Last time I looked I was not an elf who has an eternal life. There was a time when I thought I was invincible. Broken bones and scars were healed quickly. Consuming excessive amount of alcohol endlessly only caused a headache next morning. Whether I want to admit or not, my body has reached its 37th year of operations and it requires regular maintenance and ‘protection’ for unforeseen circumstances.

‘Life after marriage’ can be different and difficult sometimes. Being a husband and a father tags a load of responsibilities that can be quite cumbersome to bear alone. One of the most important responsibilities is supporting family financially, especially if you are a sole income earner. What if something (bad) happens to the sole income earner and that is you? What would happen to your family?

Illness suddenly comes without any prior warning. Sometimes there are early symptoms but they can be so mild as to escape a physician during a routine medical examination. It does not really matter how healthy your life style is and how much exercise you do regularly. Because such things would only reduce the risk but never be able to eliminate it completely.

Perhaps some may hold a view that having a life insurance can be a waste of money because its underlying assumption is ‘I will never get sick’. No matter how advanced the modern medical science is, not every disease exists on the planet can be cured. Even your illness can be cured, it can be very expensive and extensively long. In the meantime who will carry the burden of supporting your family financially as well as your medical expenses on your behalf?

I have recently reviewed my life insurance policy. I have the following three benefits.

1) Life Cover – In the event that I die;
2) Total and Permanent Disablement – In the event that I become completely incapacitated; and
3) Income Protection Indemnity – Unfit to work to generate income.

A friend of mine has thoroughly scrutinized my life insurance policy and enlightened me. There was an important policy missing that was ‘Crisis Recovery’ – not completely incapacitated but unable to work to generate income indefinitely. I carelessly overlooked the necessity of ‘Crisis Recovery’ cover because my underlying assumption was ‘I can recover from any illness in 2 years.’

Life is a full of (combination of good and bad) surprise. Nobody has a crystal ball that tells us what will exactly happen and when. Instead of trying to predict the future (needless to say such effort ought to be futile), preparing for unknown uncertainties would be rather prudent. Perhaps you could alter your view of ‘I would rather invest in something else than waste my money in insurance’. Ask yourself this question – What would be more important than investing in securing your family’s future?