Most people understand the importance of insurance. We pay a premium to buy insurance policies in exchange for the protection it gives us. Insurance provides coverage for us and our families when unexpected events strike. This includes death, critical illnesses or hospitalisation, which may result in hefty medical bills or other associated costs being incurred.

 

Most working adults in Singapore would have some form of insurance coverage, be it from the policies that they bought for themselves, or group insurance plans that their employers have provided for them as employees.

 

When it comes to having a baby, the responsibility will lie with parents to understand the importance and coverage levels that is adequate for their child. Getting insurance coverage as early as possible may also be wise. Here are three reasons why.

Many newborn babies are blessed with a clean bill of health. What this means is that when you buy an insurance policy for him or her, there will not be any exclusions tied to it. This is in contrast to an older child who may have pre-existing conditions and may only receive coverage with some exclusions.

 

The reality of life is that as children, and people in general, age, there is always a chance that they will get into accidents and they will fall ill, and in some situations more serious or chronic health conditions may befall them.

 

The longer you wait before you buy an insurance policy for your child, the higher the possibility that these unexpected health conditions may occur. If that happens, insurer may exclude that particular condition from their coverage, or even decide to reject the application entirely. Once that happens, it will be difficult and stressful for you to purchase insurance for your little ones even if you want to.

 

AIA Mum2Baby Choices, a prenatal protection and wealth accumulation solution, allows you to insure both yourself and your baby from as early as 13 weeks into the pregnancy, while helping you save for your child's future education through investments at the same time. This unique plan covers you for 10 pregnancy complications and provides your little one protection from birth for 23 congenital illnesses. You can also transfer the plan to your child, within 60 days of birth, without any medical underwriting, which means your baby will receive guaranteed coverage through adulthood regardless of your baby's health status.

Whether it's health or life insurance, premiums tend to be significantly lower when an insured is younger. This means that if you buy an insurance policy for your child when they are younger, you will likely need to pay a lower premium compared to when buying it when they are older, or when they buy the same policy for themselves when they are adults.

 

For example, if a parent chooses to buy a limited pay whole life insurance policy such as the AIA Guaranteed Protect Plus (IV) for their baby, they have the option of choosing a limited pay term period of 12 years. Even after they complete paying the premiums for 12 years, their child will continue to enjoy coverage for life up to 100 years old.

 

In addition, the policy also allows an option of adding a critical illness protection component to the main plan. This will provide a payout to the insured in the unfortunate event he or she is diagnosed with a critical illness, giving the family the ready cash they need to access the best treatments, and to minimise financial stress within the family that may arise as a result of the illness.

Regardless of age, nobody wants to fall ill or be warded in hospital for treatments, or to see a loved one having to be hospitalised. This can be emotionally draining and distressing on your child, and takes a physical and mental toll on everyone in the family.

 

When it comes to the health of a baby, it can be even trickier. At a young age, babies are not able to express verbally how they are feeling, or any discomfort that they face. 

 

In such occasions, when they are ill and it is accompanied with high fever or some other potentially dangerous symptoms, there is a good chance that the doctors will have them hospitalised for further observations and tests. They are likely to take even more precautions than when an adult or older child has the same symptoms.

 

All these inpatient treatments received during hospitalisation can be covered if your child has a private integrated shield plan such as the AIA Healthshield Gold Max. It includes complete coverage in private hospitals or A/B1 wards in public hospital. It also ensures that in the event of hospitalisation, financial costs would not be something you have to worry about while your child is recovering.

For these reasons, it is evident there are clear benefits to purchasing necessary, and important, insurance coverage for your newborn.

 

If you are unsure about the type of coverage your baby needs, or the best plans to get based on the budget you have set aside, you can get in touch with your friends working in the industry or submit your questions directly to AIA for advise.