Many people
already understand the importance of having insurance to support healthy
personal finances. However, this awareness has not been followed by the
ownership of insurance in accordance with the needs of the family. This can be
seen from the still small ratio of the amount of funds in the insurance
industry to gross domestic product (GDP) or the insurance penetration rate.

TheFinancial Services Authority (OJK) noted that until 2020, the penetration ofthe insurance industry in Indonesia is still below 4%, below Singapore, whichis already in the 6%-7% range. Even for life insurance products, thepenetration rate is getting smaller at only 1.1% because it was affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic which triggered an economic recession.

Often doubtsabout having personal insurance are caused by confusion about where to start incompleting the protection needs. If you are currently still in the stage ofconsidering buying insurance as needed, you should not delay it anymore.

Insurance isone of the main foundations of a healthy finance. Delaying insurance cantrigger financial exposure to risk of loss that you can actually manage andminimize.

Why NeedInsurance?

Often peopledelay insurance because they feel they have sufficient savings to anticipate anemergency that requires financial support. But, how sufficient is the cashsavings to cover large unexpected expenses, such as during a sudden illness?

Cash as anemergency fund is very important. However, its value is relatively limited. Forexample, if you are married and have children, the recommended emergency fundis at least 6-12 times the value of your regular monthly expenses. There islimited value in this. For example, you have an emergency fund of IDR 70million, which is equivalent to 7 times the value of your monthly expenses.When an unexpected event occurs where the main breadwinner of the family diesfor good, will the funds be sufficient to provide for the life of the familyleft behind?

Emergencyfunds have nominal limitations. The emergency fund plays more of a role as asecurity blanket to support the fulfillment of emergency needs only. However,to help you anticipate greater unexpected financial needs, it takes more thanjust an emergency fund. Insurance can be the main safety net that plays a rolein protecting your finances from greater financial risks.

An easyexample, a family breadwinner has term life insurance with a Sum Assured (UP)of IDR 1 billion and for that he only needs to pay a relatively small premium.When the main breadwinner suddenly dies, the Sum Assured (UP) can be disbursedand become provisions for the life of the family left behind.

Likewisewith health insurance. For example, a person pays a monthly premium of acertain amount of rupiah to get health protection with an annual benefit valueof Rp. 200 million. When he falls ill that requires treatment costs, he doesnot need to spend money for these purposes because the insurance covers it. Sowith insurance, the risks of large financial expenditures can be moremanageable.

LifeInsurance and Health Insurance, Two Important Protections

There aremany financial risks that can occur and disrupt a person's financial stability.Starting from a car that suddenly broke down and needed repairs, a house thatsuddenly flooded unexpectedly, to the incident of a family member getting sickand the worst, the death of the breadwinner of the family. Which of thesefinancial risks should be a priority to be managed?

As an importantstep in building healthy personal finances, you should focus on the two maininsurances that need to be met, namely health insurance and life insurance.

1. HealthInsurance

Health costsare getting more expensive from year to year. A survey conducted by WillisTowers Watson, a global risk management consulting firm, revealed that theaverage increase in health costs in various countries in the last 3 years,namely the 2017-2019 period, reached 10-11% per year.

As anillustration is the cost of hospitalization in the hospital. About 10 yearsago, for just IDR 600,000 per night you could get a private treatment room withone bedroom. Nowadays, it's hard to get a one bedroom treatment room at thatmuch cost.

That is, theincrease in the cost of medical care is a fact that is difficult to ignore. Asan anticipatory measure and for peace of mind, you can take advantage of healthinsurance as protection for health costs. That way, you don't have to worryabout whether the savings you have are sufficient to cover rising medical costsin the future.

Not onlythat, with personal health insurance, you can access health services morequickly and comfortably. Almost all current health insurance uses a cashlesssystem, so you just need to show your insurance card when you visit a healthfacility and get the treatment you need right away. No need to prepare cash inadvance for expenses.

