I am a female turning 26 this year and new to insurance. Should I get myself a hospitalisation plan now? What else should I look into?

Yes u shld if u haven .... its the most essential insurance plan..

and not sure if u heard before this saying regards to medical care in singapore ..................

.. u can die .. but dun fall sick

Yes, everyone is recommended to get a hospital plan should one day the person is admitted to hospital for treatment. Moreover, rising health care cost can be very damaging to our bank acount if one does not have any hospital plan. I would suggest you to speak to a trusted financial planner to understand more about the different types of insurance coverage.​​​

Definitely!

However when you say fully covered, does it mean "As charged" policy and the annual limit on the policy is Unlimited?

While its great that you company covers you, the company won't keep you forever if you had left the company. The least you should do is to upgrade your medishield life if you haven't already done so with medisave.

Supposedly your health changes in your current company, your new company may not cover you at the standard health. Similarly, should you decide to wait until you leave your current company, the private insurer may not cover you as well.

Having your own hospitalisation plan should be the main plan, not as a back up in case your company doesn't have enough. The company should be secondary.

Other "basics" you should consider is

1) personal accident - very frequently claimed for outpatient minor accidents and illnesses (that could not be paid out from the hospitalisation policy)

2) disability income - pays you your income if you're unable to work for a certain number of days

3) critical Illness - to pay for 5 years of living expenses and treatment costs when unable to work

4) life insurance - if you have to financally support someone else (eg. Parents, siblings)

The reason why adults entering the workforce usually buy their insurance policies is because they are reliant on their income now, rather than being dependent on someone before (like your parents). The amount of insurance you buy really depends on how much you value your income as an asset and understand how much this asset could bring you and your family for the many years to come.

At the end of the day, make an informed choice before doing anything with someone you're comfortable with. Cheers! :)

Company Insurance

As a matter of fact, your company insurance programme is good for two things:

1) When you are working with the company; and

2) the claim doesn't exceed the claim limit, subject to co-payment if any.

In truth, full cover is always subject to the policy's claim limit, alongside with the policy's terms and conditions.

Your future

At age 26, can you foresee yourself working for the same company till the day you pass on? To put it another way, can you be certain that the company will not collapse or change its insurance policy to another provider?

This is because either of the above question has a direct impact on your decision today. If any of your answer is "No" to the above, then you should get yourself insured today. The reason is simple: Insurability is priceless.

Right now, we are young and healthy. Therefore, insurance is "wasting money". However, when we have a medical condition, then insurance becomes "money cannot buy". Since we cannot predict the future, we can only prepare for your future.

Healthcare

As a start, healthcare insurance is without a doubt the most important policy to get. With this in mind, I will suggest for you to undertand about MediShield Life - our nation's healthcare insurance programme.

More Details:

Is MediShield Life enough in Singapore

Once we have a better understanding, we need to overcome its shortcoming. Generally, we will enhance this coverage with an integrated shield plan. For this purpose, there are two parts, the basic plan, and the rider.

Mored Details:

Basic Plan: Integrated Shield Plan Singapore: A Starter's Guide

Rider: Integrated Shield Plan Rider Singapore: A Starter’s Guide

To sum up, this will be the most basics things to know and look into for healthcare insurance.

Life Insurance

Generally, life insurance coverage can be split into three life's major event,

1. Pre-Mature Death

2. Total & Permanent Disability

3. Critical Illness

Death Coverage

There are a couple of factors that we need to clarify and plan before we can establish whether there is a need for death coverage. For example, do you have any dependents? Do you have any liabiltiies?

More Details:

5 Reasons why You need Life Insurance - Death Coverage

Total & Permanent Disability

Since you are alive and continues to live, there exists a need to be insured.

More Details:

5 Reasons why You need Life Insurance - Total & Permanent Disability Coverage

Critical Illness

Similar to the rationale for Total & Permanent Disability, there exists a need for you to be insured.

More Details:

5 Reasons why You need Life Insurance - Critical Illness

On the whole, these are general guidelines which may or may not work for you. Therefore, you are encouraged to conduct comprehensive financial planning. Through this process, it ensures that we are well-planned ahead in life.

So how?

By now, you are either overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that you need to digest or is now properly equipped with the knowledge to take action. Speak with your agent or consult an experienced agent to guide you through the process, and to help you make a responsible decision.

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