You do realize the importance of medical insurance in covering your hospitalization and treatment costs. But looking at the prices, you just wish there are ways to get lower medical insurance premiums.
If you’re struggling to find medical insurance that meets your needs and budget, we’ve got you covered!
Here are four ways to get lower medical insurance premiums.
1. Get your insurance early
Have you noticed that one of the first questions asked when you request a medical insurance quote is your birth date?
There’s a good reason for it. Age is one of the primary factors that determine your premium. As young people are considered less likely to get ill and be admitted to hospitals, their premiums will be significantly lower compared to older people.
‘How much can I save if I get my insurance now?’
To answer that, consider Efa, a 24-year-old lady working as an administrative officer. For her chosen insurance policy, her monthly premium at her current age is RM160. But say that she decides to get insured 10 years from now, her monthly premium for the exact, same policy increases to RM220! That’s RM60 or 37.5% of her money that she could save! Multiply that amount with 12 months, Efa will find herself wasting RM720 a year!
So what’s the lesson here?
Get insured as soon as you can to save more of your precious money!
2. Start with a lower coverage
Start with a lower coverage that fits your budget. For example, you can afford RM200 a month for your medical insurance, so find a policy that is well within the amount.
Bear in mind that getting medical insurance is a financial commitment. So you need to ensure that you have the money to pay for your insurance every month. Start by looking into your overall finances and setting aside an amount that you can afford for your insurance.
‘But paying less for insurance means I won’t be getting sufficient coverage, right?”
Not necessarily.
For instance, the 24-year-old Efa may not need up to RM1,000,000 for inpatient treatment annually as she’s young and in the best of health. She can get a much lower premium by slashing the coverage amount of inpatient treatment to say, RM500,000.
‘But what if I want to increase the coverage amount later?’
That’s a good question! As you get older and your income grows bigger, you can increase your insurance coverage amount depending on your needs at that point.
The bottom line is you need to balance your medical needs with the amount you’re capable of paying every month. It’s perfectly okay to start with a small coverage. Perhaps a few years down the road, you can consider increasing your coverage when you need it and when you can afford to.
3. Choose a higher deductible
The good thing about opting for a higher deductible is you can pay for a significantly lower premium.
‘Wait, what’s a ‘deductible?’
A deductible is an amount that the policyholder (that’s you!) has to pay before your insurance policy starts covering the remaining amount of your medical bill. Note that some medical insurance policies offer ‘zero deductible‘ which means you don’t have to pay for any amount of your medical bill as it’s 100% covered by your insurance.
To give you a better picture of how a ‘deductible’ works, consider the scenarios below:
Scenario A (Deductible amount: RM500)
Efa is admitted to a hospital for a minor knee surgery. As her insurance policy stipulates and she agreed that her ‘deductible’ is RM500, she has to pay RM500 out of RM5,000 of her medical bill while her insurance pays the remaining RM4,500.
When Efa’s deductible amount is RM500, her monthly insurance premium is RM250.
Scenario B (Deductible amount: RM1,000)
Efa is admitted to a hospital for a minor knee surgery. As she asked for her deductible to be RM1,000 and this was agreed by her insurance, she has to pay RM1,000 out of the RM5,000 medical bill while her insurance pays the remaining RM4,000.
Meanwhile, when Efa’s deductible amount is RM1,000, her monthly insurance premium goes down to RM150. That’s RM100 saved! In a year, she would save RM1,200!
Remember, only choose a higher deductible if you certainly can afford to pay for your deductible whenever an unexpected medical emergency arises.
4. Compare insurance policies
When you shop for groceries, you will most likely buy from grocers that offer you the most savings. Even if it takes you a longer car ride, you will go from one grocery store to another so you won’t miss out on good deals.
Similarly, you have to look for the best insurance policy that best meets your needs and budget.
After setting aside the amount that you can afford for your insurance, it’s best that you list down the coverage you’re looking for such as zero deductible for medical expenses.
When you compare insurance policies offered by various insurers, you’ll be able to find attractive deals and discounts that would save you a ton of money.
So there you go! Four ways to get lower medical insurance premiums.
Need more help? Just use Bjak. You can easily customize your coverage to meet both your needs and budget. Get started here: https://bjak.com/life/
(Sources: New Straits Times, Raffles Health Insurance, Savings.com.au)