For healthinsurance, you can consider MiUltimate HealthCare from Manulife Indonesia. Thisbest health insurance has several advantages:

• First, reimbursement of hospital costs according to the bill.With this feature, you don't need to prepare any funds to cover medical costsbecause the insurance will pay for it as long as the annual limit has not beenexceeded.
• Second, the benefits of 1 or 2 bed inpatient rooms in thehospital.
• Third, the cost of rooms abroad. This health insuranceprovides benefits for hospitalization costs up to 3 times the plan you chooseif you are hospitalized abroad.
• Fourth, there is an additional annual benefit limit featureif you as the insured suffer from a critical illness such as cancer, kidneyfailure and so on.

2. LifeInsurance

Lifeinsurance is a sign of your love for your loved ones. On a day-to-day basis,you may play the role of the breadwinner of the family where the well-being ofyour family and children depends a lot on your existence. What would happen ifyou as the breadwinner of the family suddenly died? Families who have beenfinancially dependent on you will not only experience the loss of their belovedfigure but will also face financial challenges as the income that has been usedto cover their daily needs has stopped.

You canminimize this incident by having life insurance. Life insurance protects youreconomic value as the breadwinner. So, when one day you die, the income that isthe foundation of the family does not just stop. The reason is, insurance willdisburse a sum of Sum Insured (UP) which can be used by the bereaved family tocontinue living.

There aremany life insurance options that you can choose according to your needs.Manulife Indonesia has several life insurance products ranging from term lifeinsurance such as Term Saving Protection. There is also life insurance thatprovides maximum protection, such as Manulife Essential Assurance, and lifeinsurance in accordance with sharia principles that provides protection as wellas investment such as MiSmart Insurance Solution Syariah (MiSSION Syariah).

With theright health insurance and life insurance, you can achieve a more stable andprosperous finances. So, let's have insurance.

Getting
married is a precious moment in life. For those of you who have just married,
or are planning a wedding, there is one thing you need to consider with your
partner, namely: choosing the right insurance. When starting to build a
household, maybe family health insurance is not yet a top priority

It isnatural that you will be compelled to buy a house in advance, have a privatevehicle, or even prepare for the arrival of the baby. However, when it comes tohaving insurance for your family, you think “We are all doing well.”

In fact,discussing insurance in the early days of marriage, will provide peace of mindfor the future. Imagine if you or your partner had a critical illness until youwere no longer able to work. This means that the source of family income isreduced. Moreover, if the situation occurs in the main breadwinner who does nothave insurance. Can you imagine how much impact this will have on the family?

ChooseHealth Insurance or Critical Illness Insurance?

Which comesfirst, health insurance or critical illness? Let's check together.

1. HealthInsurance

Healthinsurance is the first insurance instrument you need to have. Maybe you andyour partner already had insurance before when you were alone. However, whenthe vows to live together have been spoken, it means you have to start thinkingabout family health insurance as a top priority.

One of thereasons young couples put off getting insurance is because they are waiting tohave children first. In fact, one element of family health insurance is thebenefit of giving birth. Of course, insurance can ease the burden of hospitalbills when the moment of giving birth arrives.

According tothe Alodokter website, the cost of normal childbirth in Indonesia starts fromRp. 2 million to Rp. 15 million. Meanwhile, the cost of caesarean deliveryranges from Rp. 11 million to Rp. 50 million. The cost varies depending on thehost hospital, the class of care, medicines, and medical procedures performedduring the delivery process. This means that you and your partner areencouraged to set up an emergency fund of 20% -30% of the estimated cost ofgiving birth above.

Withrelatively inexpensive costs, family health insurance can provide coverage formaternity care costs. In the MiUltimate Health Care insurance product fromManulife Indonesia,

The Insuredwill get benefits of up to IDR 50 million for delivery costs. As a result, theemergency funds that you prepare can be allocated for other needs.

2.Critical Illness Insurance

Basically,critical illness insurance is part of family health insurance. But whatdistinguishes it is critical illness insurance provides additional benefitsthat are much more specific. This insurance covers dangerous diseases thatrequire large costs, are fatal and lead to the risk of death.

Why iscritical illness insurance important today? Consciously or not, the risk ofcritical illness or known as degenerative can lurk anyone, including theproductive age group. For example, narrowing of blood vessels or cardiovasculardiseases such as heart disease.

Based ondata from the Basic Health Research (Riskesdas), the prevalence of heartdisease in the 25-34 year age group reached 1.4%, while in the 35-44 year agegroup it reached 3.7% per 1,000 population.

