Insurance is an important part of our financial planning as that prepares you to be financially prepared should anything unfortunate happen. Even if you just graduate and have merely started your first job, you should include it in your financial planning.
Do you think that you don’t need it because you are still in good condition? Think again. What if something happens in the future and it negatively affects your health? You need to receive proper care, and pay for hospital fees and such but the fees are too high? Have you saved up enough?
Youth is a good time for you to build your financial foundations. Do take note that insurance is much cheaper during your youth!
Know your purpose when buying an insurance
You need to know what you are looking for. Buying insurance means that you are protecting yourself against any unfortunate events that may arise in the future.
It includes — paying for your medical bills, hospitalization expenses or even losing your income if you were diagnosed with critical illness, disability or unexpected death. With the average fresh graduate salary in Malaysia at approximately RM2,400 per month, you might want to consider buying the right insurance policies.
Which coverages should you be looking at?
Yes, it is not a simple task for many fresh graduates with very little understanding of the types of insurance. They may proceed to purchase without studying the whole thing. That’s not right.
Insurance coverages can be your long-term investment as to why you need to ensure that you know what you are buying for. Here we list down what are some of the plans that you can consider purchasing!
Medical insurance
For most graduates who have just started their workforce journey, it is important to secure good health as your entire career is ahead of you. It is ideal for young adults (with a limited budget) to prioritise medical coverage.
With the rising healthcare costs in Malaysia, medical insurance helps an individual’s medical and surgical expenses.
- Medical card: covers your medical and surgical expenses
- Critical illness insurance: payment made in a lump sum to the insured upon diagnosis of serious illnesses
- Disability income insurance: provides a supplementary income should anything happen to you that left you becoming disability / no longer able to work
Life insurance
Life insurance is for you to consider for your family, moreover, if you are the sole breadwinner in your family if you have dependents or outstanding liabilities.
Here, you can be at peace of mind knowing that your family will be financially funded in the unfortunate event of your passing or you, if diagnosed with an illness that has left you totally and permanently disabled (PTD), disabling you to work in any condition. You can ensure that your family will be financially stable when you are no longer around (living expenses, able to pay education fees, settle debt) or nursing fees to care for you if you have a PTD.
You have two options when choosing life coverage which is Term Life or Whole Life Insurance:
- Term Life: gives coverage for a fixed period of time (usually up to 30 years)
- Whole Life: provides you with a lifelong coverage with a cash value component
Critical Illness Cover
You will be paid a sum of money should you be diagnosed with these 36 critical illnesses that almost every critical illness plan offers to cover.
The insured can decide how to use the lump sum payment, as it is not restricted to medical treatment.
It is normal if you are not familiar with any of the terms mentioned in the insurance. But you have to know the basics, to ensure that you know what you are looking for when speaking to insurance companies.
Whether it is medical insurance, life insurance, or critical illness insurance, you need to know what you are buying, and make sure that you are not overly insured too. It may lead to hefty premiums that will be unsustainable in the long run and you do not want that!
If you need clarifications regarding any insurance policies, just reach out to our agents at Bjak! We will assist you to learn more and decide which plans work the best and fit your budget and needs.
(Sources: fresh graduate salary, Focus MY, Critical Illness)
