It's time to think about health insurance

When people are young and healthy, they can live for the now, enjoying life as it comes, thinking only of tomorrow when it's unavoidable. This is the mayfly time when the young and beautiful fly free of responsibility. Sadly, this time is all too short. Gravity soon catches up with people and they fall back down to the ground and see new roles developing as parents. Suddenly, health matters and what was put off must now be considered. So most people go online, use one of the search engines and find the cheapest policy going. That will do. It's a policy. It will do the job. Then the renewal date comes around and there's no need to review and reconsider. There's a policy. That will do. Except not everyone is organized. Not every remembers their partner's birthday. Not everyone remembers the renewal dates on their insurance policies. Most of the time, people get away with it. They get around to it before anything happens. But failure to renew can be life-threatening. What makes it worse is that it need not be your life that's threatened. Suppose it's the life of your child.

Let's start again. People should take responsibility for their lives and plan for tomorrow. Although it's all right to shelter under your parent's health plan whilst you're young, there comes a point when you have to begin to establish your own track record. Paying your own way when you have the means is the right thing to do. But that does not mean simply accepting the cheapest policy. As with everything in life, you get what you pay for. The basic cover fails when you have more than a basic illness. So read the policies before you choose which one to buy. This is more than looking down a list of diseases and disorders. Think about what you really need. If you fall seriously ill, you need treatment and income replacement if you cannot work. You also need continuity of cover. It's no good waiting to find out whether your policy is going to renewed or the premium hiked. This is something you should think about when you take out your first health insurance policy or renew whilst still healthy.

Health insurance is something you should try to get right. Never look at a list of diseases covered without also looking at the exclusions and exceptions that might deny you cover. Yes, there may be a lot to read and the language is not designed to make it easy. But taking the time early on saves a lot of pain later. There is also one other very important warning. Always be honest and complete in your disclosures. If you have some medical problems, disclose them. If the insurer finds out you have been economical with the truth, it has the right to cancel the cover. That covers all the main points. We remind you that you may have the right to claim tax relief on the premiums. That should be the bonus after you have put the right policy with the right health coverage at the right price in place to protect you and your family.