Furthermore,according to the same survey, at least 15 out of 1000 people or around2,784,064 individuals in Indonesia suffer from this disease. Imagine, that'sjust one disease. There are still other degenerative diseases with a fairlyhigh prevalence rate, such as stroke and diabetes.

What shouldbe realized about the risk of critical illness is the health costs spent. Justso you know, the cost of bypass surgery or installing a heart ring can drainyour pocket up to around Rp. 300 million in a private hospital. This diseasetends to make the sufferer sick for a long time. It is not impossible,sufferers are no longer productive at work and eventually lose their jobs.

That's wherethe role of critical illness insurance. Broadly speaking, this type ofinsurance helps you and your partner avoid a financial downturn. He serves toprovide a replacement cost of the loss of an income.

Well,another insurance that can be considered is MiUltimate Critical Care fromManulife Indonesia. This insurance provides protection against at least 50types of critical illness. The premium payment period is relatively short,namely five years, but you can get benefits for the next 20 years.

Theillustration is like this. Budi, 42 years old, has been paying MiUltimateCritical Care premiums for 3 years. In the fourth year, he was diagnosed by adoctor with a late-stage stroke that limited his physical abilities. From theillustration above, what will Budi get? There are at least three scenarios.

First, Budiwill receive benefits in the form of 100% of the sum insured + 100% of thetotal premium that has been paid. Second, if the stroke causes Budi's death,the family will benefit 160% of the total premium paid. Third, if Budi is ingood health until the premium period expires, he will still get 160% of thetotal premium paid.

TipsBefore Buying Family Insurance

So, if youand your partner are already planning to have the family health insurancedescribed above, let's look at these three tips before buying.

1. UnderstandHealth History

It's commonto talk about you and your partner's medical history in the early days ofmarriage. This includes noting various unhealthy habits, such as smoking,consuming junk food, infrequent exercise, and others.

This isimportant so that you can calculate the emergency costs needed in the future.Perform periodic medical check-ups to determine the risk of disease that willarise. Because, most diseases come without having serious symptoms.

2. SeekMaximum Protection

It isimportant to look for family insurance with maximum protection. Someinsurances, such as MiUltimate Healthcare, provide benefits to the Insured withan age limit of up to 110 years. This age is considered to exceed the averagelife expectancy of Indonesians which reaches 71.4 years.

3. Payaccording to financial conditions

Familyinsurance, including critical illness insurance, is not cheap. Therefore, ifyou and your partner plan to have this insurance, it is important to check theability of your monthly budget to pay premiums. You can also pay it annually.

By havingboth of these insurances for you and your partner, at least you have provided asense of security in the family. It's just a matter of how you realize otherplans that you and your partner want. Enjoy your new life!

No
one can predict when or what disease will strike in the future. Even the risk
of disease will still exist, and can come at any time even though the person
has adopted a healthy lifestyle.

It'sno secret that the cost of treating the disease is not cheap. For yourinformation, according to data from Mercer Marsh Benefits in 2019, it ispredicted that Indonesia will have inflation or an increase in medical costs ofup to 11 percent each year.

Withthis increase in medical costs, maintaining health and preparing for thepossibility of suffering from a critical illness in the future is a veryimportant step.

So,what are the most common examples of critical illness?

Types of Critical Illness

Before we discuss further about critical illness insurance,it's good for us to first identify what is included in the critical illness?

Accordingto Research and Basic Health data (Riskesdas 2018). There are several types ofcritical illness, including:

1. Stroke

Astroke occurs when there is a disruption in the blood supply to the brain.Launching an article on the Hellosehat website, it was stated that the cost ofstroke treatment could reach around Rp. 150 million to Rp. 450 million.

2. Cancer

Thesecond critical illness that causes the highest mortality is cancer. Cancer isactually another term for malignant tumors in several parts of the body, whichcan affect all people and all age groups.

Cancertreatment costs are also not cheap. According to the Director of the JakartaDharmais Cancer Hospital, the cost of treating cancer patients must undergovarious series of treatments such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, to surgery.In addition, patients must receive support from supporting facilities such asCT scans and blood transfusions, which in total can cost up to IDR 300 million.

