Do you have extra cash on hand that you are considering to invest? Before thinking of the may possible things you can spend that extra cash on, better invest your money first in picking the right health insurance in Malaysia.
The right medical insurance is a must for Malaysians. Regardless if you always get sick or the only time you have probably visited the hospital is when you were born, you still need to pick a health insurance that can protect the money you have worked so hard to earn, so as not to just spend them in one go at hospital bills and medical expenses.
So how will you know how to choose the right one? Here is a few guideline questions you can ponder that can help you decide which life insurance companies can offer you the best deal. (Article contribution by CompareHero.my which resonates with what I have covered previously below)
Dissecting the Jargons in Medical Insurance
Why you should review your medical insurance…yesterday?
1. Learn the difference of each policy.
Decide whether you want a critical illness plan, a disability income plan, a hospitalization and surgery (H&S) benefit plan, or a personal accident plan or if you want all.
a. Critical illness plan
– enables you to get certain amount when you are diagnosed with any of the diseases mentioned in their policy. This plan will provide you with financial support when you have stopped getting income due to your illness.
b. Disability income plan
– allows you to receive income from the insurance company in the event that you become disabled or injured for the duration of your disability until you reach 65 or 70 years.
c. Hospitalization and surgical (H&S) plan
– gives you a certain amount of allowance which you can use for cashless hospital admission or to reimburse all or some of your medical expenses.
2. How much can you afford?
Getting the right medical policy insurance will also involve how much you can pay for its premium. Remember that the more medical coverage it offers, the higher the insurance charges will be. The rate will also depend on factors that include your age, health record, gender and whether you smoke or not.
3. Pick the one with higher age coverage
In choosing your health insurance policy, pay attention to the age coverage and choose the one that can cover the higher age. You wouldn’t want to outlive your medical policy so pay attention to details and pick a number that is a few years higher than the age you think you’ll live up to be. Nowadays minimum is 80 years old. Dust off and review your policies if you haven’t done so in years.
4. Opt for one that does not include co-payments
The primary reason you are purchasing a medical insurance policy is to save money and protect your wealth. So it will only make sense if you will have fewer charges to pay to your insurance company. Choosing for one that doesn’t include co-payment charge means you only have to pay for the difference in room upgrades when you get hospitalized. Meanwhile, insurance policies that include co-payments means that you will have to pay for the difference in room charges plus pay the interest rate of co-payment your insurance company has set.
(LCF note – in practical, co-payment clause with a low maximum cap is acceptable)
5. Lifetime limit
The quality of your medical insurance will also depend greatly on which lifetime limit you choose. Pick the lifetime limit with the minimum of RM 1 million so that you would not need to have any unnecessary hassles and worries that may be brought about by just picking the cheapest medical plan you can find.
Choosing the right medical policy comes down to knowing how much you are willing to set aside for your health, how much you are willing to lose from your income should you get sick in the distant future, and what particular inclusions and exclusion you want in your health insurance contract. Now you can go and pick the best insurance company in Malaysia.
(LCF note – Annual limit is getting more important nowadays as major medical condition could cost a bomb per confinement)
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Written by CompareHero, the leading financial comparison portal in Malaysia, committed to finding you the right medical insurance at a competitive price.
For more information, see our most recent comprehensive comparison of the best medical cards in Malaysia.
Thank ChingFoo about this great article about medical insurance , your article and this article which is about medical insurance myths
https://qompanion.my/articles/situations-when-your-medical-insurance-isn-t-enough
cleared many doubts that i had in my mind . I am really sad about the factt that a critical illness disease is not covered by a normal medical insurance !