Little over a month has passed since news broke that the Zika virus had spread across Singapore and now several major insurance firms have reacted.

According to a report by the International Travel & Health Insurance Journal, at least five large insurance companies in the country have started offering coverage as part of their personal accident or travel plans.
Among those names is NTUC Income, which was the first to move – introducing cover for the infectious disease as part of its personal accident assurance policy even before the outbreak.

However, it is certainly not alone.

Now, Great Eastern has extended coverage for the virus to all existing and new personal accident policyholders – giving them the right to claim $300 in medical costs and $30,000 in the event of a death due to the virus.

In addition, the publication quotes Koh Yen Yeh, chief distribution officer at Sompo Insurance Singapore, as outlining why his firm has decided to offer cover.

“With an increasing number of Zika cases reported locally and worldwide, and [taking into account] feedback from our intermediaries and policyholders, we see a need to cover our existing and new policyholders against this virus,” he said.

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