So you’re thinking about starting a family. That’s excellent! Getting married and having children are big steps in life, but ones that can lead to great happiness and fulfillment. Studies have even shown that married people live longer and are more content in general, and that couples with children live longer as well.

However, the decision to have children should not be taken lightly. It’s important that a couple is prepared in order to raise a child properly. All the visits to the pediatrician and hospital each year can cause medical bills to stack up, especially in conjunction with other medical costs incurred by parents. Having quality private medical insurance for your family can offset a good portion of such fees.

While it’s true that Medisave and other programs have been successful in making sure that most of the population is prepared for inevitable healthcare costs, the treatments for which Medisave funds can be used are mostly focused on inpatient treatments, thus expensive outpatient procedures can be costly to patients. Additionally, people with larger incomes have more money to spend under the current Medisave structure. Finally, as with many other government-run healthcare systems, caps and policy restrictions on the use of Medisave funds often increase the amount that Singaporeans spend out of pocket for medical care.

The firsts step in getting quality health insurance for a new family is making sure that the breadwinners in the household are covered. Whether this be you, your spouse or both, it’s not going to do anyone in the family any good if the person who’s bringing home the bacon isn’t able to work, and an insurance plan that includes personal accident protection is always a good idea.

Before a mother-to-be gets pregnant, it is advisable to obtain maternity insurance. Due to waiting periods that normally come attached to maternity insurance, if significant time isn’t allowed before conception of the child, no benefits will be awarded to the parents. This type of plan can provide benefits for normal delivery or complications of delivery, diagnostic tests and medication, pre and post natal consultations, ambulance, accommodations, medically necessary termination, coverage for newborn children and congenital conditions or abnormalities.

See full story at www.expatliving.sg