How Much Life Insurance Does a Malaysian Need?

When I first bought my own life and medical insurance, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I didn’t know what type of questions I should ask. After some reading, it turns out there many variables we need to consider when we’re trying to figure out how much life insurance coverage we need.

Being under-insured is definitely not good, but being over-insured is also unnecessary.

Anyone who’s considering buying insurance should know how to ask these questions:

What will I want my insurance policy to cover?

Sit down and think hard, what do you want your insurance to take care of when you are not around?

Do you want it to pay for funeral arrangements, or perhaps clear your mortgage and other debts?

Do you have family that depends on your income?

If you do, then you’ll want your insurance to provide your family with income after your death, to ensure they’ll be able to continue their lives with as little interruptions as possible.

How about your children’s education?

I can’t possibly predict what might happen in the future, but I sure wouldn’t want to leave my children’s education up to chance in case anything happens to me.

I would want my insurance to contribute to my children’s education as well. With all this in mind, you can begin to determine how much life insurance you’ll need to buy.

Who do I want to insure?

Most life insurance companies in Malaysia have many types of plans to suit your family and lifestyle. You can buy a life insurance policy for your own life, or get a policy that covers both you and your spouse.

This is called a joint life insurance policy, which leaves the life insurance benefit to the survivor when the first partner dies.

How long do I need life insurance for?

Try using major financial milestones in your life, for example, when will your house mortgage be paid off. Or when all your kids will finish their education, as you won’t have to worry about having enough money to pay for their education, and of course most importantly, when do you plan to retire?

All these can help you determine how long you’ll need life insurance for.

Lynn Yap is a Prudential Insurance agent covering the surrounding area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. If you are looking for a friendly and dedicated Prudential Insurance agent in KL, contact her at ==> prufriend [at] gmail [dot] com