What solutions 'solve difficulties' for insurance buyers during the epidemic season?

Necessary insurance during the epidemic season

The Covid-19 pandemic has made people understand that life sometimes does not go according to plan and health risks can come at any time. That means we can suddenly leave our loved ones behind without warning. Preparing for bad situations is something everyone can proactively do. For the breadwinner, it is even more meaningful when the responsibility to loved ones becomes more complete, and they can "sleep soundly" because there are no more worries to consider.

The prolonged pandemic has made paying insurance premiums a pressure for many people. Illustrative photo

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Covid-19 a global health emergency. Because of this, insurance products in some countries may exclude insurance liability for risks caused by Covid-19. In Vietnam, most insurance products pay insurance benefits if customers are unfortunately at risk due to Covid-19. Life insurance has been doing a good job of financial protection against unpredictable risks.

In the context of the pandemic that has not shown any signs of abating, everyone must be aware of protecting their own health, doing 5K, getting 2 doses of vaccine... From a financial perspective, participating in insurance and maintaining insurance contracts is advice from financial experts, like equipping ourselves with an additional "shield" to protect our family's finances and should be a priority at this time.

Businesses share difficulties with customers

Having participated in insurance for 10 years now, every September, Mr. Tam (36 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) goes to the insurance company to pay the premium. He has never forgotten or been late in paying the premium. This year, due to the prolonged pandemic, the couple's income has decreased, and despite trying many ways, the family still does not have enough money to pay the insurance premium.

"I was worried about whether it would affect my insurance benefits or not. Luckily, the insurance company recently announced that they would extend the premium payment period to 120 days, so I feel somewhat reassured," Mr. Tam shared.

Mr. Tam is not a rare case. The prolonged epidemic has made paying insurance premiums a pressure for many people..Faced with that reality, insurance companies like Prudential have proactively offered support plans and shared difficulties with customers.

Instead of 60 days, the company has extended the premium payment grace period to 120 days for all valid insurance contracts with premium payment due dates between August 30, 2021 and December 31, 2021. Prudential customers like Mr. Tam have had more time to arrange their finances, while the benefits of the insurance contract are still guaranteed.

Prudential accompanies and shares with customers, increasing the insurance premium payment extension period up to 120 days.

When asked “what is the solution for cases like Mr. Tam’s”, the insurance company expert said that buyers should not lose their insurance benefits due to temporary difficulties, nor disrupt their financial plans that have been built up, especially in the midst of a strong outbreak like the present. According to him, depending on the specific financial situation, buyers can consider one of the following options:

-Use automatic premium refund value: with a traditional insurance product with a surrender value sufficient to pay a contract premium or a smaller premium. The insurance company will automatically advance an amount from the surrender value of the contract to pay the automatic premium if the premium has not been paid after the grace period. Note that the customer will have to pay an additional reduction in investment income arising from this advance premium.

-Use the right to suspend payment of fees: With investment-linked insurance products, if the contract is from the 6th year onwards, the customer can request to use the right to temporarily suspend premium payments. However, if the contract includes some additional products, the buyer must pay fees for these products to maintain insurance benefits.

If the contract is less than 5 years old, depending on the characteristics of the insurance product, the customer can request to withdraw additional investment account value or the company will use the account value to pay fees for the contract or for accompanying supplementary products if conditions are met.

-Use bank credit card: The buyer should use a credit card to pay the insurance premium and refund all or part of the amount to the bank within a maximum of 45 to 55 days after the transaction, depending on the policy of the card issuing bank.

Using a credit card to pay insurance premiums, cardholders can also enjoy attractive refund policies. For details, users need to specifically learn about the preferential policies of the card they own. For example, VPBank's VPLady card refunds up to 6% for online insurance payments and not more than 600,000 VND/month.

-Change fee payment schedule: Customers can request to change the payment frequency from year to half-yearly, quarterly or monthly. The amount to be paid will be reduced accordingly and will no longer be a pressure for customers. Note that this request can only be made on the contract's anniversary date.

-Maintain contract with reduced insurance amount: This is considered a last resort when the buyer's financial difficulties are determined to be long-term and no longer recoverable in the future.

This solution will help the buyer maintain protection at a lower insurance value and will not have to continue paying premiums. Depending on the specific situation of the contract, the insurance company will calculate and determine whether it can be implemented with the customer's contract or not.

6 solutions to maintain insurance contracts during the epidemic.

Not every buyer receives insurance compensation, but in fact, insurance has "saved" many families in unexpected risky situations. "Forming disciplined savings is one of the values ​​that insurance brings, buyers should not lose their insurance benefits because of temporary difficulties," the expert emphasized.