Back to Basic Series 2 - Medical Life Insurance

Medical Life Insurance (36 Critical Illnesses Policy)

What is Medical Life Insurance?

Medical Life Insurance is a policy that takes care of you when you are being diagnosed with any major critical illnesses and living with a lump sum cash payment payout from your critital illness policy.

Why Should I Buy Medical Life Insurance?
As medical technology improves, so too does our quality of life. While we enjoy longer life spans and a higher possibility of surviving critical illnesses, not all of us are prepared for the financial burden that comes with being diagnosed with one.

Having Medical Life Policy-

·    To ensure that you have enough money to go for medical treatment and able to maintain your lifestyle after you fall ill.

·    To ensure that your immediate family has a lump sum of cash and income after you fall ill or demise, so that they can easily pay bills, taxes and other obligations.

·    For your children to have money for education.

·    To ensure that you have extra income when your earnings are reduced due to critical illnesses or total permanent disability (TPD).

·    Can be another form of saving, if nothing happen to you, you may get back all the premium paid + bonus + interest.

I already have a Medical Card with high annual limit, why should I get a Medical Life Insurance?
A Medical Card is to cover your treatments and medical bills from the hospital, and Medical Life Insurance is a lump sum of payout to enable you to pay your monthly expenses, e.g. car loan, mortgage, education fees and also to maintain your lifestyle.

Example:
I have a client who had a stroke in year 2007. She was only 31 years old at that time. She was sent to the ICU in Gleneagles Hospital Ampang for 6 days, and transferred to a normal ward for another 2 weeks. Her medical bills from the hospital was about RM32,000.00. Luckily she had a Medical Card to settle her hospital bills.

After discharged, the doctor told her, she will not be able to work for the next 12 to 18 months or more, depends on her recovery speed. She was working as a retail promoter, with a monthly income of about RM2000 to RM2300. She had a car loan and a new mortgage to serve at that time, and her MRTA did not cover for critical illnesses. So she still had to serve the mortgage and car loan even though she has no more monthly income. Fortunately she had a Medical Life Insurance policy, which she had bought in year 2005. Her total claim payout was about RM80,000. That lump sum of money managed to settle her basic monthly expenses and seek for some extra treatment, such as acupuncture. The Medical Card continues to settle her post medical fees and payments for other treatments from the hospital.

According to the research of Dr. Mario Barnes from USA, 1 out of 4 will suffer critical illness before age 65, 1 out of 3 will suffer cancer before they die, and the ‘bad news’ is 77% who suffer illnesses will survive, BUT without enough insurance money to maintain their lifestyle or keep up with their necessary medical cost.

According to a market research and survey published by a international reinsurer, nearly 50% of mortgage foreclosure are due to insufficient critical illness insurance;only 3% are due to death (Best’s Review – Life/Health Insurance Edition). Do you rather lose your house to get the mortgage or get your house and lose out your mortgage?

“The probability of incurring a critical illness is more than twice as great as dying from any cause before age 65” ( Employee Benefits New and Views Magazine)

How much Medical Life coverage (Critical Illness coverage) is enough?

We were told that inflation rate is about 4 % to 6%. What about medical inflation?

According to the statistic, the medical inflation rate in Malaysia is estimated to be 10% to 15% every year. Meaning to say, a treatment that costs RM50,000 today would cost RM129,687.12 in a decade. (inflation of 10%)

I am sure everyone of us has a critical illness policy, but is the coverage adequate? Is it a flat coverage plan or ever increasing coverage plan? When was the last time you reviewed your critical illness coverage?

According to the rule of 5 in Registered Financial Consultant (RFC), our critical illness coverage should be at least 5 times your current annual income.
Example:
If your annual income is RM60,000.00, then your critical illness coverage should be RM60,000.00 x 5, and that will be RM300,000.00. But the coverage should be review from time to time according to the lifestyle, job change, life priority, etc. So how much is your current coverage?

Number of claims by age band(2009)

Medical Life Insurance is very expensive…

A Medical Life Insurance policy will definitely cost us money. But paying the 5% premium to protect the 95% of our hard earned money in the bank surely is a wiser decision. A 30 years old man would pay RM3,430 yearly for RM100,000 immediate coverage. Do you know how many years he has to save to create his own RM100,000 in the bank by saving the same amount every year?  The answer is almost 29 years. 

It’s a fact that our medical costs are getting higher and higher every year, should you be diagnosed with any critical illnesses, you will receive a lump sum payment of the basic sum assured. So you can have peace-of-mind doing what’s most important to you; getting back on your feet again. 

The client that I mentioned above, she finished her RM80,000 in about 2 years time. I remember she once told me, ‘I wish I’ve buy more Medical Life Insurance, RM80,000 is too little.’… Honestly, I really have no idea how to reply her statement, I can only smile away… 

She is still unable to work until today, living on the RM1,200 monthly income from SOCSO. Moved back to her hometown to reduce the living cost. And she is only 35 years old………..

