Companies generally offer medical benefits based on their budget hence it may not serve your best interest. Some companies change their providers purely based on cost factor and this burdens their employees in most cases.

that's why must alw treat ur company's medicard as a bonus only since u dont own it forever. ppl can alw change jobs or retrenched.

better get ur own. u can choose whatever u like

Yes, that is really true company medical card always has limitations.

I am about to review my current coverage. Looking at AXA Plan 3 and Plan 2 (single vs double bedded), at first glance I am thinking that should be ok to be at double bedded. but I heard few illness requires patient to be quarantine in single bedded and not sure how true it is. if true, this will cost co-insurance of 20%. other issue RM 180 per day might not be enough for future. But of course switch to higher plan come with plan and subject to underwriting

AXA has a limit per disability. be sure not to forget this. this also leads to one of the lowest premium per 1k of cover in the market. if you can afford it you should a) use the higher plan (marginal cost is low) and b) make sure you have a top-up plan without a limit per disability but lifetime limit to maximise cover.

hope you can enlighten mean on this. is top up plan referring to a plan with deductible policy? if you are referring to Tokio Marine Medic Plus, its also has deductible per disability of 10 K before we can start making a claim. but not sure whether we can make a claim without any limit per disability after we have paid that 10K. hope you can clarify this.

another question normally which bedding configuration is more dominant in hospital (i know this is very subjective and depend on each hospital).

hi,

the thing with axa is that you MUST recover for 3 months from any disability before your limits (i.e. 120/150 days) are reset. this is why i would personally advise that when you choose AXA you should also use a "normal" H&S plan that carries a life time limit. a deductable such as tokio marines per disability fits well to cover exactly this limitation of the policy. but any other deductable policy (pacific, allianz) can be considered as well. if you have both you can first claim from axa and if something exceeds those limits you can claim from the second policy.

bedding configuration for private hospital? i would assume double and single. the higher your limit the better though - cause this usually also means your remaining limits are high and risk of hitting the 20% co-insurance for exceeding room/board is lower.

not very clear

-what happen if we recover more than 3 months from any disability? does it means we need to wait until the renewal date before getting the new limit (120/150days) for other illness?
-how about severe illness which is impossible to recover within 3 months
-can you direct me to which part of AXA policy (could not find it)

thanks PJUSA

what is your comment on AXA plan 3, 100 k annual with RM180/double bed configuration. looks like the most affordable right now but very afraid hitting the 20% co-insurance. might be combine with Tokio Marine MPB@RM300 Room&board

This post has been edited by cenkudu: Feb 5 2010, 07:42 AM

if i understand the policy correctly, after 3 months any disability will be treated as new and if the policy year has not yet ended you can claim again fully as per your annual limit. the limit is per disability so you can have as many per year as you want.

you dont need to recover within three months but for hospitalisation after your limit is used up you must recover first before you can claim for the same illness again. this is why a second policy should be usefull.

personally i dont think 100k annual limit is enough for serious illness. i would choose a higher plan. the nice thing about axa co-insurance clause is that if you have a higher room and board within the same category of room you are entitled to you only pay the difference in room and board rate and no 20% co-insurance on the other expenses applies.

from a value for money point of view, the higher the cover the cheaper the cost per 1k cover (risk of high loss is lower than risk of medium loss etc.). so aim as high as you can - but dont overspend.

i dont have time to look for the clause in the policy today but if you remind me i can do so over the weekend i think the 120 / 150 clause is in the beginning though.

AIA has good investment link package....it covers death, permanent disability and Critical illness at one price....and the return is damn good....i strongly recommend this....

guys i need help in buying medical insurance

Im 22. self employed.. non smoker.. and i would like an insurance which covers if im hospitalised or unable to work the insurance will cover me.. earning per month is 2-5k around there.

what's a fair amount to cover myself with ? i prefer not to link with investment as i've been told investment and insurance should be seperated

~Battousai~,

you would need two insurances in this case if you want a hospitalisation benefit. for your health insurance there are many many general insurance options. do you have a budget or preferences? this will pretty determine the choice of H&S that you will (have) to make.

