank CIMB, but the policy is underwritten by Japanese insurance company Sompo.
There is only one My Paw Pal plan, and it costs $74.90. It covers the basics like accidental death ($1,500), accidental injury ($3,000), funeral services due to accidental death ($300) and third party liability (up to $250,000). It also covers all dog and cat breeds.
Despite the affordable price tag, the coverage benefits are above average, making this plan quite bang for buck. If you want something more comprehensive, you can add on the following:
- Loss of dog due to theft , $32.10
Sum insured – up to $1,5000 - Medical and cremation/burial expenses due to illness, $321
Sum insured – up to $3,000
The deductible for the each claim is not explicitly stated, but it does say that you can only claim up to 70% of medical expenses. Although this plan lacks coverage for regular medical expenses – a huge cost to many pet owners – it does make up for it with the generous benefits. Plus, your pet can be covered until 13 years old, which is quite long.
Do note that your dog and/or cat must be microchipped and between 12 weeks old and 7 years old upon enrolment.
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AIA Paw Safe
| AIA Paw Safe pet insurance for dogs | |
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Cheap premium | For dogs only |
| Covers accidental death & injury, and funeral expenses | Coverage until dog is 8 years old only |
| Covers theft with high benefit | No coverage for pre-existing and congenital conditions |
| High third party liability benefit | No coverage for medical expenses, only accidental death/injury |
| – | Dog breed exclusions apply |
AIA only has one plan – Paw Safe – and it’s quite affordable, so you don’t need to worry that they’ll try to up-sell you a pricier, more comprehensive plan.
At $79.49 & up, Paw Safe covers accidental death and injury (up to $1,000), as well as funeral services like cremation and burial (up to $250).
It also covers theft: Yup, this means that if your furkid gets dog-napped, you can claim $1,000 or the purchase price of your dog, whichever is lower. I don’t think this is a priority though, because unlike in China where dogs get stolen for meat, theft isn’t all that common in Singapore.
The main thing this plan lacks is medical benefits. It doesn’t cover other medical expenses, and only covers dogs until they’re 8 years old. Dog breed exclusions apply too – it doesn’t cover the following breeds: Mastiff, bull terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, pit bull terrier, American pit bull terrier, Argentina dog, canary dog, American bulldog or dogs crossed with any of these breeds and/or wolves.
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AON HappyTails (underwritten by MSIG)
| AON Happy Tails pet insurance for dogs & cats (underwritten by MSIG) | |
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Lifetime coverage | 20% to 40% co-insurance + $250 deductible applies to all claims |
| Only insurer to cover some congenital conditions | No coverage for funeral expenses (only Furry, and Furball plans cover it) |
| Covers chemotherapy | No coverage for non-surgical medical expenses |
| Covers all dog and cat breeds | No coverage for pre-existing and congenital conditions |
| Comprehensive surgical medical benefit | No coverage for theft |
AON’s HappyTail’s main selling point is its coverage for selected hereditary and congenital conditions. However, for your furkid to be eligible, it must be enrolled before it’s 6 years old and have no pre-existing conditions.
It also has a specific benefit for the dreaded “C” – cancer and chemotherapy ($1,000). Sounds like a dream, right? Unfortunately, the “something” that’s got to give is the clinical benefit, which is limited to surgery-related cases only.
The surgical benefit is very comprehensive though, covering hospitalisation (boarding) costs, as well as post-surgery follow-up consultations and diagnostic tests. Funeral services are not covered under the fur plan (basic), but are included for the furry and furball plans ($1,500 to $2,500 respectively).
Also, unlike AIA and Liberty, AON offers lifetime coverage, which is a pretty big deal for small dog breeds and cats.
The huge caveat though, is the high deductible and co-insurance. Before AON will pay a cent, you will first need to fork out a 20% to 40% co-insurance (depending on your dog’s age) + a $250 deductible. Ouch.
Price-wise, it varies quite a bit and you will need to call them up to get a quote. Generally, it starts at $200+ per year.
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Liberty PetCare
| Liberty PetCare pet insurance for dogs & cats | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Covers all dog and cat breeds | No coverage for funeral expenses |
| Covers accidental death & injury | Coverage until dog is 13 years old only |
| Covers both surgical and non-surgical medical expenses (no deductible) | No coverage for pre-existing and congenital conditions |
I suppose vet bills make up most of the claims, which is why the pet insurance plans that cover it are much more expensive. Liberty’s cheapest PetCare plan starts at $350/year, which is the most expensive of the basic plans.
However, I would think it is justified – PetCare covers dogs and cats for accidental death/injury ($50 deductible), plus surgical and non-surgical medical expenses (no deductible). It also covers theft for dogs, but not cats.
Additionally, like My Paw Pal, PetCare covers your furkid until it is 13 years old, which although isn’t lifetime, is reasonably long. All breeds are covered, so that’s good news too.
I find that the coverage is already quite comprehensive and the benefits are generous enough, but if you want even higher limits (the coverage areas are the same), the Superior plan is $750/year.
