Right now I am typing with just one hand as I'm unable to move my other hand. Definitely not so easy to type on the keyboard with just one hand so I will keep this post as short as possible.
On 12.12.2020 (right after 12am...) I slipped in my bathroom, fell hard on the edge and fractured my upper left arm (the part called humerus). I remember seeing my left upper arm snapped into half (that memory still haunts me until today) and the excruciating pain from the fracture was unbearable, I almost fainted thrice. I was brought into the emergency ward, they took an x-ray and was told I had to undergo a surgery else I will never ever be able to move and use my left arm again. Here's the x-ray they took on that day:
Now I am recuperating at home after my surgery. My final hospital bill came to $20,000, including the 4 nights stay, operation, etc etc (itemized billing was like 5 pages long!). Fortunately, I was able to claim from my employer's medical insurance. That got me to realize how important it is to have some life and medical insurance protection for unexpected incidents like this. $20,000 is still a lot of money and not many people have that amount of cash in a short amount of time . Most people don't have the habit of saving and don't have having an Emergency Fund for a rainy day . If you don't have cash, likely will need to use credit cards which can lead to increasing your debts .... eg. minimum payment = reverse compounding interest = BAD!.. This is fine if you still employed but what if you have already retired or you are jobless?
I have a friend whose both parents' medical bills alone totaled up to $60,000 + $90,000 since last year. He is footing the bills for his parents and it is killing him financially.. Every year medical cost increases and I can't imagine if my bill came to $100,000, $300,000, $500,000 or higher. Imagine you are the breadwinner of your family and you alone need to fork out the money for your kids and wife. And what if it is you who is hospitalized, unable to work and lose your job? That will be a disaster for you and your family both financially and mentally.
This led me to realize the importance of having a life and medical insurance during retirement. Especially so since for those planning to be Financially Free and Retire Early (FiRe), you will really need to protect your wealth and not to dig into your golden goose wealth to pay for your medical bills. You do not want that to destroy all the hard work you have put in to achieve FiRe and let it to go down the drain - paying medical bills and killing your retirement plan. Please have proper protection by having a good life insurance - yourself and your family.
Another piece of advise. If you have an existing life insurance which you have bought some time back ago, please check if it is still current and the amount covered is sufficient. I upgraded mine in 2017, since I noticed that on my original insurance policy (which I bought in 2008), it was out of date ..fine back then but not now due the increasing medical expenses. It had a lot of restrictions (co-payment -- only 80% covered and 20% under me, lifetime limit) and the amount covered was hardly enough now. I am glad I have upgraded my insurance plan which has greatly increased my medical insurance amount coverage, no more co-payment, and no more lifetime limit (it will reset annually).
Here is a quick rule of thumb which I personally use for measuring how much I need for my life and medical insurance coverage. Get your annual income and multiply it by 20. Let's say the annual income is $50,000 a year, multiply that by 20 and you get $1,000,000. However do consult with your life insurance agent as this amount I have given is a ballpark figure.
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