Insurance for new parents in Singapore: what to check, in order

Insurance for new parents in Singapore starts with the cover you already have. A Singapore Citizen baby is in MediShield Life from birth. CPF members also have up to $70,000 of Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS) cover unless they opted out. Check those first, then hospital cover, then cover for death and disability, then critical illness.

How to check your family's cover, step by step

1. Write down the cover each of you already holds, such as MediShield Life and DPS through CPF and any group plan at work.
2. Check that your baby's MediShield Life is in place: MOH says it covers every Singapore Citizen baby for life, congenital and neonatal conditions included. Babies born after 1 April 2025 also get a $5,000 MediSave grant that can pay the premiums, and our newborn insurance guide covers plans that add to it.
3. Decide whether you want hospital cover above MediShield Life, which MOH sizes for subsidised treatment in public hospitals. For private or higher-class wards, CPF points to an Integrated Shield Plan, explained in our hospitalisation insurance guide.
4. Work out your cover for death and total and permanent disability (TPD) with MoneySense's rule of thumb of 9 times annual income, less what you hold, such as DPS, then read our life insurance guide for the detail.
5. Work out your critical illness cover with MoneySense's rule of thumb of 4 times annual income, and see our critical illness guide for what it pays.
6. Keep the total you spend on protection to 15% of your income or less, MoneySense's third rule.
7. Compare plans side by side on compareFIRST before you buy, with a shortlist of three to four products as MoneySense suggests.
8. Read the product summary and the policy wording for the waiting period, exclusions, claim limits and what each rider adds.
9. Use the free-look period if you change your mind, which MoneySense puts at 14 days or more from the day the policy documents reach you, and 21 days for an Integrated Shield Plan.
10. Name a nominee on each life policy, and review your cover every two to three years or when another child arrives.

Your family insurance checklist

The middle column is what the Government schemes or your employer may already give you. The last column is what's left for you to check.

CareShield Life pays once an MOH-accredited assessor finds you can't do 3 of 6 daily activities, such as washing or dressing. MOH's MediShield Life covers Singapore Citizens and PRs. If you or your spouse holds a work pass, start with what the employer's group policy covers, and when it ends.

MOH lists yearly MediShield Life premiums before subsidies, with 9% GST, by age next birthday: $200 for ages 1 to 20, $295 for 21 to 30, $503 for 31 to 40 and $637 for 41 to 50. CPF says you can pay them in full from MediSave. Families with a monthly household income of $3,600 or less per person may get a subsidy of up to 60%.

Still pregnant? MediShield Life excludes normal maternity charges, caesareans included, but pays for serious complications of pregnancy and birth. Some health plans add maternity benefits with a waiting period first, and our maternity insurance guide covers them. If you employ a helper, MOM requires you to buy her medical and personal accident insurance; our helper insurance guide has the rules.

How much cover the rules of thumb suggest

MoneySense's Your Financial Basics guide, built with CPF Board and the industry associations, sets cover for death and TPD at 9 times your annual income and critical illness cover at 4 times. It also says to spend at most 15% of your income on protection.

Say you earn $60,000 a year; this is an example. For death and TPD, 9 x $60,000 = $540,000, and taking off DPS's $70,000 leaves a gap of $470,000 before any other life cover you hold. Critical illness works out at 4 x $60,000 = $240,000. MoneySense's spending cap would be 15% x $60,000 = $9,000 a year across all your protection.

Each parent who earns runs their own sums. Group cover from work counts, but MoneySense notes a group health policy may end when you change employer or retire. For cover with an end date, MoneySense points to term insurance, for example until your youngest child finishes university or can support themselves. It also says you don't need insurance for everything, only for what could set back your finances.

Insurance is one line in your baby budget. Our budgeting guide covers the rest of it, and the cost of having a baby guide sets out the bills. You can tick it all off with the new parent money checklist.

What to check before you sign

Ask for the product summary and the policy wording, and read both. Their terms decide what a claim pays.