We keep worrying the cost of having Medical Life Insurance, but what about the cost of not having one??? Which is more costly??

Don’t hesitate anymore!! Call me for policy review and upgrading NOW…

Why Great Eastern?

Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) BHD is poised for continued growth in its second century of existence. It is off to a good start at achieving its goal to continue its reign as the market leader in the industry. With more than 100 years of experience in solid financial foundation and innovative infrastructure. The Company was certified by the Malaysia Book of Records in 1998 as the "Oldest & Largest Life Insurer" in Malaysia. 

Great Eastern has assets in excess of 44 billion as at 31 December 2009. The head office, 21 operational branch offices nationwide and a network of 17,000 agents serve over 2.84 million policies in force. Great Eastern continue to remain true to our stand that health, wealth and meaningful relationship make life great. Great Eastern has earned our customers’ loyalty throughout the years and believe that this trust is cultivated from our excellent service.

Good Seeds Produce Good Tress

Good Company Always Provide Good Benefits

Sources:

www.insuranceinfo.com.my

www.lifeisgreat.com.my

www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=12&pg=682&ac=84&yr=2010
http://www.creativeinsurancestrategies.com

Back to Basic Series 1 - Medical Card

Medical Card – Part 2

The last thing you’d want when you meet with an unfortunate event or life changing illness is to be left with unexpected medical bills. Having a medical card will gives you the medical protection you need and eliminates your worries.

Understanding terms used in a Medical Card Policy

Co – Insurance

What is co- insurance? Co- insurance was first introduced in year 2004 by Bank Negara Malaysia and which enables insurers to offer plans with lower premiums while promoting individual responsibility in health spending by creating an incentive for consumers to be more discerning when considering medical treatment.

With the practise of co-insurance, policy holders have to pay 10% of the medical bills, up to a maximum of RM500. 20% co-insurance and no maximum capping if upgrade Room & Board. (This scenario is base on Great Eastern Medical Card- GMC2)

Examples:

a)   Mr. Q admitted to hospital due to dengue, he is having a 200 room & board medical card, he was staying in the twin sharing room which cost RM200 per night. Total medical bills was RM7,000.00. So, after the co-insurance charges, Mr. Q only has to pay RM500 out of the RM7,000.00. Great Eastern will settle the balance of RM6,500.00.

b)   Miss P had a minor surgery in the hospital, she stayed for a night and the bill was RM2,100.00. So, the amount of 10% co-insurance was RM210.00 for her to pay. Great Eastern will take care the balance.

c)   Mr. G is having a 150 room & board medical card, and he was admitted to the hospital due to an serious car accident. When he arrived at the hospital, the nurse told the family that the RM150 rooms are all full. He has no choice but to stay in the RM250 room. After 5 days of the treatments and surgery, his total medical bills was RM34,500. Because he was hospitalised and the board rate was higher than his eligibility, he has to bear 20% co-insurance and no maximum capping for his medical bills. So, the total amount that Mr. G has to pay was RM6,900.00.

        (all scenarios based on GE GMC2)

Some others company do offer cashless Medical card, but the premium will be much higher and this kind of medical cards are becoming less available due to misuse and very high claim rate.

Have you upgraded your Medical Card for your current needs?

I'm sure everybody will agree with me that Medical Card is a basic need to all of us now.. BUT, do you have enough coverage to beat the current medical inflation? When was the last time you review your Medical Card coverage and benefits? What are the latest room charges in all the major hospital now?

I remember one of my colleauge once shared her experience with us. She told us that one of her client met a car accident near the Jalan Pahang round about, he was unconscious and the passer-by sent him to a private hospital that was very near to the round about. His condition was quite bad, and the nurses wouldn't get to contact his family, but they found a medical card from his wallet, so they tried to admit him.

Not long later, the nurse came back and told the passer-by whom sent him in that his medical limit was too low for his current condition, and they refused to admit him!! They asked them to send him to General Hospital which is also nearby.

We were so shocked, but that's the reality. I am sure we have seen some similar stories from the newspaper or somewhere before. We MUST make sure our medical card has enough limit for the current market 'price tag'.

Usually hospitals have limited 4 bedded room

Guaranteed Renewable

As a Medical Card policy holder, please make sure your Medical Card policy is GUARANTEED RENEWABLE.

‘Guaranteed renewal’ means that the insurance company guarantees the renewal of the policy. The renewal premiums payable, however, is not guaranteed nor fixed.

In practice, the renewal of the policy is guaranteed until certain events occurred, such as:

·    You did not pay your premium or did not pay it on time;

·    You have misrepresented a material fact, e.g. age or a medical condition during your application;

·     You have cancelled the policy;

·     The total claims of the policy have reached the lifetime limit specified; and

·     You have attained the coverage age limit.

Importance of Disclosure

Policy holders must give all the facts in the application form fully and faithfully. When the agent is filling in the form, read and understand the requirements carefully. Otherwise, the policy could be void or unable to claim in the future.

