Today is World Health Day. The importance of health has been brought into sharp focus since the beginning of the pandemic with those lucky enough to be in good health feeling more fortunate than ever before.
The problem with health is that you never know when it is going to take a turn for the worse. You can be a toned, healthy eating yogi or a superfit marathon runner but sadly that doesn’t make you immune to any number of illnesses life might throw at you, invincible as you might feel. And however careful you are, there is always the potential of incurring a serious injury through no fault of your own.
Health insurance: a key element of your financial planning
Healthcare costs are on the rise around the world and neglecting to put a comprehensive medical policy in place to cover you and your family can leave you vulnerable to eye-watering costs if anything unexpected happens to you requiring treatment. This is particularly true for expats who often don’t enjoy access to a state health system to fall back on.
That’s why health insurance is up there as one of the fundamental elements of a sound financial plan. In fact, our consultants often compare financial planning to a pyramid with wealth protection providing the foundation upon which the saving and investing parts of your financial plan should be built.
This protection covers three different areas: your life, your income and your health. We’re dealing with the third of these here (although we’d recommend looking at protecting your life and income too).
How does health insurance protect me?
Health insurance protects you against the risk of incurring medical expenses. If you or any member of your family covered under your medical plan becomes sick or incurs an injury, the insurer will cover the payments for any treatment (subject to any predefined exclusions) so that you don’t have to dip into your savings to cover potentially hefty bills.
What factors affect the price of health insurance?
There are a number of different factors which will affect the cost of health insurance. These include:
- How many people are to be included on the policy
- Age
- Medical history
- Pre-existing conditions
- Geographical coverage required
- Level of benefits desired
- Whether the policy is local or international
- Choice of hospital and treatment location
- Inclusion of outpatient care
- Whether emergency evacuation is included
- Additional benefits offered
How do I find the right policy?
With so many different factors to consider, finding the right policy for you and your family can be a bit of a minefield. That’s why we recommend talking to a specialist who can offer access to a range of different healthcare products and sift through the small print to find one that suits your specific requirements.
Infinity offer the best medical insurance plans at the best prices
All Infinity consultants have an in-depth knowledge of the needs of expats in Asia when it comes to quality medical cover. We also work with all the top international insurers, without being tied to any of them, so we can provide you with both choice and independent advice while matching the premiums offered by going direct to the insurance companies.
Why not contact us today to compare your current plan with what we can offer? And if you are an expat living in Asia and don’t already have medical insurance in place, today is a great day to rectify that potentially expensive oversight!
A leading provider of expat financial services and wealth management services across Asia.
