Medical insurance is something that one really does not want to utilise as it meant something bad must have happened. Yet it is something that I am grateful for to have as it takes away the financial worry and I can focus on taking care of myself or my family members.
Among all the insurance, hospitalisation is the essential one that we should all have. It’s good that all Singaporeans are all on MediShield Life which provides a basic health insurance plan against large hospital bills. If we can afford it, then it would be good to enhance the coverage with a private insurance.
I have bought private insurance for my kids since they were born and am more than happy that I never need to use them. However, my daughter fractured her elbow from an accidental fall early last month. Long story short, she eventually required to undergo a surgery to join the small fragment back to the main elbow bone.
It is time like this that I am glad that I have the private insurance. I just went for a single ward as that allow us to stay over with her. And because of the rider, I only need to pay 5% co-insurance which can be deducted from MediSave.
A new thing that I learned is that after discharge, there is a choice of either private or subsidised follow-up. It used to be once you are in a non-subsidised ward, then the follow up will not be subsidised too. I do wonder why is there a change in the policy.
I have also bought accident insurance for my kids as they are less aware of danger and could injured themselves when playing. In fact, my daughter had a fracture on the same elbow 5 years ago. Fortunately, she did not need a surgery then and the accident insurance helped to pay for the various treatment. This time round, the payment from accident insurance can probably cover the 5% co-insurance.
It is definitely essential to have a hospitalisation plan and if one can afford, enhance the coverage with a private insurance. For kids and young people, I do not think it is an issue as the premium is relatively affordable. However, the premium for those 50 and above can be intimidating.
When I was planning to leave my regular job, this was something that caught my eyes as the jump in premium every year for private insurance is scary. I had a conversation with my agent and eventually I probably need to downgrade my insurance. It is something I am still thinking about and would probably write another post on that after I made a decision in a few years time.