Health & Insurance

Travel Insurance

The cost of travel insurance varies widely, depending on the cost and length of your trip, your age and health, and the type of trip you're taking, but expect to pay between 5% and 8% of the vacation itself. You can get estimates from various providers through InsureMyTrip.com. Enter your trip cost and dates, your age, and other information, for prices from more than a dozen companies.

Trip-Cancellation Insurance -- Trip-cancellation insurance will help retrieve your money if you have to back out of a trip or depart early, or if your travel supplier goes bankrupt. Permissible reasons for trip cancellation can range from sickness to natural disasters to the State Department declaring a destination unsafe for travel.

For more information, contact one of the following recommended insurers: Access America (tel. 866/807-3982; www.accessamerica.com); Travel Guard International (tel. 800/826-4919; www.travelguard.com); Travel Insured International (tel. 800/243-3174; www.travelinsured.com); and Travelex Insurance Services (tel. 888/457-4602; www.travelex-insurance.com).

Medical Insurance -- For travel overseas, most U.S. health plans (including Medicare and Medicaid) do not provide coverage, and the ones that do often require you to pay for services upfront and reimburse you only after you return home. As a safety net, you may want to buy travel medical insurance, particularly if you're traveling to a remote or high-risk area where emergency evacuation might be necessary. If you require additional medical insurance, try MEDEX Assistance (tel. 410/453-6300; www.medexassist.com) or Travel Assistance International (tel. 800/821-2828; www.travelassistance.com; for general information on services, call the company's Worldwide Assistance Services, Inc. at tel. 800/777-8710).

Lost-Luggage Insurance -- On flights within the U.S., checked baggage is covered up to $2,500 per ticketed passenger. On international flights (including U.S. portions of international trips), baggage coverage is limited to approximately $9.07 per pound, up to approximately $635 per checked bag. If you plan to check items more valuable than what's covered by the standard liability, see if your homeowner's policy covers your valuables, get baggage insurance as part of your comprehensive travel-insurance package, or buy Travel Guard's "BagTrak" product.

If your luggage is lost, immediately file a lost-luggage claim at the airport, detailing the luggage contents. Most airlines require that you report delayed, damaged, or lost baggage within 4 hours of arrival. The airlines are required to deliver luggage, once found, directly to your house or destination free of charge.

Staying Healthy

As some intrepid travelers are so fond of accusing Singapore of being overly "squeaky-clean," sane travelers who don't want to spend their holiday infirm can rest assured that they are safe from most of the tropical world's nastiest scourges in sanitary Singapore. Food is clean virtually everywhere, tap water is potable, restaurants and food vendors are regulated by the government, and many other airborne, bug-borne, and bite-borne what-have-yous have been eradicated.

Singapore doesn't require that you have any vaccinations to enter the country but recommends immunization against diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis A and B, and typhoid for anyone traveling to Southeast Asia in general. If you're particularly worried, follow their advice; if not, don't worry about it.

On February 25, 2003, Singapore reported its first case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, more commonly known as SARS. What exploded into an epidemic effecting almost 8,500 people worldwide was quickly brought under control in the island state due to immediate and effective actions taken by the Ministries of Health and Education and the media, combined with the tireless vigilance of Singaporeans themselves. After 3 months of battle, SARS had claimed the lives of 33 people in Singapore but had mobilized the entire country to take daily precautions against the spread of the disease in an effort that was highly lauded by the World Health Organization (WHO). The respiratory infection is passed on through droplets when an infected person sneezes or coughs, however, most SARS infections are transmitted only through very close contact. Today, casual travelers face no threats of contracting this disease in Singapore.

Also in the news, cases of Asian bird flu, or Avian influenza, have been reported all over Asia Pacific, with countries culling over 100 million poultry to contain outbreaks. Avian influenza is an acute viral infection affecting birds and poultry. Cross-infection to humans is rare; however, it does happen among people who have come in contact with sick or dead birds. To protect the country, Singapore keeps a close watch on its poultry farms and has developed safe channels for the import of all poultry products to make sure infected meats and eggs don't cross its borders.

