Insurance is a necessity. Nowadays, most of our major financial decisions involve buying or getting insurance. Before you can drive, you need to avail car insurance. Before you can buy a new house, you need to avail a home insurance. Even when you buy your Apple gadget, you can opt for Apple Care insurance.
We are at risk everyday. To manage or minimize those risks, we need insurance. It’s the only way to protect ourselves against unforeseen events in the future.
For most of us, insurance topic can be very technical. There are lots of things you need to know with regards to each insurance policies. There are hundreds of them and different types of insurance available in the market. Choosing the best one for our self can be really tough sometimes.
To help you with your decision, here’s the 5 insurance policies you need to have.
1. MEDICAL INSURANCE
This is the most important insurance policy we need to avail for ourself and our family. It gives us protection against hospitalization costs. Depending on where you are, medical costs can be huge burden if left unprotected. Some wealthy nations provide this free to their citizens. But for most countries, this is something they need to buy for their own protection. There are several types of health insurance available in the market. Make sure to choose the best one that suits your needs.
2. CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE
Having medical insurance is not enough. In the event of critical illness, you might find yourself unemployed or taking a rest for uncertain period. If you have critical illness plan, you can get lump sum payout to help you tide the recovery period. Though medical insurance pay your hospital bills, it won’t give you any allowance throughout the hospitalization. It is a must to have critical illness policy on top of your medical insurance. Choose a policy that gives comprehensive critical illnesses on their list. Make sure it also covers all stages of the illnesses.
3. ACCIDENT INSURANCE
This policy gives us protection against accident. Aside from medical coverage due to accident, it also gives lump sum payout in the event of accidental death or accidental dismemberment. Accident do happens and having an accident plan helps to minimize those risk. Some medical policies do not cover outpatient treatment due to accident. Having a separate accident plan is an advantage.
4. DEATH/DISABILITY INSURANCE
If you have a family depending on you, you need to have this policy. It’s a legacy you can leave to them in the event of untimely demise. When you get this policy, it usually covers both death and total disability. It gives lump sum payout in the event any of the two happens. Death coverage usually covers any cause like accident or illness. On the other hand, total disability cover is subjective depending on which insurance provide you get the policy. They may have different interpretation or coverage on this part. Make sure you read your policy contract for more details.
5. INVESTMENT/RETIREMENT INSURANCE
Lastly, if you still have funds, avail investment or retirement policy. Once you have all the other insurance policies to protect your risks, it’s now time to plan for your future. Invest to grow your money and plan for your retirement. There are lots of investment policies offered by most insurance companies. Check their past performances to help you decide which investment funds can give you the best return for your money. Though past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, it will surely help on your decision.
Buying insurance is a long term commitment. Do your own due diligence and do not rely solely on the information given by your agent. Understand the fine prints and make sure you are aware of the pros and cons and types of health insurance you need to avail. Set an appointment with more than one insurance agent so you have comparison before you can decide which one to choose.
