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Are you curious about getting medical insurance for yourself? Well, there are two types of medical insurance you can get in Malaysia; standalone medical card vs medical rider. In this article, we will share with you what is the difference between a standalone medical card and a medical rider.
What You Need to Know About Standalone vs Medical Rider
A medical card helps the insured cover hospitalizations and surgical treatments at a panel hospital. The coverage provided by your medical card is subject to specified annual and lifetime limits. The two most common medical cards available in Malaysia are standalone medical cards and medical riders.
What Is A Standalone Medical Card?
A standalone medical card gives you medical health coverage that covers your hospitalizations and surgical treatments. It is not attached to any other savings plan or investment-linked life insurance. When you pay for a standalone medical card, you will get the following coverage, depending on the plan that you choose:
Costs for Hospital Admission and Surgery
This includes costs for admission to hospital, surgery, room and board, ambulance services, medicine, and other related costs.
Critical Illness
Your medical plan covers critical illness treatment costs such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, and others (depending on the policy).
Long-term Treatment
This will benefit those with chronic diseases such as kidney patients.
What Is A Medical Rider?
A medical rider is an add-on or additional benefit attached to savings or investment-linked life insurance. It gives you the same benefits as a standalone medical card but it has a savings or investment element.
The premium will be paid under one single premium for both savings or investment-linked life insurance. Hence, the premium would be more expensive as it covers a more comprehensive coverage; life insurance, medical insurance, investment-linked policy, and/or a savings plan.
Additionally, you can add additional coverage to your medical rider insurance such as:
- Accident rider;
- Critical illness rider; and
- Premium waiver rider.
You have the option to exclude the medical rider from your life insurance policy, and even without it, the life insurance policy remains effective. However, if the life insurance policy concludes, the medical rider terminates as well.
You can also claim compensation for critical illness and receive cash payouts. Yet, if the compensation surpasses the life insurance coverage, your life insurance policy will lapse.
What is the Difference between a Standalone Medical Card vs Medical Rider?
We’ve outlined the differences between the two types of medical cards. You can refer to the table below for a quick reference to their variations.
1. Premium
The major difference between a standalone and a medical rider is the cost of their premium. Basically, you pay a higher cost for a medical rider due to the inclusion of investment and savings components in the comprehensive policy.
Consider this scenario: a standalone medical card priced at RM500 monthly, while a medical rider is at RM2,000. Both provide identical medical coverage, prompting the question of the additional RM1,500 for medical rider.
This extra amount contributes to your investment fund account and/or savings plan, establishing a cash value that can be withdrawn or utilized to pay your premium.
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2. Link with Investment and Savings Portion
A standalone medical card exclusively provides medical coverage. Meanwhile, a medical rider offers the same coverage but is integrated or bundled with a life insurance policy for added convenience.
3. Renewal
You might also wonder how long your Insurance coverage lasts. It depends on the policy renewal terms of your medical insurance. The coverage period differences for both standalone and medical rider can be seen below:
| Standalone Medical Card | Medical Rider |
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4. Pros of Standalone Medical Card vs Medical Rider
There are several advantages obtained by insurers for both standalone and medical rider.
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5. Cons of Standalone Medical Card vs Medical Rider
Similarly, there are also disadvantages for both medical cards as per table below.
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Standalone Medical Card and A Medical Rider, Which One Is The Best Option?
Whether it is a standalone medical card or a medical rider, the best option is still for you to get medical insurance for yourself. You will never know what the future holds. Having the best medical insurance, however, will save you from financial woes in case of any medical emergency or critical illness.
Getting the best medical insurance for you doesn’t need to be a pain. You can easily hunt for the best medical insurance by going to qoala.my. You will surely find the perfect health insurance for yourself by having qoala.my to compare all the insurance products available.
Qoala.my is the largest insurance platform in Malaysia, offering a comprehensive comparison of a diverse range of insurance products. Our platform prioritizes swift, secure, and efficient services for an unparalleled insurance shopping experience.
