15/09/2022
Think you don’t need insurance? Think again.
The biggest benefit of having Insurance is that it provides you with a financial safety net in the event of any unexpected incidents in your life, so that you and your family can worry less and live more. Now which Insurance should you get? Here are the 5 most essential insurance coverage, even for those on a tight budget!
1. Medical Insurance – A MUST for Everyone
Government hospitals are currently busy dealing with Covid-19, so if you need major medical treatment, you need to use private hospitals. But private hospitals are very expensive. That’s why medical insurance is a must for everyone in your family, including your children. Do you know that you can insure them from 15 days old?
Even if you were stricken with cancer, most medical plans will pay for hospitalisation, surgery and chemotherapy. You do not need a separate critical illness plan to pay for your cancer medical and hospitalisation expenses.
2. Life Insurance – If You Have Dependents
The pandemic has taught us to prepare for the unexpected. If you have dependents who rely on you for financial support, like your spouse, children or retired parents – you need life insurance.
If you die unexpectedly, life insurance will make a lump sum payment to your dependants. A RM1 million life insurance policy is common and can be bought for less than RM200 per month for a 35 year old person with a clean bill of health.
If you’re single without dependents, e.g. your parents do not depend on you for financial support, there’s no need to get life insurance. And you do not need to insure the lives of your young children because you do not depend on them.
3. Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Insurance – Usually Comes with Life Insurance
TPD places you and your family in a worse financial situation than if you died, not only would your family have lost a source of income (you!), but you will need funds for your treatment, support and sustenance.
A lump sum payment would be given if you suffer total and permanent disability. TPD insurance is usually packaged together with life insurance. If you strictly do not need life insurance but would still like TPD coverage, consider buying life insurance with TPD packaged together.
4. Critical Illness (CI) Insurance – Consider in your mid-30s (or earlier, if your family has a medical history of chronic illnesses)
Critical illness insurance is to replace your lost income as you’re recovering from a CI, or pay for experimental therapy not covered by your medical plan, and usually paid in lump sum upon diagnosis of covered CI. Your medical insurance plan would cover your hospitalisation and treatment costs, but not your loss of income.
Critical illness would include stroke, cancer, heart-attack, etc. The CIs that are covered depends on the plan offered, there are more than 40 types. And Fi Life focuses on the 4 most frequent CIs – Cancer, Stroke, Heart Attack, and Heart Bypass.
Generally, you should consider CI insurance when you’re in your mid-thirties. But if your family has a history of cancer or other CIs, best to get one as soon as possible.
5. Personal Accident (PA) Insurance – Consider if You’re An Active Sports or Outdoor Person
A medical plan covers your hospitalisation and major surgery costs, a personal accident insurance covers costs like treatment of injury from accidents that doesn’t need hospitalisation e.g. wounds that require stitches from a clinic, or a sprain that requires physiotherapy.
Consider a PA if you are prone to injuries from sports or outdoor lifestyle, for your accident-prone children or frail parents, or if you commute to work on a motorbike