3. Diabetes

Diabetesis a type of chronic metabolic disease caused by reduced effectiveness ofinsulin. If injured, diabetic patients are also difficult to heal, so notinfrequently, they have to undergo an amputation process which costs up toaround Rp. 150 million.

4. Heart

Disordersof heart disease are quite diverse, ranging from disorders of blood vessels,rhythms, valves and others. The cost of heart treatment also varies, but whatis clear is that it can reach around Rp. 250 million.

5. Other Critical Illnesses

Ofcourse, there are still some critical illnesses besides the four diseases abovethat we must be aware of. Several other critical illnesses are kidney failure,acute nervous disorders, hepatitis, meningitis, to HIV/Aids.

Justimagine, when someone is exposed to a critical illness, there will be somerisks that arise in the future. The two greatest risks of this disease are theinability to earn a living and death.

Whatwould happen if the breadwinner contracted this disease when he was stillproductive? Of course, the family will be burdened financially.

Therefore, having critical illness insurance becomea necessity, to complete Health Insurance.Critical illness insurance will protect us from financial losses due to thecost of treating this disease.

Whatare the criteria for good critical illness insurance? How do we chooseinsurance so that it is right for us? Let's see the explanation below here.

Criteria that need to be considered from criticalillness insurance

1. Broad Protection Coverage

Agood critical illness insurance should have a fairly broad coverage ofprotection. The more types of critical illness that are covered by protection,this shows the more complete protection that can be provided by the insurance.

Everyonehas a different medical history. Therefore, the threat of critical illness thatwe experience cannot be equated. It is very important to recognize the types ofcritical illness that are included in the coverage of an insurance protection.

2. Benefits of Death

Withouta death benefit, of course a critical illness insurance can be said to beincomplete. This benefit will be very useful for the bereaved family, so that theycan continue to live properly.

Whena family head is not covered by this insurance and dies due to a criticalillness, it is very likely that the emergency funds will be used to pay formedical expenses during illness, to sell assets to pay for these costs.

Afterthat, the families left behind will lose their income and assets, andeventually their standard of living will drop. What if the family in questionstill has debts? Their financial burden will certainly feel very heavy.

3. Easy Claim Process

Agood insurance claim process, of course, must be easy and not long-winded. Whenthe claim documents are complete, within a certain period of time, the suminsured will reach the Insured's family.

Tips for Choosing Critical Illness Insurance

Choosingthis insurance certainly can not be arbitrary. What happens if we choose thewrong insurance? Our finances can obviously be disrupted because we continue topay premiums but the protection from insurance is not appropriate.

Hereare tips for choosing critical illness insurance that you should know.

1. Know Yourself and Inherited Diseases

Thefirst step, of course, is to identify yourself and know the history of thedisease or hereditary disease. Hereditary disease is actually a disease that ispassed from one or both parents to their children.

Everyonecertainly wants to have a healthy body, but this hereditary disease isgenerally difficult to avoid and can attack us in the future. In addition tohereditary diseases, also know our health history well. So that we canunderstand the risks to our health in the future.

2. Adjust Premiums With Income

Themore protection coverage we take in a critical illness insurance, the greaterthe premium that must be paid. Remember the first point above, know yourselfand also identify hereditary diseases and other diseases that have thepotential to attack us in the future and adjust which needs can be covered withour income.

3. Choose Trusted

Nota few insurance companies that offer products that are quite tempting with lowpremiums. But are you sure it's the right product for your needs?

Choosingcritical illness insurance must be selective. For example, MiUltimate CriticalCare from Manulife. This insurance provides protection against 50 types ofcritical illness, ranging from cancer, stroke, kidney failure, Alzheimer's,heart, to HIV. MiUltimate Critical Care will also provide benefits to theInsured of 160% of the total premium paid (in addition to additional premiums)as well as a death benefit.

Thesum insured provided by MiUltimate Critical Care starts from IDR 200 million.Meanwhile, the method of paying premiums is also flexible, it can be donemonthly, quarterly, semester or yearly.

Thoseare the things you should know about this insurance. In essence, a healthy bodyis everyone's dream, but we must have financial health.

Critical illness can rob our family of stability inthe future. So, one of the most effective ways to protect our finances in thefuture is to have critical illness protection.