AIG Travel Insurance Singapore Review 2018

If you have ever gone on group tours through travel agents, AIG travel insurance might ring a bell because this insurer works with a lot of agents in Singapore.For the risk-averse, it’s pretty hard to beat AIG for peace of mind as they have an in-house emergency assistance network of 24-hour emergency centres in 8 locations worldwide – whereas the overwhelming majority of insurance companies work with third-party rescue service providers like ISOS.

Naturally, AIG travel insurance also has a reputation for being pricey. To combat this, they have introduced a lower Basic tier to try to capture the “price-conscious” (okay, cheapskates).

I’ll take a closer look at AIG’s Basic, Standard and Enhanced plans here. Note that there’s also a Supreme plan but I’ll skip it as it’s waaaay too expensive for us peasants.

 

Travel insurance plan	AIG Travel Guard Basic	AIG Travel Guard Standard	AIG Travel Guard Enhanced
Price for one week in…	Region 1: $26 Region 2: $36 Region 3: $52 – 54	Region 1: $33 – 39 Region 2: $45 – 56 Region 3: $65 – 101	Region 1: $49 Region 2: $64 – 69 Region 3: $81 – 119
Promotion	None at the moment
Medical expenses (overseas)	$100,000	$200,000	$1,000,000
Emergency medical evacuation	$50,000	$500,000	Unlimited
Personal accident (death & TPD)	None	$100,000	$200,000
Travel delay ($100 every 6 hours)	$200	$1,000	$2,000
Trip cancellation	$5,000	$5,000	$10,000
Baggage delay ($200 every 6 hours)	None	$1,000	$1,200
Baggage loss/damage	$3,000	$3,000	$5,000
Adventure activities covered?	Yes (but excludes hang-gliding, paragliding and other aerial activities)

Region 1 = Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Brunei, Laos and Myanmar

Region 2 = China (excluding Tibet), Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Macau, Maldives, Bangladesh, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela

Region 3 = Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Nepal, Tibet and the rest of the world (excluding Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea and the Crimea region)

 

AIG travel insurance price comparison

AIG’s Travel Guard Basic plan is affordably priced, similar to or only very slightly steeper than basic plans from NTUC Income and FWD. Everything else is pretty expensive.

Watch out for AIG’s zoning system which is different from others. For example, Thailand is counted as a 2nd-tier country, while Australia and Japan are in the most expensive tier, so if you’re going to these countries you’ll pay a LOT more than comparable plans in the market. On the flip side of the coin, South America will be an absolute steal.

 

AIG travel insurance coverage comparison

There’s a very good reason why AIG Travel Guard Basic is so cheap. The coverage is damn jialat. $100,000 for medical coverage borders on risky, $50,000 for evacuation is plain scary, and you won’t get a cent if for death or total permanent disability. Avoid it like the plague.

To get decent coverage, even if you’re only travelling around the region, you’ll definitely want to get at least the Standard plan. Even so, its limits aren’t that high. For example, $500,000 for evacuation is just stingy.

Despite all these caveats, some travellers will still go for AIG because of they are reputed to provide extremely good and prompt rescue services, in case the worst happens.

AIG covers some sports and adventure activities done at leisure level, including sailing, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, white water rafting and scuba diving.

But there are some restrictions for aerial/airborne activities. You can go parachuting or skydiving with registered companies but forget about hang-gliding, paragliding, etc. The list of covered activities and their limitations is in the AIG policy wording.

Looking to buy AIG travel insurance? Compare all Singapore travel insurance policies by price and coverage first.

 

How to make AIG travel insurance claims

Emergency hotline: Call AIG emergency assistance hotline at +65 6733 2552

Online claims: Submit your claim with supporting documents through their online form.

Hard copy claims: Download the hard copy claim form and mail them with your documents to Travel Claims Department, AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte Ltd, AIG Building, 78 Shenton Way, #07-19, Singapore 079120.

Things to note: Claims must be made within 30 days of the event or incident. Refer to AIG’s travel insurance claim page for claim forms, procedures and required documents.

AIG usually settles straightforward claims within 10 business days. If it takes longer, you will be updated by email or post, or you can call the AIG travel claims hotline at +65 6224 3698.

 

Summary: Pros & cons of buying travel insurance with AIG

PRO: In-house emergency assistance network for fast response. AIG is the only company with such a robust emergency network, unlike most insurers who work with third-party emergency services providers.

PRO: 10-day claims turnaround time. AIG is willing to commit to a 10 working day turnaround time from claim to settlement. It’s not the only insurer who does that, but some commitment is better than nothing!

PRO: Very good coverage on the upper-tier travel insurance plans. AIG’s travel plans are best for those who are willing to spend big on travel insurance. They seem to concentrate all their resources on the upper tier plans.

CON: Poor value on their Basic plan, so-so Standard plan. But if you’re looking for a cheap deal, skip AIG completely. The basic plan may be cheap but it is most definitely not good; while the Standard plan is acceptable but a good deal pricier than similar products on the market.

 

Do you swear by AIG for travel insurance? Tell us why or why not in the comments below.

Tags: Travel Insurance