Insurance at different life stages

Have you ever wondered what insurance you should get and when you should get it? There's no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to insurance plans. Let's explore the different insurance instruments you should consider as you walk through different stages of life.

Armed with your degree or diploma and ready to take on the working world? You might be feeling overwhelmed at the transition between student life and having to earn your own keep. At this stage of life, however, you'll usually have relatively fewer commitments, especially if you're still single. This is a great time for you to start mapping out your future, and laying out your life goals and aspirations. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? Or 10? When do you aim to buy a house? Do you want to have kids? Do you want to go into business for yourself eventually? These are all questions that might help with your planning.

As you think about your future goals, invest in the insurance plans that will help you secure and anchor those targets, just in case something unexpected happens along the way. Getting health insurance is a good place to begin and at this point of your life, insurers usually don't require extensive medical screening for applicants around this age if you've declared a clean health status. A good tip is to check out flexible coverage plans that you can switch up later or add on riders to.

Another good option is an accident or disability coverage plan. If you're active and constantly love seeking out the next big adventure, you'll want to make sure you're covered by insurance in the event of any medical intervention that might result from an unforeseen accident.

As your career progresses and your take-home salary increases, you might consider padding up your insurance coverage if you can afford it. You could look at getting a longer-term life insurance plan, incorporating insurance policies that are linked to other investment products, or adding a savings component to your current life insurance policy. You could even look at options that would give you an eventual pay-out if it's within your budget to hold on to that policy for a set period of time.

You may not think a critical illness plan is necessary as you'd still be relative young as this stage, but did you know premiums for these policies are cheaper when you're younger? After all, it's never too early to be prepared for the unexpected and this way, you can make sure you'll have lower premiums to take on even when you're older.

Getting married opens up a new chapter of your life - you now have someone else you have to factor in when you do any planning for the future. In addition to your life insurance plan, you could consider taking on a critical illness plan at this stage of your life if you don't already have one. Your insurance payout amount should enable your spouse to maintain the same lifestyle in case something happens to you and your income is no longer available to cover existing expenses. This is especially important if you have a joint mortgage loan and you want to be sure that your spouse won't have trouble making the monthly payments.

Speaking of homes, this is the life stage where you'll likely be buying your first home. A house you can turn into a home with your spouse is a huge life milestone and you'll want to make sure this home is properly protected no matter what happens. Getting mortgage insurance will give your property great coverage, and you can also add on home content and fire insurance for complete peace of mind - it's not that much more expensive!

And with baby makes three (or four or five!). Before a child arrives, there are options for maternity or prenatal insurance packages you could explore. Many of these policies would help cover your antenatal appointments and scans, and even private or semi-private delivery wards that would normally cost a fair bit. In the event of any birth complications or requirements for specific newborn medical attention, these insurance plans can also go a long way towards covering your medical bill.

Purchasing life insurance and critical illness, as well as accident and disability coverage for your kids when they're younger, is also a great idea. Not only will this give them comprehensive coverage, but the premiums for these policies are significantly lower for children. Your children will also continue enjoying the lower premium commitments even later on in life when they take over paying for these policies.

Planning for your child's education will likely be a priority. You could think about insurance or endowment plans that would guarantee lump sum payments once your kids hit a certain age, when these funds would help to pay for their university or post-graduate education.

The biggest misconception about planning for retirement is that you should only think about it when it comes. Retirement planning should take place as soon as possible, no matter which life stage you're at. Think about when you want to retire, the kind of lifestyle you'd like to lead and the goals you want to shoot for when you stop working, and then you can plan backwards.

Including insurance plans into your investment portfolio for your golden years is a good way to not only ensure you stay protected, but to also provide a steady, stable source of income for when you stop getting a paycheck.

For protective coverage, it's important to keep your health and life insurance policies up to date, especially since you won't have corporate insurance coverage any longer. Some plans you might want to look at for coverage are chronic illness care packages and mobility care plans.

On the income side, annuity retirement solutions can provide a guaranteed monthly income stream that can help with your retirement expenses. Go for a capital guaranteed plan, so you won't have to worry about losing your initial investment. Some plans might even provide lump sum payouts at the end of the policy term, on top of regular monthly payouts. It's secure and won't leave you exposed to the volatility of ever-changing market conditions, which you shouldn't have to worry about during your golden years.