The rise of financial technology (fintech) has put the reach of many financial products in the hands of consumers.…
In a survey done by AIA, 30% of respondents concluded that health is the most important thing to them. For these respondents, staying healthy and being able to participate in daily living activities is even more vital than the goal of accumulating wealth. And here’s why health is growing in importance for many Singaporeans.
One common regret that people have on their deathbed is that they didn’t take care of their health when they had the chance. This is a common problem among retirees who have accumulated a good amount of retirement savings but have difficulties spending the fruits of their labour because of health conditions.
For example, chronic health issues like diabetes and hypertension are debilitating. They have long term impact on one’s lifestyle and diet. Not just that, they are also irreversible and can lead to further complications like heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. The moment you are impacted by such chronic health issues, you will need to be on medication for life.
From a financial perspective, health conditions doesn’t just impact your lifestyle, it also impacts your finances. If you need to be on medication for life, that means a lifetime subscription of diabetes or hypertension medication that can’t be stopped. This can be financially costly.
Furthermore, such health conditions also increases your odds of developing further health complications that are not only expensive to treat, but it is also financially exhausting to recover from. That’s because to recover after you fall ill is an expensive affair. In addition, you will have to spend time recuperating while you are recovering. This will cause you to miss your productive working years.
Ultimately, all of these spirals downwards to cause rapid depletion of the money that you have worked hard and sacrificed your health to save.
Health insurance is a must-have for every individual. However, some of us tend to think that our body is invincible because we are still young. This is known as the “invincibility complex”, which makes young and healthy adults think that insurance is something that is not needed because we will “never fall ill”.
The danger of “invincibility complex” is that health conditions can affect anyone and can strike anytime. The moment you are affected by a health condition, you will no longer be able to find insurance coverage for it.
Therefore, the financially sound move to make is to get your health insurance coverage early. This will ensure that you stay insured and protected even if you are unfortunately hit with a health condition.
Prevention is always better than cure. But certain deadly illnesses like cancer can strike you without warning. Such deadly illnesses can be due to lifestyle, family history, genetics, or environmental factors. If it can’t be completely prevented, then what’s the next best action you can take?
From a financial perspective, the next best move is to be insured with an early critical illness (CI) plan.
An early CI plan provides you with a lump sum of money upon detection of any CI conditions such as cancer or heart attack. This amount of money is provided for you to seek treatment for your CI condition, which is typically more treatable when you detected and treated early. If your early CI insurance is well planned, you will also have a buffer amount that covers your monthly expenses while you seek treatment.
While we have outlined some ways you can protect your health and your wealth, having an expert guiding you for your financial planning is still recommended. This ensures that your protection needs are met and tailored to suit your lifestyle and financial goals. If you need financial planning advice, you can reach out to Moneyline.SG here.
