Should I buy additional health insurance when I already have life insurance?

Ms. Bui Minh Tam, 28 years old, Hai Phong City asked: " I participated in life insurance a few years ago for the purpose of reserve and to be able to receive the accumulated amount later. However, recently, I have also heard a lot about health insurance that can pay for hospital fees when treating cancer, inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment, childbirth... So are these two types of insurance different? When I already have life insurance, should I participate in additional health insurance? ".

Pham Thi Thanh Tra - Manulife Insurance Product Development Expert: To answer the question " If I have life insurance, do I need to buy health insurance? ", you need to clearly understand the differences in insurance benefits between these two types of insurance, and determine your protection needs as well as your financial capacity.

Life insurance (BHNT) helps protect the financial security of the participant against life risks (e.g. death, critical illness, total and permanent disability, etc.). The insurance company will pay you a large sum of money according to the provisions of the contract if a risk occurs related to life. In addition, life insurance also has the feature of accumulation and investment. Depending on the type of life insurance you choose, you will receive a sum of money when the contract expires.

Health insurance (BHSK) supports payment of medical expenses related to medical treatment such as hospitalization, medicine, surgery, maternity, dentistry, outpatient treatment... BHSK does not have an accumulation feature. If you participate in BHSK but do not use the benefits, the insurance company will not reimburse the costs you have paid.

Although more than 90% of Vietnamese people have health insurance , many people still choose to participate in additional health insurance for convenience in medical examination and treatment, because health insurance has a wide coverage, helps pay for additional benefits and costs that health insurance does not cover, and at the same time allows customers to proactively choose the hospital for treatment.

Based on the basic differences in nature and benefits between the above types of insurance, the decision to participate in additional BHSK or not should come from your purpose and needs.

If you want to have a reserve financial source to maintain your life in case of loss of ability to work, serious illness, death... or want to accumulate money for long-term goals in the future such as: retirement, business, education for children... then life insurance is a suitable choice.

In case you have participated in life insurance but want to be protected more comprehensively with health care benefits and reduce annual medical expenses for common risks such as illness, disease, dentistry... as well as have the flexibility to choose medical facilities for treatment, you should participate in additional health insurance.

Life insurance combined with health insurance will provide comprehensive protection solutions for participants.

Health Insurance: Investing for a secure future

The cost of participating in BHSK depends on the insurance package you choose. A BHSK product usually has many insurance programs, each program will have different premiums and coverage.

Currently, the health insurance market is quite diverse with many products with affordable costs and rich benefits. For example, the health insurance product "Healthy Living Every Day", in addition to basic benefits, also allows customers to choose additional benefits such as dental, maternity, and outpatient to maximize costs.

Before officially signing an insurance contract, you need to thoroughly understand the product's benefits, exclusions, premium payment regulations, waiting periods, etc. In addition, you should provide accurate and honest information about your health status. The insurance company may refuse to pay benefits in the future if it discovers that you have declared incompletely and dishonestly about your health status.

In general, life insurance or health insurance are both methods of remote prevention against unexpected events in life. Therefore, if possible, you should participate as soon as possible, when you are young and healthy so that you are not excluded from underlying diseases, do not have to pay higher fees and are covered when you get sick later.

In case you already have life insurance, you need to check if your life insurance contract has an additional health insurance product attached. If so, does it fully meet your protection needs?

Good luck with your choice.