Raffles health insurance in Singapore means one product almost everyone is asking about: Raffles Shield, the Integrated Shield Plan run by Raffles Health Insurance, the insurance arm of the group behind Raffles Hospital. It is the only IP that gives you a direct route into Raffles Hospital without paying full private-hospital prices, which is its main draw. As of October 2026, Raffles Shield comes in four tiers (Private, A, B and Standard) sitting on top of MediShield Life, and the whole range was reworked on 1 April 2026: base premiums rose for the first time since the 2018 launch, the old Raffles Key Rider closed to new buyers, and a leaner Raffles Choice Rider took its place. This guide walks through the tiers, the real numbers and who each plan actually suits.
Raffles Shield is an Integrated Shield Plan. Every Singaporean and PR is already covered by MediShield Life, the national hospital scheme run by the CPF Board, and an IP layers extra coverage on top of it so you can claim higher ward classes and private treatment. Raffles Health Insurance is one of seven IP insurers, and what sets it apart is its link to Raffles Hospital through the Raffles Medical Group.
Like every IP, the base Raffles Shield plan can be paid for with MediSave up to the Additional Withdrawal Limits, while any rider on top must be paid in cash. If you want the mechanics of how the national layer and the private layer fit together, see our explainer on Integrated Shield Plans and the MediShield Life vs IP comparison.
The tier you pick sets two things: the highest ward or hospital class you can claim as charged, and how much you pay if you are treated somewhere above your tier. That second part is the pro-ration factor, which scales a bill down before the plan pays it.
| Tier | Highest ward covered as charged | Pro-ration if you go higher | Annual claim limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raffles Shield Private | All private hospitals plus public Class A/B1/B2/C | Not applicable at the top tier | Up to S$1,500,000 (panel) / S$600,000 (non-panel) |
| Raffles Shield A | Public Class A and below | 70% at Raffles Hospital | Up to S$600,000 |
| Raffles Shield B | Public Class B1 and below | 60% at Raffles Hospital | Up to S$300,000 |
| Raffles Shield Standard | Public Class B1 and below | 50% at Raffles Hospital | Up to S$200,000 |
The headline feature is the Raffles Hospital option, which can be added to Shield A. It lets you be treated as a private patient at Raffles Hospital while paying closer to a public Class A premium than a full private-plan premium. At 31-35, Shield A with the option costs S$299.75 a year, which MediSave covers in full, against S$458.89 for Private.
Update, 13 October 2026: the 31-35 premiums below now come from Raffles' table for 1 April 2026 onward. Private S$237 -> S$458.89, Shield A S$156 -> S$160.23, Shield B S$83 -> S$115.54, Standard S$62 -> S$88.29. There are three numbers that decide your real out-of-pocket exposure: the annual premium, the deductible and the co-insurance. The base premium is age-banded and rises as you get older, like every IP.
Raffles publishes one premium table for a standard life, by age next birthday. At 31-35 (as of October 2026), the private insurance part of the premium is S$458.89 a year for Raffles Shield Private, S$160.23 for Shield A, S$115.54 for Shield B and S$88.29 for Standard. MediSave pays up to S$300 of that at this age, so Private leaves S$158.89 to pay in cash and the other three cost you nothing in cash. These figures leave out any rider, which is always cash. Premiums climb steeply from your 40s onward, so model the cost across decades, not just today. Our financial health calculator helps you sanity-check whether the rider premium fits your cash budget.
This is the part that makes 2026 different. Raffles repriced the whole range, and the rules around riders changed industry-wide on 1 April 2026.
On the base plans, Raffles raised premiums for the first time since the plans launched in 2018, citing medical inflation and rising claims. It also set several benefit limits on Private, A and B at twice the MediShield Life figure: home ventilation and respiratory support at S$1,680 a month (S$840 under MediShield Life), paediatric home care at S$840 a month (S$420), and hyperbaric oxygen therapy at S$1,560 a session (S$780).
