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Is Your Home Protected? What HDB Fire Insurance and Other Insurance Can Do

Published 10 November 2025

Written by: Marissa Saini

Nobody thinks they will be affected by a house fire until it happens to them. If you’re scoffing at the idea of your precious home catching on fire one day, it’s time for some tough love. According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), there were 968 residential fire calls in 2024 alone.

It’s becoming increasingly important to understand the true cost of home accidents and how to protect yourself, your home, and its contents. While we can easily be caught up with the fun side of home ownership—decorating, furnishing, renovating—it’s almost incomprehensible to entertain the possible harm that can befall your beloved abode.

Protecting that home for yourself and your loved ones isn’t a choice—it’s a necessity in financial planning. This protection comes in two main forms: one for your loan, and one for your physical property.

Protecting Your Loan With Mortgage Insurance

Buying a property in Singapore is a big move, whether you’re going for public housing or a private property, such as a condo or landed home. There is one important thing to do to make sure your dream of owning a home doesn’t turn into a nightmare.

Should tragedy strike—death, terminal illness, or disability—you want your loved ones to be able to keep living in the home you’ve built together, without having to worry about paying for it.

That’s what mortgage insurance is for. Without it, your family could have to make difficult decisions if they can’t afford the monthly loan installments.

What Is Mortgage Insurance?

Mortgage insurance is designed to pay out a lump sum payment to you or your family, should the worst happen, to clear out the remaining outstanding loan with the bank. This can keep the bank from seizing the property. Even if your family chooses to sell the house after such an event, they’ll still keep the payout.

What Are the Different Types of Mortgage Insurance?

People buying an HDB property are asked to enrol in the Home Protection Scheme (HPS) during the sales process. Here, however, we’ll look at private mortgage insurance. There are two types: decreasing term and level term insurance.

Decreasing term

Level term

Coverage amount reduces every year

Coverage amount stays the same

Can be bought solo or jointly, depending on ownership type

Each owner typically needs to get an individual plan

Premiums are lower

Premiums are higher (in a joint-ownership scenario)

Demand for level term insurance is increasing, so insurance companies are offering discounts to bring the premiums closer to those for decreasing term insurance.

How Are Premiums for Mortgage Insurance Calculated?

Insurance companies formulate them on a case-by-case basis. When the coverage amount is high or the applicant is older, a medical examination can be necessary.

These factors affect how premiums are calculated:

Loan amount
The higher the loan amount, the higher the premium—but this doesn’t mean that you should be aiming for a lower coverage amount. That could put you or your loved ones in unnecessary financial stress if calamity strikes.
Loan tenure
The longer the loan tenure, the higher the premium, but it is again not advisable to shorten your coverage period because the premiums are higher.
Owners’ age
The older you are, the higher the premium.
Owner’s gender
Insurance companies can charge men and women different premiums.
Medical status
This is an important factor—if you have pre-existing conditions, insurance companies can counteroffer, postpone, or fully decline your application. Smokers typically also have to pay higher premiums than non-smokers, assuming no other health conditions are present.
Income
Your income is used to assess financial affordability.

Which Type of Mortgage Insurance Is Suitable for Me?

People usually look for the lowest premiums or follow the advice of a particular insurance company or financial consultant.

Here are some illustrative examples based on past quotes. Please note that premiums change often and will vary based on your individual profile.

First example:
- A man, 30, non-smoker, looking for $1 million coverage over 25 years
  - Level term premium: $680.75 annually
  - Decreasing term premium: $510.00 annually
- A woman, 30, non-smoker, looking for $1 million coverage over 25 years
  - Level term premium: $555.75 annually
  - Decreasing term premium: $413.25 annually
Second example: A man and woman, both 30, non-smokers, looking for $1 million coverage over 25 years
- Level term (bought individually) total premiums: $680.75 + $555.75 = $1,236.50 annually
- Decreasing term (as joint-life) premium: $881.70 annually

Despite the higher premium, however, you might still want to go for level term insurance. The coverage amount doesn’t go down, so if you sell your property after the minimum occupation period and buy another home, you can “reuse” your policy for the new house. If that happens, any surplus in the payout can be used for legacy planning for your dependents.