Christine is now 28 years old. Looking back, she entered the workforce at 24 in the capital city, KL, with a monthly income of only 2,300 ringgit. After deducting KL's high rent, second-hand car payments, and living expenses, she had very little left. Seeing her friends buying insurance for their health, she reluctantly tightened her belt and took 200 ringgit from her monthly salary to buy a medical card.
At 27, Christine noticed abnormal menstrual bleeding and made an appointment for a hospital check-up. She was diagnosed with cancer by a gynecologist. Fortunately, the cancer was detected early and hadn't progressed to an untreatable stage. She only needed appropriate treatment to recover. The doctor scheduled tumor removal surgery and a series of treatments to restore her health. He also advised Christine not to worry too much and to stay relaxed and cooperative during the treatment.
After hospital confirmation, Christine found that her previously purchased medical insurance was enough to cover the cancer treatment costs. The 400,000 ringgit coverage of her medical card easily relieved her of the financial burden of medical expenses. Christine was grateful that she made the right decision to buy the medical card while she was still young, and she appreciated having medical insurance as a safety net, sparing her from worrying about high medical costs. Lying in the hospital bed, waiting for surgery, she couldn't help but praise her wise decision to get the medical card. To be cured and see her parents and friends again would be the greatest happiness.
After surgery, she needed to schedule weekly chemotherapy sessions. Each time she returned to work after chemotherapy, she felt increasingly weak. Her boss noticed this and arranged a meeting to comfort her, suggesting she take time to recover and assuring her that her job would still be there when she was better. But was this not a subtle hint for her to leave? At this point, she was powerless to fight back, and eventually, she lost her job.
She remembered purchasing critical illness insurance. The agent had told her that if she were unfortunate enough to get cancer, the insurance company would compensate her with up to 100,000 ringgit as income loss compensation. She contacted the agent to file this claim, hoping to alleviate her financial stress.
“What! The doctor has confirmed it’s cancer, why won’t the insurance company pay 100,000 ringgit?!” Christine angrily questioned the insurance agent when she was informed of the denial.
The agent explained that without consulting her, she was given a cheaper but harder-to-claim insurance policy covering 36 critical illnesses, which only pays out in the late stages of the disease.
Christine was filled with anger and frustration: “Why didn’t you explain this clearly at the time?! If you had told me that an extra 30 ringgit could get me a 100,000 ringgit payout, I would have definitely bought it!”
Despite her frustration, life went on. After spending nearly 400,000 ringgit on treatment over six months, her condition did not improve, possibly due to psychological factors or immense financial pressure, and it worsened to a terminal stage. Eventually, she received the insurance payout for terminal severe diseases.
Like a train making stops along the way, a year later, it reached its final destination. The cancer, which could have been treated, progressed to a terminal stage due to inadequate risk management and insurmountable challenges. It's truly a lamentable situation.
If time could turn back, Christine hopes she could have found an agent like Faith, giving her a chance to make an effective risk plan.