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It is an old adage that no one can predict the future. Now that we’re living in an age of uncertainty, the ‘future’ can seem gloomier than ever. Getting insured is a good defense, especially with the ongoing health crisis.
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The health insurance gap
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Before the crisis, Filipinos spent an average of 53.9% of their income on medical expenses (according to the per capita computations of the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2018).
Philcare’s Wellness Index released in 2019 reveals that 25% of working Filipinos borrowed money from friends or relatives just to pay their hospital bills, which cost between Php 21,000 to Php 2.7 million depending on the severity of the illness.
Even with employer-provided HMOs and Philhealth coverage, it’s a huge expense that we usually don’t anticipate. In 2017, Filipinos with insurance paid almost 60% of their medical bills out-of-pocket. As you can imagine, these medical costs skyrocketed during the pandemic.
Regardless of these figures, some of us still don’t see the need to buy insurance. It’s not something we can hold in our hands, so it’s easy to consider it just an additional expense.
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Insurance does matter
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In this episode, guest Macy Alcaraz and JC Zozobrado explained insurance as a long-term investment rather than an extra cost.
Macy shared her experience of not having insurance when her parents were critically ill. It is the reason why she made insurance a priority when she started her freelance life three years ago. She made her first premium payment with her 13th-month pay, which she considered extra money.
JC, a Financial Advisor, said this is a good way to start saving for an insurance plan. He described how insurance evolved from traditional insurance (life and non-life insurance for specific needs) to Variable Unit Linked (VUL) insurance, which you can use to accomplish goals throughout your life or even protect your savings from inflation.
He also shed light on what options are best suited to prepare for sending your kids to college, if you want to buy a home, and what would be best for older people.
About the guests: JC Zozobrado is a licensed financial advisor. He currently works as an Associate Unit Manager at Pru Life UK. Macy Alcaraz is a writer, editor, and digital strategist with 12 years of experience in digital content creation and management.
Written by: Jenn Simons-Castillo and Heherson Soldevilla
Published on: August 20, 2020[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZvcGVuLnNwb3RpZnkuY29tJTJGZW1iZWQtcG9kY2FzdCUyRmVwaXNvZGUlMkYzSHFUSEYzcE5reHR5c2oyZUZuMTl0JTIyJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIyMzIlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvd3RyYW5zcGFyZW5jeSUzRCUyMnRydWUlMjIlMjBhbGxvdyUzRCUyMmVuY3J5cHRlZC1tZWRpYSUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_html]JTVCRElTUExBWV9VTFRJTUFURV9TT0NJQUxfSUNPTlMlNUQ=[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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