Although you have no risk of contracting malaria in Singapore (the country's been declared malaria-free for decades by the World Health Organization), there is a similar deadly virus, dengue fever, that's carried by mosquitoes and for which there is no immunization. A problem in the Tropics around the world, dengue fever is controlled in Singapore with an aggressive campaign to prevent the responsible mosquitoes from breeding. Still, each year cases of infection are reported, almost all of them occurring in suburban neighborhoods and rural areas. Symptoms of dengue fever include sudden fever and tiny red spotty rashes on the body. If you suspect you've contracted dengue, seek medical attention immediately. If left untreated, this disease can cause internal hemorrhaging and even death. Your best protection is to wear insect repellent that contains DEET, especially if you're heading out to the zoo, bird park, or any of the gardens or nature preserves, especially during the daytime.

It seems inevitable for travelers from the West to suffer some sort of Montezuma's revenge or Delhi-belly when they visit the Tropics. If you suffer a bout of diarrhea, it could be from many causes: weakness from jet lag, adjustments to the climate, new foods, spices, or an increase in physical activity. Always carry Immodium, or a comparable anti-diarrheal, but most importantly, don't forget to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. If symptoms include painful cramps, fever, or rash, seek medical attention immediately, otherwise it'll probably just clear up by itself.

Singapore's climate guarantees heat and humidity year-round; you should remember to take precautions. Give yourself plenty of time to relax and regroup on arrival to adjust your body to the new climate (and to the new time, if there is a time difference for you). Also, drink plenty of water. Avoid overexposure to the sun. The tropical sun will burn you like thin toast in no time at all. You may also feel more lethargic than usual. This is typical in the heat, so take things easy and you'll be fine. Be careful of the air-conditioning, though. It's nice and cooling, but if you're prone to catching a chill, or find yourself moving in and out of air-conditioned buildings a lot, you can wind up with a horrible summer cold.

General Availability of Healthcare -- If you require medical assistance for general health or emergencies, the best thing to do is contact your hotel's front desk or concierge, who have doctors on call and emergency numbers at close hand. You can be assured that Singapore's healthcare system, facilities, and professionals are of excellent quality, with ambulance and paramedic care standing by via emergency hot lines.

What to Do If You Get Sick Away from Home -- If you require hospitalization, the centrally located Mount Elizabeth Hospital is near Orchard Road at 3 Mount Elizabeth (tel. 65/6737-2666, for accidents and emergencies call 65/6731-2218). You can also try Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road (tel. 65/6222-3322, for accidents and emergencies call 65/6321-4311).

Any foreign consulate can provide a list of area doctors who speak English. If you get sick, consider asking your hotel concierge to recommend a local doctor -- even his or her own. You can also try the emergency room at a local hospital. Many hospitals also have walk-in clinics for emergency cases that are not life-threatening; you may not get immediate attention, but you won't pay the high price of an emergency room visit.

If you suffer from a chronic illness, consult your doctor before your departure. Pack prescription medications in your carry-on luggage, and carry them in their original containers, with pharmacy labels -- otherwise they won't make it through airport security. Carry the generic name of prescription medicines, in case a local pharmacist is unfamiliar with the brand name.

For travel abroad, you may have to pay all medical costs upfront and be reimbursed later.

Healthy Travels to You

The following government websites offer up-to-date health-related travel advice.

• U.S.: www.cdc.gov/travel

• Canada: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/index_e.html

• U.K.: www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAdviceForTravellers/fs/en

• Australia: www.dfat.gov.au/travel

Staying Safe

Singapore is a safe place by any standards. There's very little violent crime, even late at night. If you stay out, there's little worry about making it home safe. If your children are missing, they probably aren't kidnapped, but are being consoled by a friendly passerby while you search for them. This may sound naive, but Asians are culturally a very family-oriented people, and most would never dream of harming a child.

In recent years, some pickpocketing has been reported. Hotel safe-deposit boxes are the best way to secure valuables, and traveler's checks solve theft problems in a jiff.

Before you go always check the U.S. State department website to see if any warnings have been issued in this region: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html.