Personal Finance

• Insurance is offered by private insurance companies or the government that covers health care expenses incurred by policyholders for necessary medical care.
• Health insurance serves as the means for the healthy to help pay for the care of the sick and for those who can afford medical care to subsidize those who cannot.
• The cost of medical care is rising due to factors such as an increasing average age of the population, higher health care costs for older individuals, and people living longer due to effective health care.
• Health insurance can be purchased from private insurance companies or through your employer.
• Most large employers offer their employees the opportunity to participate in a health insurance plan as part of their benefits package.
• Types of private health insurance include fee for service plan, managed health care plan, and health maintenance organization (HMO).
• A fee for service plan reimburses individuals for part or all of the expenses they incur from health care providers; individuals are free to decide whether to seek care from a primary care physician or a specialist.
• The advantage of a fee for service plan is that you can choose your own health care provider.
• A managed health care plan is a health insurance policy under which individuals receive services from specific doctors or hospitals that are part of the plan.
• Managed health care plans charge lower premiums than indemnity plans, but they impose more restrictions on the specific health care providers (e.g., doctors and hospitals) that individuals can use.
• A health maintenance organization (HMO) is a health insurance plan that covers health care services approved by doctors; a primary care physician provides general health services and refers patients to a specialist as necessary.
• The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is the National Health Insurance Program established to provide health insurance coverage and ensure affordable, acceptable, available and accessible health care services for all citizens of the Philippines.
• Whole life insurance is a type of life insurance that continues to provide insurance as long as premiums are paid and accumulates savings for the policyholder over time.
• Decreasing term insurance is a form of term insurance in which the benefits that will be paid to the beneficiary are reduced over time and the premium remains constant.
• Term insurance is a type of life insurance that provides coverage over a specified time period and does not accumulate cash value.
• Living benefits are benefits that allow the policyholder to receive a portion of death benefits before death.
• Mortgage life insurance is a type of life insurance that pays off a mortgage in the event of the policyholder’s death.
• Group term insurance is a type of term insurance with generally lower than typical premiums that is available to people within a defined group.
• A nonforfeiture clause allows you to receive the savings you accumulated if you terminate your whole life policy.
• Universal life insurance is a type of life insurance that provides insurance over a specified term and accumulates savings for the policyholder over this time.
• Variable term insurance is a type of life insurance that provides insurance over a specified term and allows policyholders to invest residual funds, after the premium on the term portion is paid, in various types of investments, i.e mutual funds.
• A grace period is the time allowed beyond the date when payment is due.
• A beneficiary is a person named to receive the benefits of an insurance policy.
• A policy’s premium is its price, typically a monthly cost. Often, an insurer takes multiple factors into account to set a premium. Here are a few examples:3

  • Auto insurance premiums: Your history of property and auto claims, age and location, creditworthiness, and many other factors that may vary by state.
  • Home insurance premiums: The value of your home, personal belongings, location, claims history, and coverage amounts.
  • Health insurance premiums: Age, sex, location, health status, and coverage levels.
  • Life insurance premiums: Age, sex, tobacco use, health, and amount of coverage.
• The policy limit is the maximum amount an insurer will pay for a covered loss under a policy. Maximums may be set per period (e.g., annual or policy term), per loss or injury, or over the life of the policy, also known as the lifetime maximum.
• Typically, higher limits carry higher premiums. For a general life insurance policy, the maximum amount that the insurer will pay is referred to as the face value. This is the amount paid to your beneficiary upon your death.
• The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) prevents ACA-compliant plans from instituting a lifetime limit for essential healthcare benefits such as family planning, maternity services, and pediatric care.
• The deductible is a specific amount you pay out of pocket before the insurer pays a claim. Deductibles serve as deterrents to large volumes of small and insignificant claims.
• Deductibles can apply per policy or claim, depending on the insurer and the type of policy. Health plans may have an individual deductible and a family deductible. Policies with high deductibles are typically less expensive because the high out-of-pocket expense generally results in fewer small claims.
• Example of Health Insurance

  • Maxicare
  • Generali
  • PhilHealth
  • eTiQa Insurance
  • Intellicare
  • AVEGA
  • Medicare Plus
  • Pacific Cross
  • Medasia
  • InLife