How to choose the right insurance may not be widely known, especially by beginners. This can cause us to choose the wrong insurance according to our needs and budget.
Through various tips on choosing the right insurance, you can get an insurance product that suits your needs and affordable premiums so it doesn’t burden you financially.
The reason is, the allocation of funds for insurance is usually not small. Therefore, it is necessary to be careful in choosing related products and companies so that they do not end in losses.
Choosing an insurance company that is ideal and according to your needs is difficult and easy. All insurance companies must claim that they are the best. So, how do you choose the right insurance product?
Tips for choosing the right insurance product for beginners
So that you don’t take the wrong step, try to follow the following tips for choosing the right insurance when buying insurance products for beginners.
1. Choose insurance as needed
In order not to be redundant, even misdirected, you must know what you need from the insurance product you want to buy.
Isn’t it a shame if you have paid premiums diligently, but the benefits offered from insurance don’t suit your needs?
For example, if your main need is health insurance that can cover outpatient and inpatient costs, choose pure insurance that can fulfill it.
You don’t need to buy unit linked insurance at the same price as pure insurance, but the benefits offered don’t suit your needs.
2. Choose an insurance company that has a good reputation
One thing that should not be ignored in choosing insurance is to consider the reputation of the insurance company. Definitely choose an insurance company with a good reputation.
A company that has just been established doesn’t necessarily have to be labeled bad. However, choosing a company that has been around for decades to decades makes it easier for you to analyze its track record and reputation. That way you can minimize the risk of loss.
A credible insurance company certainly has a good reputation. Try to collect information from newspapers or digital media regarding handling customer claims.
Don’t hesitate to ask friends who have already used this insurance. If you find too many customer complaints or even cases of fraud, it’s best to put the company aside first.
Find financial protection options from car insurance so you no longer have to worry about the high costs of maintaining and repairing car damage at the garage.
3. RBC above 120 percent
The next way to choose the right insurance is to check the solvency ratio or Risk Based Capital (RBC). What is RBC?
Risk Based Capital (RBC) or solvency ratio shows the financial health of the insurance company. The greater the RBC ratio, the healthier the financial condition. At least, the RBC must be 120 percent.
This is important for potential customers to know. Because prospective customers can at least estimate whether the company is indeed capable of fulfilling payment promises or claims when needed.
To find out, you can check the balance sheet in the newspaper or on the company’s official website.
4. Choose one that offers affordable premiums
The third tip for choosing car insurance is to compare between insurance companies to get affordable insurance premiums.
Each company offers a variety of premiums. However, the more expensive the premium does not guarantee the quality of the insurance program. A good company actually offers premium prices that are affordable and of good quality.
Related to this, you can compare similar products from two or three companies at once. Remember, first understand your needs so that you are not easily tempted when offered various insurance products by insurance sales and consultants.
For example, try using the car insurance premium calculator below to calculate the simulated premium that needs to be paid in car insurance.
5. Choose those who have many quality partners
The company must have many qualified health center partners. The more partners, the easier it is for customers to access the services they need.
This is very crucial, especially when customers need fast medical treatment. For vehicle insurance, the number of workshop partners is also important.
That way you as a customer will feel calm when traveling. If something unexpected happens to your vehicle while you’re in the middle of the road, you have lots of garage options to choose from.
6. Learn the insurance system
Why do you need to learn the insurance system? Of course the goal is so that you can make the best use of your insurance, especially when you want to make a claim. There are two types of insurance claim systems, namely reimbursement and cashless .
If the insurance claim system that you have is reimbursement , when you experience an event that is covered by the terms of the insurance policy, you need to arrange and pay all costs that arise first.
After that, then you can submit a claim for reimbursement of expenses that have been incurred to the insurance.
On the other hand, if our insurance claim system is cashless , all you have to do is show your membership card without the need to cover the costs that arise to get treatment. The insurer will directly take care of the costs incurred.
7. Choose an agent who has a license
A licensed agent is an official agent whose existence is registered and supervised by the government. In Indonesia, one way to determine whether the status of an insurance agent is official or not is to check its membership in the Indonesian Life Insurance Association (AAJI).
Apart from AAJI, there are also other associations that work according to the type of protection offered, namely the general insurance association and the Indonesian sharia insurance association.
Basically, choosing insurance from a licensed agent is important because he tends to be experienced and can help you when submitting a claim.
Of course, no one wants to experience a situation, ‘the ladder has already fallen’, right, that is when we are already in a difficult position, but it is also difficult to make a claim because the agent lacks experience or responsibility.
8. Compare the insurance offered
The next way to choose the right insurance is to compare insurance products. The habit of comparing, in terms of choosing the insurance products offered, is highly recommended.
Considering that insurance is a long-term commitment and is needed to provide the best benefits, it’s only natural that you try to find the product that best suits your needs.