Exclusions

Medical Card policy also contains certain exclusions, just like other insurance policies. Some common exclusion are the following:

·         Pre-existing condition- Conditions and illnesses experienced prior to applying for the policy. These conditions and illnesses would be excluded from coverage.

·         Specified illnesses- These are defined as 12 disabilities (e.g. tumours & gastritis) and their related conditions. Policy holders will not be covered for these illnesses if the illnesses have been treated or occurred during the first 12 months of the policy.

·         Qualifying/ Waiting period- Specified Illnesses occurring within the first 120 days from the Risk Commencement Date, except for accident injuries. (based on GE GMC2)

Why Great Eastern??

Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) BHD is poised for continued growth in its second century is off to a good start at achieving its goal to continue its reign as the market leader in the industry. With more than 100 years of experience in solid financial foundation and innovative infrastructure. The Company was certified by the Malaysia Book of Records in 1998 as the "Oldest & Largest Life Insurer" in Malaysia. Great Eastern has assets in excess of 44 billion as at 31 December 2009. The head office, 21 operational branch offices nationwide and a network of 17,000 agents serve over 2.84 million policies in force. Great Eastern continue to remain true to our stand that health, wealth and meaningful relationship make life great. Great Eastern has earned our customers’ loyalty throughout the years and believe that this trust is cultivated from our excellent service. Facts Ever wondered how much Great Eastern pays out in medical claims? According to the summary of claims from January to March 2011, Great Eastern has paid out 52.7 million just for health & medical policies. That’s about RM572,826.09 every day.  (refer to Medical Protection & Product Page) Check out our Panel Specialists & Panel Hospitals:   http://www.lifeisgreat.com.my/lig4/newlig/customer/cs_health.htm https://www.epartner.com.my/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=44e50014-1c96-48e4-a91d-6fedd4b80c91&groupId=86107 GET YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONE A MEDICAL CARD TODAY !!    source: www.insuranceinfo.com.my www.lifeisgreat.com.my

www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=12&pg=682&ac=84&yr=2010

Back to Basic Series 1 - Medical Card

Medical Card - Part 1

I remember long before I joined the insurance industry, one of my friends asked me,
‘ Thammy, do you know what are the 2 most important cards inside your wallet?’ Of course I answered the question without any hesitation, ‘ Oh.. My identity card and my credit card.’ She replied, ‘ Nope, you only got one of them right.. The 2 most important cards that you should have inside your wallet are your identity card and your life saver card, which is your medical card…’

She wasn’t an agent, and I didn't really bother to ask why until I myself became an insurance agent.  I totally, 100% agree to what she said… The 2 most important cards what we all should have inside our wallet should be the identity card and the medical card.

But after a few years in the industry, I realised that there are still many people do not know the difference between a medical card and a critical illness policy.

SO, WHAT IS A MEDICAL CARD??

A Medical Card is generally designed to cover the cost of private medical treatment, which can be very expensive, especially with hospitalisation and surgery.  Having a medical card also ensures that you won’t have to worry about the cost of seeking treatment during emergencies.

You can be a very good saver and you might tell me, “I save every month, I have enough cash in the bank to cover my medical expenses if anything should happen to me… I DON’T NEED A MEDICAL CARD…”. Or you can be a very healthy and a fit person, so you might tell me, “I have a very healthy lifestyle and I go the gym 5 times a week, I don’t think I will fall ill… I DON’T NEED A MEDICAL CARD…”.  


SO,WHY SHOULD I BUY A MEDICAL CARD??

A Medical Card can help you to save guard your hard earned money in the bank. Why should you transfer your hard earned money to the hospital just like that? Medical costs will burn a hole in your pocket, why not transfer the risk to Great Eastern?
A good example, the lowest annual limit from Great Eastern is RM90,000.00 If you save RM200  every month systematically, how long do you think you need to save in order to achieve RM90,000? The answer is 450 months, which is 37.5 years…

Going to the gym and having healthy lifestyle is the trend now, 8 out of 10 people are having gym membership. For whatever reason, it can be the health purpose, beauty or just because everybody is having one.. So they think they are healthy and fit, they won’t fall ill easily. But what about Dengue? Accident? Appendix removal? These are the things that we cannot prevent or predict, no matter how healthy you are, right??

Just like me, when I first got my medical card in March 2004, I was telling myself, “Aiya, there is no way I will use this card, at least not for the next 20 years…”. Guess what happened, I was admitted to Gleneagles Hospital just 3 months after I got my medical card for appendix removal, and the total bill was almost RM6,000.00.. Then I told myself, “ Thank God I have that mighty medical card, if not I got to trouble my parent..”,

A Medical Card will help you to pay for the various hospitalisation and medical expenses that you will incur, if you become ill or injured. These expenses will include hospital room & board, professional consultation, surgery fees, medical supplies and services.

MEDICAL CARD ENABLES YOU TO GET FAST & EFFECTIVE TREATMENT

source:
www.insuranceinfo.com.my
www.lifeisgreat.com.my