Quick Overview & Considerations
Medical Insurance, or Health Insurance as it is commonly known, is the most basic form of protection in our daily life. It prevents you and your family from suffering a financial loss as a result of an accident, illness or disability. It can provide an income while you are disabled or in hospital, or cover the cost of your medical treatment or nursing care.
The type of health insurance product you would need depends on what you want protection against.
| If you want to: | You should consider: |
| Have your medical expenses paid | Medical expense insurance |
| Receive a fixed amount of cash when you are in hospital | Hospital cash insurance |
| Reduce your financial burden when you are diagnosed with a major illness (for example, cancer) | Critical illness insurance |
| Protect your income when you are unable to work | Disability income insurance |
| Pay the cost of any care you need when you are too weak to look after yourself | Long-term care insurance |
Questions You Need To Ask Before Taking Up Health Insurance
- What will my health insurance policy cover?
- Am I already covered for the same thing under another health insurance policy?
- What doesn’t the health insurance policy cover and when will I not be covered?
- How much will I be paying for my health insurance and will I be able to afford the premiums over the long term?
- How often will the premium be charged and will it be a fixed or variable sum?
- Will my policy automatically be renewed and what is the penalty if I do not pay any premium on time?
- When or in what circumstances will my health insurance policy end?
- How do I make a claim?
- Are there any limits to the benefits that can be paid out from my policy?
- How will my future premiums be affected after I have made a claim?
- Will I be covered for medical treatment performed outside your resident country?
- How is my health insurance policy affected by other schemes that pay for healthcare?
- If I am covered by my employer’s group policy, what am I cover exactly for?
