Insurance: Blood in urine
It was supposed to be one of his daily routine toilet trips in the night but to his utmost horror, there was a lot of blood in his urine. With much fear and worry, he could not sleep that night and the next morning, he went to see his family doctor. To his shock, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer and had to remove one of his kidneys.
That was 30 years ago and my insurance agent lived to tell the tale. I bought my first insurance from him when I was an eighteen year old army boy. Throughout the years, whenever I bought new life insurance policies from him, he often relate this incident to me. I guess he tried to reinforce in me that life can be very unpredictable. Using himself as an example, he don’t smoke or drink and live a perfectly healthy lifestyle. So until this day, he also don’t know why he suffered from kidney cancer. However, I was in my twenties and in the prime time of my life. So like many people, the possibility of death and critical illnesses seem so remote to me.
Now that I am in my mid-thirties, things are very different. I feel that my health is declining and I don’t feel so energetic as compared to the past. Perhaps it is due to the lack of exercise, the toil of long office hours and family commitments. Suddenly the prospect of critical illnesses and death seem so real and frightening. My wife like to joke that as we get older, we become more fearful of dying and falling sick. But jokes aside, my gut feeling is that I need to take some actions before something serious do happen to my health.
Thus, I have resumed my jogging regime for the past two months and have signed up gym membership in my workplace. I feel that it is my duty as a father and husband to maintain my health and fitness.
As a sole breadwinner, the consequences of me being critically ill and unable to work are “unthinkable”. I do not want to follow my father’s step and let history repeat itself on my own family members. Henceforth, being insured adequately is very important to me. Many people spend a lifetime pursuing wealth but many often end up paying a fortune for their poor health. In fact, my insurance agent often related to me that many of his friends sell their cars and houses to settle expensive medical bills.
Last month, I have upgraded my Integrated Shield Plan to cover wards in private hospital. I have purchased similar plans for my wife and two kids. Many people tend to think that it is not necessary to stay in private hospitals and that only the rich and wealthy people can afford to stay in private hospitals. But I beg to differ and in fact, I will encourage fellow Singaporeans to opt for private hospitals if they can afford the Integrated Shield Plan. This is because many of the medical experts are found in the private hospitals and even though there are a few who do work in public hospitals, having a private shield plan for private hospital wards gives you choice of doctor.
When your life is hanging by a thread, you definitely do not want to take chances. You want to ensure that your life is in good hands. All the money in the world counts for nothing if you are dead. If you want to save those premiums so as to earn more interests in your CPF Medisave account, then so be it. But then again, you only live once. Make the right choice.
Join me in my investment journey and read my financial adventures for free! You can opt to subscribe email updates on my articles for free by entering your email address below.
Magically yours,
SG Wealth Builder
