12th May 2017 - 9 min read
Insurance acts as your financial shield against risks. You can insure anything that you wish to protect, be it your car, house, your health, life, as well as your loved ones, in return for paying insurance premiums.
For instance:
In other words, an insurance policy provides compensation to you or your loved ones should things go wrong, be it a specific loss, illness, damage, disability, or even death.
Here are the most common ways insurance can help you:
After you’ve chosen the type of insurance you need and what you want to be insured against, the insurer will analyse the risks that may apply based on a range of different factors and from there, determine the insurance premium you need to pay.
Once both parties have agreed to a policy contract, you are protected against the predetermined risks in the form that the insurer will compensate or cover your loss.
Here are the three important things you need to know about insurance:
For instance, your car insurance may cover the damages done to your car in the case of a car accident, but not your personal belongings that may have been damaged during said accident – such as your smartphone or laptop.
There are definitely more things that you should know before buying an insurance policy. Read our guides below to learn more about insurance:
It’s very unlikely for you to need every type of insurance in the market, even if you can afford all of them. But how will you know the exact type of insurance that you need most? Have a look at the table below to help you choose the most suitable policy for your needs.
Protection
Insurance Policy Type | What It Covers |
Medical Insurance | Covers and reimburses the costs of your medical bills, inpatient treatments and more. |
Term Life, Critical Illness, and Income Protection Insurance | Provide a lump sum or regular payment to you and your beneficiaries in the event of a critical illness, disability, or death. |
Personal Accident Insurance | Provides coverage against injuries, disability, and death caused by accidents. |
Car Insurance | There are three types of coverage available:
|
Home Insurance | Covers the costs of your home repairs if the damages were due to flood, fire, storm, and any other causes stated on your policy. |
Travel Insurance | Provides coverage over a range of thing when you travel, such as emergency medical expenses, cancelled or delayed flights, lost or stolen luggage, and personal liabilities should you cause damage to a property or injuries to a person. |
Savings & Investment
Insurance Policy Type | What It Covers |
Investment-Linked Life Insurance | It’s a life insurance plan that combines investment and protection elements. It provides total and permanent disability cover (TPD), death benefit, as well as investment benefits. |
Savings Plan Life Insurance | This is typically a savings plan that is tied with life insurance benefits. It allows you to save for your retirement or even fund for your child’s education, while having total and permanent disability cover (TPD) and death benefit. |
If you aren’t sure on how each type of insurance listed above can help protect you and your dependents, here are some of our guides that can help you make an informed decision:
Traditionally, you can purchase an insurance policy from agents or directly from the insurer. Nowadays, it is becoming more common to use more convenient channels such as online comparison websites like
RinggitPlus.com, or even on insurance websites.
Insurance Term | Definition |
Death benefit | Usually seen in a term-life or other life insurance policy, it refers to the amount paid out by the insurer to the beneficiary if you or the person insured) dies when the policy is still active. |
Beneficiary | The person that you’ve nominated to receive your insurance pay-out in the event of your death. It can be anyone from your spouse, children, to your parents. |
Premium | This is the amount that you pay each month or year for your insurance. |
The insured | This typically means you, or a person who is insured under an insurance policy. |
Policyholder | The owner of the policy and is responsible for the premium payments. The policyholder is the only person who can authorise changes to the policy, such as changing the name of the beneficiary. |
Policy length | The duration of time of which you’ll be protected under an insurance policy. |
Excess | An excess is the amount of money that you’ll have to pay out of your own pocket if you make a claim.
For example, let’s say the excess set by your insurer is RM200 per claim. If you’re putting in a claim of RM5,000 for the cost of your car repairs due to an accident, you’ll need to pay RM200 and the insurer will pay the remaining RM4,800 |
Waiting period | Some policies have a waiting period, which means that you’ll have to wait for a certain period of time after you’ve purchased it before you’re allowed to make a claim. |
Exclusions | Exclusions refer to the things that are not covered by your policy, which also means that the insurer will not cover the costs incurred if they happen to you. |
Value | This refers to the value of what you’re insuring. Simply put, it is the maximum amount that your insurer will pay you when you make a claim. There are two types of value:
|
For more terms and definitions not listed here, you can check out our:
Unlike before, submitting a claim today is a lot easier and faster. All you need to do is get all the documents right. Here are some of the basic steps to making a claim:
For more information on how you can submit a claim, read our guides below:
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