what exactly do you want to cover when you say "unable to work the insurance will cover me". do you require a daily / monthly cash benefit if you are unabel to work? if so how long should the payout take place and under what circumstances. to some extend the lump-sum payment of a CI may be what you want. if you only want cover in case of accident, a good PI policy might be what you are looking for. as far as i know there is no malaysian policy that will cover you with a monthly payment or lumpsum payment if for any reason you should be unable to work. with some luck you might however be able to get such a policy from abroad. but: such a policy (unless its lumpsum) will be pretty expensive, i would assume a couple of thousand ringgit in your case per annum.

cool. btw, i have question from my friend who is about to purchase medical insurance. if in the health declaration form/questionnaire she tick yes mentioning that she has certain symptom, will the insurance ask him to do a medical check up? or they will approve and exclude that problem? in her case, she never been admitted and the diagnosis is from medical specialist in private clinic only.

the problem is lump (non cancerous) and can be removed or not depending on the patient since it is not dangerous.

cenduku,

the definition of disability is the important thing to note:

"Shall mean a Sickness, Disease, Illness or the entire Injuries arising of a single or continuous series of causes. ANY ONE DISABILITY shall mean all of the periods of disability arising from the same cause including any and all complications there from except that if the Insured Person completely recovers and remain free from further treatment (including drugs, medicines, special diet or injection or advice for the condition) of the disability for at least ninety (90) days following the latest date of discharge and subsequent disability from the same cause shall be considered as though it were a new disability."

the benefits of "IN-PATIENT & DAYCARE SURGICAL PROCEDURE" and "OUT-PATIENT TREATMENT" (sections A & B) are per disability as defined above.

only section C carries an independant payout for
a) Out-patient Kidney Dialysis, lifetime maximum
b) Out-patient Cancer Treatment, lifetime maximum
c) Accidental Death
d) International Emergency Medical Evacuation & Repatriation, per annual maximum

as per your friends questions:

this will totally depend on the symptom and the further explanation. if you can give a detailed explanation which sort of eliminates the risk to the insurer they might still cover this particular problem in total otherwise exclusions are likely. in general the less information besides the ticked box, the more likely the exclusion is going to be. it's best to fully disclose for the past 5 years and to offer further disclosure for periods exceeding this period on demand. that way you can cover yourself against a potential refusual of claims due to the insured having withheld information. bear in mind, false information or withholding important information renders the entire contract null and void and will thus leave the person in question without any cover at all. it's best to disclose as much as possible and offer that they check if any further information wanted with your or your physician. this basically covers you for the future.

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Added on February 6, 2010, 11:41 amedit: a lump should usually not be a problem. but of course this is for underwriting to decide not me.

This post has been edited by PJusa: Feb 6 2010, 11:41 AM

Thanks PJusa very comprehensive answer. discussing with agent to terminate ILP and they try to convince me that their product is good because it comes with special benefit. anything happen to parent the policy will be waived

hey PJusa.. thanks for the reply..greatly appreciated

ok i'll list down more details so easier for u to recommend:

What's your income? 2-5k self employed
What's your budget for Insurance? 150-300 per month
How old? 22 this year
Female/Male? male
Occupation? tennis coach
Do you have any dependent? How many? How old? Are they working or not? no dependent...for personal use

what i mean is like i heard prudential has this where if u cant work they'll pay u right.. say if im covered for 2k of pay they'll pay me 2k as long as i cant work..some sort like that.. i have simply no experience in insurance so im not sure about the payout to me.. would greatly appreciate if u could explain to me better

i would like to cover for the 36 CI and also medical card in case i get hospitalised..as hospital fees are constantly rising.. i need to cover at least 250-300 a night for room.. as the premium doenst increase with age right ? so better get high from young i believe.. correct me if im wrong

really appreciate the info u given me..thanks

This post has been edited by ~Battousai~: Feb 6 2010, 10:02 PM

Cenkudu, please do not terminate ur current ILP policy or any policies unless you have to do so. It would be the worst decision to make.

