Overview of Medical Insurance and Life Insurance
You may be spending more on medical insurance than you should. Healthcare insurance has been expensive, especially in the USA. As much as people think of it as overly expensive, you can't deny that it is a crucial part of your life. However, still, you can sleep better at night knowing that your medical insurance plan will cover your unforeseen medical and hospital expenses.
Furthermore, individuals nearing retirement age may be insecure about their children's future, and it is common for men to fall into a depression near or after their retirement age. Having peace of mind, knowing that your family's future is secured, is what most people in their retirement age require.
Understanding the Difference between Medical Insurance and Life Insurance
Even though the two terminologies are close, there is a significant difference between medical and life insurance.
Medical insurance is a buyer and provider agreement for a risk-sharing plan that benefits both. Medical insurance includes premiums, copayments, coinsurance, and deductible amounts. It is planned so that a fixed lump-sum amount is paid for every healthcare event. Medical insurance is a way to ensure that your expenses at the time of illness or an accident are covered, so you do not have to worry about high medical bills during unfortunate emergencies.
Life Insurance is an agreement between the insurance holder and the provider that benefits the insurance holder's family upon the insurance holder's passing. It is a great way to ensure the family members are covered in the case of the expected or unexpected death of the house guardian. In some life insurance plans, terminal illness can also trigger the clause requiring the insurance provider to pay for the insurance.
Types of Medical Insurance
Medical insurance is a broad domain with numerous types covering different areas. Here are the most common types of medical insurance:
Health Insurance
Health insurance is an agreement between an individual and an insurance company that covers healthcare services for that individual. Health insurances are generally annual, with the company providing coverage for various specific services(that vary with the plan), including ambulance services, skilled nursing care, long-term care, hospitalization, prescription drugs, and care in particular conditions(pregnancy, injury, etc.).
Accident Insurance
Accident Insurance provides coverage in cases of accidents and emergencies. The insurance agency in this insurance covers medical and out-of-pocket expenses in the case of an accident. All of the hospitalization costs, emergency care, medical fees, and transportation costs are covered in accident insurance along with other benefits, depending upon the type of insurance.
Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-Term care insurance is a type of medical insurance that covers people over 65 with the services of nursing home care, home health care, and care for seniors with chronic diseases. Long-term care insurance also includes services for people who require special supervision. Long-term care insurance provides flexibility among most insurance programs and is offered by private insurance agencies.
Critical Illness Insurance
In case of chronic diseases or an urgent emergency, critical illness insurance becomes the best help. It is a type of insurance that provides coverage in critical emergencies requiring immediate care, like heart issues, cancer, or a stroke. Without critical illness insurance, one would be forced to pay loads of money at times of severe emergency. Private agencies typically provide critical illness insurance at a low cost since it covers a very narrow domain.
Types of Life Insurance
While life insurance is important to many individuals thinking about the future of their loved ones, it comes with many options. Here are the most common types of life insurance:
Whole life insurance
Whole life insurance provides permanent death coverage, the amount paid to the beneficiaries of insurance buyers when they pass away. Along with this, whole life insurance may contain a saving plan that allows the cash value to be accumulated. Interest is accrued in 2 ways, either fixed-cost or tax-based way.
Universal life insurance
Universal life insurance is a subset of whole life insurance that offers coverage like other lifetime insurances, has an accumulated cash value, and offers benefits for your lifetimes while you pay the monthly premiums. Universal life insurance may be cheaper than whole life insurance in many cases, but underpaying investments could lead to lower death benefits. The monthly premiums you pay can be changed to higher or lower as per your preference, with certain limits.
Variable life insurance
Variable insurance is permanent life insurance with a factor of investment, which decides the cash value when it's time for your beneficiaries to be paid. The coverage happens until your death, and a portion of your monthly premium to a fixed amount means you get a rate of return. The cash value your beneficiaries will receive may be lower or higher, depending upon the value of your investment in mutual funds.
Final expense life insurance
Final expense life insurance is a very affordable type of life insurance that is easily approved and has a relatively small death benefit. The death benefit typically varies from two thousand dollars to thirty-five thousand dollars. Final expense life insurance covers the small cremation, burial, funeral, and other final expenses. However, there are no limitations on what the beneficiaries do with the death benefit.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Medical Insurance
Advantages of Medical Insurance
Medical insurance comes with loads of benefits in bad times. Here are a few advantages and disadvantages listed below:
Financial protection
We all know how expensive normal healthcare services can be without an insurance plan. With medical insurance, you can have a real sense of financial protection. You won't need to worry about the high costs of healthcare services anymore. It is a great way to get off the anxiety of spending thousands of dollars in case of emergencies.
Flexibility
The best part about medical insurance plans is the flexibility they offer. You can browse (or get an expert insurance agent) to find out the best-customized insurance plan for you, which will be cost-effective and cover the areas you need.
Often, people find insurance plans covering areas that they never require coverage of. To fix this issue, an experienced insurance agent can get you the right insurance plan.
Tax benefits
Medical insurance in the US does not require payroll taxes and federal income to be paid. The portion of monthly premiums an insurance buyer must pay is free from income tax.
Disadvantages of Medical Insurance
High premiums
Even though medical insurance provides low out-of-pocket expenses when you need medical services, the monthly out-of-pocket expense of the premiums in insurance plans is relatively high. If you acquire the insurance yourself or through your employer, you must pay the monthly premium out of your paycheck.
Limited coverage
Even though you have many options in choosing your insurance plan, the coverage provided by insurance is limited and does not cover some critical services. Most insurance plans do not cover prescription drug coverages, dental, eye-sight, hearing, and other services.
Exclusions
Medical insurance has policies and criteria which decide if the person seeking medical insurance is eligible in that case or not. It can be a medical condition or an expense your insurance plan provider does not cover. In that case, you'll be liable to pay the amount yourself.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Life Insurance
Life insurance is critical for individuals who care about their loved ones unconditionally. It can be useful to the beneficiaries of the person buying it. Here are a few advantages and disadvantages of life insurance that you need to know about:
Advantages of Life Insurance
Comprehensive coverage
The coverage provided by life insurance is comprehensive. Except for suicide, death due to any reason is covered by life insurance. There exist life insurance plans that help you with your retirement savings as well. Generally, life insurance provides broad options of coverage.
Peace of mind
Knowing that your family or beneficiary is covered under your insurance plan gives you great peace of mind. The payout that your family will receive should provide them with aid at that time without having to struggle financially.
Tax-free payouts
The beneficiaries get the death benefits of life insurance without any tax deductions. Income and estate taxes aren't applicable on life insurance payouts; however, the interest amounts are tax payable only.
Disadvantages of Life Insurance
Expensive
Life insurance can be expensive for seniors or people looking for a better future for their families. The monthly premium for life insurance is high, and many can't afford it. Life insurance is a good investment if you are financially stable.
Complex policies
One of the biggest disadvantages of life insurance is that the policies are too hard to understand; therefore, many people do not risk it. Even though you have many options, you will need to gain prior experience to understand the policies that cover your plan.
Exclusions
Because of the complex life insurance policies, your beneficiaries may not get the death benefit you think they will since the plan has multiple exclusions. Therefore, eventually, there is a potential loss in it if not considered with careful thought.
Conclusion
Medical insurance, as well as life insurance, are important parts of your life. Life is unpredictable; you never know when some unfortunate event will hit, and it's always better to plan. To counter the high prices of healthcare services, you must have medical insurance that fits your needs.
Furthermore, if you are an individual who wants the best for your family once the chapters of life end, life insurance should be the one to make sure that the people you care about live their lives without financial burdens.