You remember the first time you held on to your newborn, as they took their first breath and looked into your eyes. The familial connection and bond growing with each passing day. You watch as they took their first steps and begin each milestone, progressing from infant to toddler. And soon after, your home becomes a constant mess while you fruitlessly rush to tidy up wherever the young ones have been.
In this moment of happiness, we are always hearing about the need to buy insurance for your child, to lock in the cheaper premiums and insurability at their tender young age. We understand from many parents that it is not easy to ascertain if insurance is ever necessary for our young ones, and what kinds of plans to look for.
In this article, we will share 3 quick tips on getting insurance for your child.
(See "5 Simple Steps on Getting Your Life Protection Coverage Right")
#1 Always insure yourself first
This is a cardinal rule that many people tend to overlook. The purpose of insurance is to offset your liabilities to the insurer, so that your family does not have to take on sudden financial burden should something unfortunate happens to you.
An insurance plan with your child as the life assured doesn't help resolve the immediate financial concerns they will immediately take on, should the above scenario happens. If you have outstanding liabilities for a new house or car, all these will easily vanish without the appropriate stream of income to support them.
In addition, do not take for granted the impact of living and future education expenses. If your family is unable to sustain a similar level of income, they will need to adjust their expenditure accordingly which may lead to big lifestyle changes.
(See "You Might be in Massive Trouble, Without These 3 Insurance Policies")
#2 Hospitalization coverage is important
One of the key privilege of a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident, is the Medishield Life scheme. This provides a huge safety net that helps cover the person against large unexpected hospitalization bills. For many people employed in the workforce, their companies also provide additional employee benefits through group medical insurance.
With advanced medical infrastructure available in Singapore, it is increasingly common to be diagnosed earlier with a wider range of conditions which in yesteryears, can go unnoticed. Once your child have been diagnosed with a medical condition, it can be difficult for insurers to provide cover for that condition, or will require a loading (e.g. increase of premiums).
Integrated Shield Plans which can enhance the hospitalization coverage up to private hospitalization can be rather light on the pockets, especially if the life assured is very young. Children in their quest to explore their surroundings, do get injured from time to time, and constant trips to the hospital can rack up some hefty costs. With the hospitalization coverage in place, you can easily seek the appropriate treatment without being over burdened by costs.
(See "5 Awesome Facts You Didn't Know About Medisave & Shield Plans!")
#3 Life plans are a gift, not a necessity
A child is entirely dependent on you for their daily living, and would unlikely have any liabilities this early in life. If you decide to get a life plan for your child, it would essentially serve two purposes:
Firstly, in the unfortunate case where your child develops severe critical illness or suffers from total disability, you would likely have to support them far longer than expected. This could mean home modifications due to mobility issues, or the recurring cost of long term medication to keep the condition in check.
Secondly, if all things goes well, the life plan would be helping your child offset this future cost. If you have sufficiently insured yourself, there is no wrong in doing this for your child's future. The funds they would have used to buy insurance at a later age can be put to even more productive use, such as growing their nest egg even bigger, or doing the same thing for their future dependents.
With each carefully thought out steps, your actions today can help secure your family and their future dependents future.
(See "Average Singaporeans Need $1 Million Coverage. Have You Had Yours?")
How FSMOne can help you get on track
Our team of friendly advisers is able to help you review your financial objectives, long term commitments, and offer you investment and insurance advice specific to your needs. If you would like assistance in reviewing your financial and protection portfolio, or simply to get a quote for an insurance plan, you can contact our advisers at advisory@fundsupermart.com.
Available Products on FSMOne Insurance |
Term Life, Whole Life, Critical Illness, Annuity, Health, Endowment from Manulife, NTUC Income and Tokio Marine Life Insurance *Please check with our advisory team if the product you want is available on FSMOne Insurance |
Interested to learn more? Check out these articles:
5 Simple Steps on Getting Your Life Protection Coverage Right
Average Singaporeans Need $1 Million Coverage. Have You Had Yours?
How Do You Know If You Are Immune to Cancer?
5 Awesome Facts You Didn't Know About Medisave & Shield Plans!