I have a private shield plan with rider under NTUC . At the same time I also have H&S plan - GE's Premier Helath Plan. I realize that there are areas that are overlap. However, both my agents from GE and NTUC cannot tell me what are the differences of these 2 plans, except that one is paid throught CPF and the other by cash. I would like to discontinue the GE plan but am afraid to do so. Can you kindly advise?
REPLY
If you are covered with Shield and rider, there is no need for you to have the GE plan. You can stop it. It is wasteful to pay premium for a H&S plan which duplicates most of the coverage, so a large part of the premium is wasted.
Read the FAQ in my webiste, www.tankinlian.com (Ask Mr .Tan) or get my book, Practical Guide on Financial planning, available from www.tankinlian.com/ishop.
3 comments:
If I were you I would sue the GE agent for falsely advising you to take up a cash H&S. This is poor advice. I beleve there was no fact finding and the H&S was pushed as a product to you. This is the consequence of product pushing. Your needs are NOT taken into consideration.
Be careful of product salesmen masquerading as life planner or financial consultants.
I was a smoker for over 20 years.
But after suffering angina in 1992, I stopped smoking and picked up running to stay fit. I completed 3 marathons and have been running regular 7 to 10km almost every week.
To pre-empt potentially high hospitalisation costs, I tried ( through an agent ) to buy a hospitalisation plan from GE. They declined to accept me. My profile, above 50yrs and associated risk of angina ( which has not recurred since 1992 ) was too much for the actuary's risk apetitite!
It was a blessing in disguise.
I saved all the premiums and have made gains on the stock market and property investments.
My opinion: Invest wisely and wait for the returns.. if done systematicaly, the returns are far better than any of these plans.
Banks are more than happy to loan you cash based on your investment portflios... and only if you need the cash for medical treatment.
Hospitalisation plans are stictly outright costs.. and they have lots of administrative obstacles to clear even to release 1 cent to reimburse you. Buy it only if you dont know what to do with your money.
But dont regret when you are in your 70s and nothing serious affects your health.. after having spent over $200,000 on premiums over 20 year.
Peace of mind you say?
You can find peace of mind too if you invest in property or bank shares or even the STI-ETF.. with healthy and constant returns along with cash flow which you'll need after retirement.
If you decide on buying such plans, then ask the insurer or agent to show you how to make a claim and simulate as realistically as possible: eg: cancer treatment at Mt Elizabeth Hospital, laboratory tests, ICU,surgery and theatre costs.
Do not rely solely on the T&C of the insurance.. you MUST go through the process as realistically as you can.
The reason is: when the time comes, you'll be too weak, defeated to ask coherent questions and your family members will get very frustrated in their sincere attempts to help.
My opinion is that there is no need for all these hospitalisation plans.
They are costly and worse of all: hidden obstacles to claims.
If you are not able to understand any of the terms or the explanation is unclear, then it may be wise to terminate them. It is a monetary loss no doubt, but it saves money over the proposed time that you intended to cover.
I was a smoker for 20 years and suffered angina in 1992. I decided to pick up running and have completed 3 marathons and now run 7 to 10km weekly. When I was 50 years old, I tried buying a hospitalisation plan, but the agent came back and told me the company cannot accept the risks. I suppose the actuary's risk apetitite was not large enough!
Since then, the money which I intended to use to pay for the premiums, I invested in stocks and made a 25% return.
I believe investing with a good return in mind is far better than any H&S plan, which is money spent with zero return.
The idea that H&S plan can give you "peace of mind" should be viewed in context.
Present to your insurer a simulated scenario such as diagnosis for bowel cancer or hip dislocation and allow them to actually show you how the claim process might be like.
I can assure you, the experience is highly informative and educational.. to the extent that you will terminate the policy!
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