Advice from certified financial planner would be more convincing.
read this post http://kclau.com/insurance/replacement-of-insurance-policy/

and this http://kclau.com/insurance/insurance-premium/

And if you were deciding whether to buy term and invest the rest? Be sure you know the advantage and disadvantages.
http://kclau.com/insurance/buy-term/

can we apply 2 medical insurance at the same time?

cenkudu,

not a problem. you can just not claim the same damage twice since H&S is strictly reimbursement.

if your ILP is not yet in force for a long time it might very well be worth terminating it. it totally depends on the amount already commited (sunken costs) since this is largely a forward payment towards future premiums. a blanket statement "dont terminate" would be as ill-advised as saying "go terminate". one would have to take a close look at the policy.

if too much money is sunken, it would probably be the best solution to "top-up" the existing ILP policy with a proper GI policy despite the fact that ILP policy is not in your best interest.

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Added on February 7, 2010, 10:01 am~Battousai~,

will get back to you. this requires a bit of time and i am busy today. if i dont reply, remind me

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Added on February 7, 2010, 10:05 amweikian,

the arguments made by kclau apply largely only to the issue of replacing an existing life-policy with another life-policy. it does not seem to reflect on the option of replacing a life-policy with GI products alltogether. while the argument does hold validity to some extend, it will totally depend upon the personal insurance cover, duration of exisiting payments, actual vs. covered needs and more. even if you are going to replace an existing life policy with a new life policy there can be situation where termination of the old one is usefull. i dont think a blanket statement will be adequate even though for the majority of policy holders it would be true that terminating an existing life policy for a new life (NOT GI) policy is not in their best interest. replacing it with GI products might however be very well in their best interest.

This post has been edited by PJusa: Feb 7 2010, 10:05 AM

Hi all, It seems that we have a few insurance expert here.

Im just want to ask a few questions. Anyone can explain in detail the answers would be a very great help for the members in this thread who may just about to purchase or already purchase a medical card.

1. Who can define the term and purposes of having a medical coverage?

2. Why a client claim was advice 'pay and claim' when they already have a valid medical card?

3. What is 120 days SI? What are the illness? What other illness that could relate to SI?

4. How 20 % co-insurance calculated?

5. Why the agent said to me that my medical bills will be covered if i purchase a medical card but in the end my claim was rejected?

6. Client came to seek agent clarification on purchasing a medical card but agent only telling the client which plan is the best? they make comparison with other insurance company plan types, co-insurance, deductible. What do agent understand about the medical illness and which illness is coverable or not by the insurer?

7. How assure that the insurance will issue a GL/ LOG to the hospital for any admission?

8. How to make sure that every time i was admitted to a hospital, the insurer will issue a LG/LOG for me without any hassle or delay?

9. Which list of illness can be coverable in within 1st year policy?

10. Why hospital staff ask me to pay for a deposit eventhough they already received a LG/LOG?




I will be glad if there is someone who is an agent explain to me all the question above.

I still think that if your existing policies don’t fulfill your protection needs, you should buy new policies that compliment the existing policy features, not replacing them. Refer your insurance policy bonus payment, surrender value which can be found on the sales illustration or inside the policy. In other words, during the initial years, there is not much money left in your policy.

Besides, i don't see any different in taking up an ILP with buying a separate term insurance(GI medical card and PA) and then 'invest the different'. ILP is just term+unit trust investment which you can do it both in a time. And besides, more protection(ILP usually have bout 8x the annual limit than normal standalone medical card which is bout 4x annual limit) than buying a separate term insurance. Thus, if someone suggest you to only take up medical card and PA and give up ILP, its just like moving your self from a low risk to a higher risk condition.

You might think that some of the protection or riders inside the policy is not important now but someday later in your life you will still need it. Instead of regretting that time and buy another life insurance at that time(which is more expensive) . Why not have with now with a cheaper premium? Besides, some life insurance companies do have very good medical card.

You might have bought a policy that’s not according to your “want”, but I am sure it can be packaged someway to meet your real needs.

Pjusa, this is just my opinion and you need not be so defensive as there are no worst plan or best plan in the market. Thanks

This post has been edited by weikian: Feb 7 2010, 02:05 PM