Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

Self Insure?

ENP

Joined
16 September 2010
Posts
147
Reactions
0
I have health insurance in place. I pay about $55 a month for having it in place. It covers seeing a specialist and also surgery.

I'm 23 at the moment but can only see this getting more and more expensive as time goes on.

I've been doing a bit of research into "self funding" health insurance. Basically, instead of paying the insurance company my $55 per month, I pay myself into an emergency fund account and it is there when I need it.

The reason I'm thinking of this is that for my $55 I'm paying, the insurance company has it all figured out that I'd only ever likely claim on about half of that. The other half goes into paying the insurance companies expenses then a big profit for them on top.

I'm still keeping my car and basic contents insurance in place. Just in case I crash into a BMW or burn down our flat.

Thoughts are appreciated. Especially from anyone who is self funded.
 
I have health insurance in place. I pay about $55 a month for having it in place. It covers seeing a specialist and also surgery.

I'm 23 at the moment but can only see this getting more and more expensive as time goes on.

I've been doing a bit of research into "self funding" health insurance. Basically, instead of paying the insurance company my $55 per month, I pay myself into an emergency fund account and it is there when I need it.

The reason I'm thinking of this is that for my $55 I'm paying, the insurance company has it all figured out that I'd only ever likely claim on about half of that. The other half goes into paying the insurance companies expenses then a big profit for them on top.

I'm still keeping my car and basic contents insurance in place. Just in case I crash into a BMW or burn down our flat.

Thoughts are appreciated. Especially from anyone who is self funded.

Insurance companies make profit because a certain percentage don't claim, those that do certainly get their monies worth, I would stick with what you've got, if you do need it you'll be very, very glad it's there.
 
Is there a history of illness in your family.. if so keep it if not buy some Gold and Silver.
 
I have health insurance in place. I pay about $55 a month for having it in place. It covers seeing a specialist and also surgery.

I'm 23

Health insurance company's love young people because they tend not to claim often and whey they do claim its typically for small amounts due to young people being healthier than older people.

Self insuring on your own really isn't going to work...650 bucks a year isn't going to cover you for much, now if you could find 9 mates about your age and get them to go in with you, that's 6500 a year.
 
Like this Mr. B??

A Spanish man has survived an unusual ordeal after being struck by lightning in the scrotum.

The 53-year-old man was walking down a street in Madrid when the lightning struck his scrotum through his pants, Spain's El Mondo newspaper reports.

The bolt is believed to have travelled down one of his legs and foot and right through to the footpath before he lost consciousness.

The man's son called paramedics who treated him for burns to his scrotum and feet.

Doctors at the Hospital de la Paz where the man was treated said his heart and brain functions were not affected by the lightning.
 
Some procedures can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Are you confident your savings will be able to meet this if necessary?

Every time I pay my health insurance I feel frustrated because I've never used it except for minor dental stuff, on which they pay less than half, absolutely not enough to justify the approx $1500 p.a. for top hospital plus extras cover.

Then there's the consideration that for emergency problems, e.g. accident, cardiovascular events, etc., you're going to be taken to a public hospital anyway.
So what you're paying the private insurance for is to be able to have your choice of doctor and hospital for elective surgery.

If I were living in a capital city with a teaching hospital, I'd probably drop my cover and go for the option of paying the difference between public care and choosing my own doctor. But in a regional centre where the medical specialists are often second rate, I wouldn't want to be dependent on that inferior level of care.

I don't think the above really helps you with your decision. Sorry.
 
Bottom line ?

Pay the $10 a week and get on with life , earn rnough to buy the company:D
 
I have health insurance in place. I pay about $55 a month for having it in place. It covers seeing a specialist and also surgery.

I'm 23 at the moment but can only see this getting more and more expensive as time goes on.

I've been doing a bit of research into "self funding" health insurance. Basically, instead of paying the insurance company my $55 per month, I pay myself into an emergency fund account and it is there when I need it.

The reason I'm thinking of this is that for my $55 I'm paying, the insurance company has it all figured out that I'd only ever likely claim on about half of that. The other half goes into paying the insurance companies expenses then a big profit for them on top.

I'm still keeping my car and basic contents insurance in place. Just in case I crash into a BMW or burn down our flat.

Thoughts are appreciated. Especially from anyone who is self funded.

Tough call ENP - I know you're trying to save, and that's very commendable. But it becomes a lottery when you self-insure. With health insurance, a family of 4 with 2 teenage kids doesn't really make sense not to have it, especially in the days when even one year without the full monty meant you lost your 30% rebate etc. But you're young and single and so can take some more risks.

I know you feel the money slipping through your fingers. So do I. But less than a month ago was the first time in my life I claimed on an insurance policy (non-health, which sector isn't relevant) but it was $80,000.

Have I paid that much in insurance premiums? Probably.

Maybe you can shop around for a half-way house? An insurance policy (like your BMW-smashing analogy) where there's a ceiling so that it doesn't send you bankrupt but where the monthly cost is less also.

So find an insurance policy that is significantly less than $55, but where the excess is higher. Save the difference and hope like hell your backyard cricket team doesn't smash you in the face with a hard ball this summer, where all your front teeth need reconstruction.

GOOD LUCK!! Wish I was 23 again! I know what I'd be doing lots more of...!!!
 
Top