Therefore, don’t hesitate to consult and ask the insurance company to make an illustration of which product suits your needs.
Then, compare and study the insurance offered from other companies, especially regarding the terms and conditions of protection, premiums, and procedures for making claims.
9. Have insurance while still healthy
One of the main reasons someone has insurance is to guard against the possibility of something unwanted happening.
We do not know what our condition will be when we are sick, whether we will be able to pay for medical expenses or not. Well, for three money, the insurance company also works under the law of possibility.
Maybe a customer will get sick so they need to bear the costs, but it’s also possible the customer will stay healthy so they can benefit from the premium paid.
Imagine, when you are already sick when you buy an insurance product, will the insurance company still want to cover the costs that will definitely be incurred?
It’s very unlikely because they will definitely lose. So, while you’re still healthy, have insurance that suits your needs, even if you’re still young.
Take advantage of sharia car insurance to guarantee you from the high cost of repairs at the garage. Sharia car insurance prioritizes financial management according to sharia provisions and is also supervised by the MUI.
10. Buy an insurance policy when you are young
Not only determines health conditions, age also plays an important role in determining the amount of insurance premiums that we need to pay when buying insurance.
The consideration is this, the older we get, the greater our risk of getting sick. Don’t be surprised if the premium charged for older customers is more expensive than for younger customers.
So, try to imagine the role insurance will play in your life in the future. Don’t just see it as a cost that you need to spend continuously because you may not feel the benefits right now.
11. Avoid choosing insurance with a cash plan offer
What is meant by cash plan insurance is insurance whose benefits are calculated only based on the length of stay, regardless of other bills.
In simple terms, when you are hospitalized for 3 days with a room fee of 1 million per day, the insurance will only pay a total room bill of 3 million, without considering other billing expenses, such as doctor’s visit fees, drug fees, and so on.
Therefore, you should avoid choosing insurance with a cash plan offer . Choose insurance that takes into account costs for each ceiling.
The goal is that you avoid the possibility of having to pay for costs that are not covered by insurance.
12. If you have a family, choose family insurance
Why do you need to choose family insurance when you have a family? The main goal is to save costs while making things easier for yourself.
You can try to compare the price of each policy for each member with the price of one policy that can cover all family members.
As a result, it tends to be cheaper to buy one policy for all. In addition, if two family members fall ill at the same time, it will be easier for you to take care of their claim needs.
Therefore, try to find insurance that can cover one family in one policy.
13. Choose pure insurance
Maybe you’ve heard of two types of insurance, namely pure insurance and unit linked insurance. What is the difference? The difference is, unit linked insurance does not only offer health protection, but also investment.
As a result, the price of unit linked insurance premiums can be the same as pure insurance, even more expensive, but the benefits offered are no more than pure health insurance. This is because, some of the funds you pay are also used to invest.
So, if you already have your own investment instruments, such as mutual funds or gold, choose pure insurance so that the benefits you get are maximized.
Thus, you can avoid waste and at the same time pay insurance benefits, even though the price you pay is quite large.
Tips for choosing the right insurance according to the stages of life
Differences in priorities in the life ladder will make needs also change. Likewise in terms of insurance. For that, for those of you who are confused about choosing insurance according to the stages of life, see the following tips:
1. When still alone
When you are not married, insurance is usually not a primary need. Yet it is important to consider. Because, the money you collect can be used up when certain risks occur. So it would be better to buy a health insurance product.
By having health insurance you will be protected financially from the high cost of treatment. So, when you fall sick, your savings will not be drained. Furthermore, buying life insurance products must also be considered when you are the backbone of the family.
Because with life insurance when there is a risk of death, a sum insured will be given that can be used for the family. Not only that, life insurance also provides units in the event of disability due to an accident.
2. When newly married and have children
When you are newly married, you can still choose health and life insurance products. However, when you already have children, your priorities have to shift a little. You can choose a family insurance product as a consideration. Because with family insurance products, you can buy one policy and get benefits for all family members.
In addition, family insurance premiums are also more affordable and practical than buying individually. So you can try to consider the allocation of funds to buy this product.
3. When entering retirement age
Preparing insurance for retirement funds can actually be done as early as possible. However, it’s never too late for you to buy insurance products for financial protection when you enter retirement. So, for the product, you can choose dual-purpose insurance.
By buying a dual-purpose insurance product , you can get benefits when certain risks occur as well as savings for children’s education costs. So, you can get two benefits at the same time in one policy. Apart from endowment insurance, you can also consider buying extended benefits for critical illness insurance.
Because as you get older the risk of disease is also greater, especially when you have a family history of suffering from a critical illness such as cancer. So, it will be very high risk. For that, it would be better if you have critical illness insurance to provide financial protection for the high cost of hospital care.