When Should You Invest in Health Insurance?

“Buying insurance can’t change your life; instead it prevents your lifestyle from being changed. After tolling for decades, an illness can wipe out an entire family’s life savings by the medical bills incurred. You will not turn bankrupt because of buying insurance, but you will cause your loved ones to turn bankrupt if you don’t.” 

– Jack Ma, co-founder and ex chairman of Alibaba Group, co-founder of Yunfeng Capital

The multimillionaire founder of one of the biggest conglomerates around the world, Jack Ma, speaks the truth. You may find a hundred reasons to put off getting your health insurance but you never want to wait until it’s too late. 

What are some of the reasons why people are hesitant to invest in health insurance?

Some people may think that it is a pointless investment without any guaranteed returns. If you don’t use it, why waste the money?

Some people think they still have their whole lives ahead of them so it might be too early to think about getting health insurance at the moment. Everyone lives long, why bother spending excess income into health insurance plans now?

These points that people use to argue against the benefits of getting health insurance are flawed on many levels.

The first point is that getting your health insurance is not a waste of money. It is, in fact, a way for you to protect your finances and assets (both liquid and otherwise) so that you can focus on building your wealth through optimal financial planning. It is a sound investment option for those who want to weigh out their options and take the best chances at securing their future. 

Any financial planning and analysis team will tell you that investing in health insurance is one of the most important elements involved in building a safer, more secure future for you and your family. They are not wrong.

The second reason why people do not want to get insured right away is because they believe that it’s too early to do so. There is no right age to get yourselves insured, and in fact, investing in health insurance early comes with its own set of benefits.

Are there really advantages to getting your health insurance early?

The short answer is yes! 

A popular quote from the internet sums up the answer to this question quite accurately. It goes something along the lines of:

“Buying life insurance is like fixing a leak in your roof. The longer you wait, the more expensive it gets.”

The same concept applies to health insurance. Investing early comes with a lot of benefits, even if you start at the age of 25. We have listed out some of the major advantages you will receive if you start investing in your health insurance early as a part of your financial planning process.

Advantage 1: Save up on taxes

This is probably the advantage that gets people the most interested in investing in health insurance. It’s true, your insurance investments are exempted from tax so you can save your hard earned income to invest in a better life for your future.

Advantage 2: Get the most comprehensive health plan for yourself

Since you are starting with your health insurance investment early on in life, you will also be privy to a lot more benefits in terms of what your plan can provide in case you use it later on in life. This is because you are investing for a longer period of time. It means you can choose a higher amount of premium you will receive in case you use the insurance policy. This lets you access more benefits from the options you have available on hand.

Advantage 3: Improve your current financial planning

People do not make investments they see no value in, and if you are making a long-term investment, you want to see the impact it will have on your life as soon as possible. One of the advantages of choosing to start investing in your health insurance plan early is that it improves your existing financial plan. 

You don’t have to save as much for a health crisis because your insurance plan will cover your expenses. You will also end up spending a large portion on the plan if you invest later because the amount you have to pay as your premium will be significantly lower if you start young.

Advantage 4: You get bonuses on your investment

Most insurance policies offer their customers a bonus for every year they do not claim the insurance amount. This bonus adds up every year and you have a cumulative bonus that you can receive as a part of your claim, thereby significantly increasing the amount of money and treatments you can have access to at no additional cost. 

Advantage 5: You can focus on building your investment portfolio

If you get your insurance out of the way early, you do not have to focus on saving additional funds for any unforeseen medical expenses or bills you might incur in the future. 

This opens up your time and finances to focus on building your wealth through your investment portfolio. You would not need to stress about being able to pay medical bills or afford quality healthcare because they will be covered. Therefore, you will be able to actively focus on your investments, savings, and financial plan.

Remember, your health insurance can play a big part in your financial plan. So if you’re starting your personalized financial planning process early, you should invest in health insurance to complement it. It’s the best way to meet your investment, savings, and income goals. 

Speak to your financial advisor to find out the best possible healthcare plans for you and your family, based on your needs. Just like any other sound investment you will make in your life, you should pick the health insurance that can meet all your needs.

Thank you for reading.