• The waiting period is the time after cover starts when no benefit is paid. MoneySense says most health policies set 30 to 90 days.
• Exclusions are what the policy won't pay for. Private health plans usually exclude conditions you had before you bought them.
• The deductible is what you pay before the plan pays. Co-insurance is your share after that, such as 10% of the bill.
• A rider is an add-on that gives extra cover. MOH says new Integrated Shield Plan riders sold from 1 April 2026 can no longer cover the minimum IP deductible; our hospitalisation insurance guide explains what that leaves you to pay.
• Claim limits can apply per illness, per year or for life. The sum assured is the amount paid when an insured event, such as death, happens.
• Underwriting is the insurer's check of your health before it sets your terms. LIA says the result can be standard terms, an extra premium or exclusion, a delay, or a decline, so answer every health question in full.

If someone suggests swapping a policy you already hold, MoneySense says ending and replacing one in its early years can be costly. Moving to a new Integrated Shield Plan can also cut cover for an existing condition down to MediShield Life's level.

After you buy: free-look, nominations and protection

The free-look period starts on the day you receive the policy documents. If you cancel in writing within it, the insurer refunds your premiums less the medical and other costs it has paid. MoneySense lists travel, car and maid insurance as the exceptions.

A nomination tells the insurer who gets a life policy's payout. LIA's guide describes two kinds. A revocable nomination lets you change nominees without their consent. A trust nomination gives up your ownership rights, and you can only revoke it with every nominee's consent. You need to be the life assured and at least 18 to nominate. CPF savings and your will follow their own rules, set out in our wills and guardianship guide.

If an insurer fails, SDIC's Policy Owners' Protection Scheme covers life and certain general insurance policies with member insurers, within set limits.

Where to get help

• Questions on MediShield Life: MOH's contact page. On DPS or CareShield Life: CPF's contact page.
• Comparing life plans: compareFIRST, which lines up life insurance products side by side.
• Checking who is advising you: MAS's Register of Representatives, which MoneySense says to check first.
• A dispute with an insurer: FIDReC. Filing is free, and it adjudicates claims up to S$150,000.
• An insurer that fails: SDIC, which runs the Policy Owners' Protection Scheme.
• A hospital bill you can't pay after subsidies, insurance and MediSave: ask the hospital's medical social worker about MediFund, MOH's safety net for citizens on subsidised care.
• Other Government help with family costs: our financial help guide.

Frequently asked questions

What insurance do I need as a new parent?

Begin with the Government cover you have, MediShield Life and DPS, plus any group cover from work. After that, check hospital cover above MediShield Life, then death and TPD cover, then critical illness. MoneySense says you don't need insurance for everything, only for what could set back your finances.

What goes on an insurance checklist for new parents?

Your baby's MediShield Life and each parent's hospital cover come first. Then life and TPD cover against 9 times income, and critical illness cover against 4 times income. Add a nominee on each life policy, and your helper's insurance if you employ one.

Is there one family insurance plan in Singapore that covers all of us?

Travel insurance has one: GIA describes a family plan as a policy for the policyholder and immediate family, sometimes with a cap on numbers. Our family travel insurance guide covers it. For health and life cover, MoneySense notes a parent can own a child's policy, as the policyholder, with the child as the insured.

How much life insurance should new parents have?

MoneySense's rule of thumb is 9 times your annual income for death and TPD, and 4 times for critical illness. On an example income of $60,000, that's $540,000 for death and TPD, less what you hold, such as DPS's $70,000, and $240,000 for critical illness. Keep total protection spending to 15% of income or less.

Can I cancel a policy if I change my mind?

Yes, within the free-look period: at least 14 days from the day the policy documents reach you, or 21 days for an Integrated Shield Plan. Write to the insurer to cancel. It refunds your premiums less the medical and other costs it has paid.

My spouse is on a work pass. Is the family covered by MediShield Life?

MediShield Life covers Singapore Citizens and PRs, so a spouse on a work pass needs to check their employer's group policy, and when it ends. A Singapore Citizen baby is covered from birth either way.