On riders, two things happened at once. First, the old Raffles Key Rider closed to new buyers from 1 April 2026, replaced by the new Raffles Choice Rider. Second, an MOH rule that applies to all insurers kicked in: from 1 April 2026, newly bought IP riders can no longer cover the mandatory deductible. That single rule changes the maths for everyone buying a fresh rider this year.
The old Raffles Key Rider used a 5% co-payment capped at S$3,000 per policy year for pre-authorised treatment, and it could absorb part of the deductible. The new Raffles Choice Rider keeps a 5% co-payment on the amount after the deductible but caps it at S$6,000 per policy year for panel, Extended Panel or restructured-hospital specialists, and it does not cover the deductible at all. There is no cap on that 5% for other specialists or for cancer drugs off MOH's Cancer Drug List (CDL), though the rider pays up to S$5,000 towards those non-CDL drugs.
Raffles positions the Choice Rider as roughly 50% cheaper than the Key Rider was, the trade-off being that you now carry the full deductible yourself and your co-payment cap is doubled from S$3,000 to S$6,000, both set by MOH for every insurer's riders. If you bought the Key Rider before 27 November 2025, nothing changes yet, and Raffles says it will tell you its plan later. If you added it between 27 November 2025 and 31 March 2026, Raffles moves you to the Choice Rider by your first renewal after 1 April 2028 at the latest, with no new underwriting, and you can switch sooner. For the wider rule on riders, read our note on the rider and the Integrated Shield Plan comparison across all seven insurers.
Raffles Shield is open to Singaporeans and PRs (foreigners with an eligible valid pass can take only Raffles Shield Private), and applications go through health underwriting, so pre-existing conditions can be excluded or loaded. Pre- and post-hospitalisation cover is generous on the higher tiers: Private and A pay as charged for up to 180 days before admission and 365 days after discharge with panel, Extended Panel or restructured-hospital doctors (90 and 180 days at other private hospitals). B covers up to 90 days each side. Standard does not cover pre- or post-hospitalisation treatment.
If you already hold another IP, you cannot stack two; you switch. Moving to another insurer means fresh underwriting, so any condition that appeared since your first IP may not be covered. That is the single most common mistake when people chase a cheaper premium, and it applies whether you move to Raffles or away from it.
If you want Raffles Hospital specifically, Raffles Shield gives two ways in: the Private plan, or the cheaper Shield A plus the Raffles Hospital option. At the other end, Standard covers public Class B1 wards and below for S$88.29 a year at 31-35.
If your priority is the widest panel of private hospitals or a particular insurer's wellness programme, weigh the alternatives first. For wellness-linked rebates, our AIA Vitality guide shows how a competing ecosystem works. Whichever insurer you land on, a rider bought from 1 April 2026 no longer covers the deductible, so you pay the first S$1,500 to S$3,500 of a hospital bill yourself, from MediSave up to its limits or in cash.
Raffles Shield is the main product, but Raffles Health Insurance is the company. The company also sells riders and other policies, yet when people search for Raffles health insurance in Singapore they almost always mean the Raffles Shield Integrated Shield Plan that sits on top of MediShield Life.
At age 31-35 (next birthday), the private insurance part of the premium runs from S$88.29 a year for Standard to S$458.89 for Private as of October 2026. MediSave covers up to S$300 of it at that age, so Private needs S$158.89 in cash. Premiums rise with age, and any rider is an extra cash cost on top, so always check the rider price separately.
Base premiums rose for the first time since 2018, several benefits were enhanced, the old Raffles Key Rider closed to new buyers, and the new Raffles Choice Rider launched with a 5% co-payment, capped at S$6,000 a year for Raffles panel, Extended Panel and restructured-hospital specialists and uncapped elsewhere. New riders also can no longer cover the deductible under MOH rules.
Yes, the base Raffles Shield plan can be paid with MediSave up to the Additional Withdrawal Limits set by the CPF Board. The rider portion, however, must be paid in cash because MediSave cannot fund riders, so budget for that recurring cash premium each year.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).