Travel risks aren’t something that cross our minds when we are busy planning for a business trip or a family vacation. But to the wise traveller, it is an inevitable subject.

So in our effort to educate the public, especially those aspiring wanderlusts out there about traveling smart, here’s an infographic we hope can help highlight several travel risks that you may not be aware of.

Types of travel risks you should consider when making your travel plans:

1. Flight troubles

Flight troubles can mean several things, which includes:

• overbooked flight
• flight delay
• missed departure
• flight cancellation

Flight delay and cancellation may occur due to several factors such as bad weather, airline glitches and technical issues. As a result, not only you could miss your connecting flight, important events at destination such as business meetings and weddings, paid tours etc, but also you could end up being stranded at an airport for hours, costing you more money on meals and even additional room charges in case of an overnight delay.

But what about all the money that you have paid on flight tickets, booked tours, hotel stays, and all the additional expenses caused by these setbacks? 

2. Luggage issues

Our checked luggage is exposed to all sorts of risk especially once handed over to the airlines, which includes:

• luggage delay
• theft
• risk of lost
• risk of damage due to mishandling

Sometimes luggage can be delayed up to days before they are found and delivered to us, in which case we should still count ourselves lucky as some luggage may disappear forever. But have you thought about what would happen to you at your holiday destination without all your packed clothes and belongings?

You will most likely end up having to spend money on additional clothes and basic necessities such as toothbrush and other toiletries. This will eat up into your vacation fund or savings.

The unexpected luggage trouble and additional cost incurred will more likely than not, result in a less than enthusiastic holiday spirit. 

3. Lost of personal belongings

Personal belonging can mean a lot of things, such as:

• a digital camera
• laptop
• mobile phone
• jewelries
• travel documents such as passport and visa

It is easy to lose sight of your belongings while you are engrossed with the beauty of the foreign lands. If one isn’t careful, one can easily neglect an important item, such as a camera and mobile phone. Not to mention the susceptibility of the inexperienced travellers falling prey to the seasoned scammers. These items don’t come cheap. And losing them means having to fork out hundreds if not thousands of ringgit for replacement.

Losing your passport could spell more trouble. Not having a passport with you means you are stranded in a country, not able to continue to the next destination, nor return to your home country.

You’re not only incurring more cost in getting your passport replaced, but also may end up paying more for accommodation for the extended stay while waiting for your new travel documents to be ready. 

4. Stolen money, credit cards and traveller’s checks

The inexperienced travellers are often taken advantage of by scammers and opportunists alike. Their vulnerability often lead to them to being victims of deceptive tactics when traveling abroad. This often result in them being robbed or scammed off their money in more subtler ways.

Not all hotel safe boxes are safe either. Especially if you’re staying in a dodgy 2 star accommodation in the back alley. There is no guarantee that your money will be there when you get back after a long day of sightseeing.

To continue your holiday after all your money is lost means having to borrow from sympathetic friends and living on a tight budget for the rest of your trip.

5. Trip cancellations

Sometimes things happen that is out of our control. Things that may cause us to cancel a scheduled trip, or even cutting short a holiday while we are already abroad. When such an event occurs, it is most unfortunate as most often than not, the deposits made are not recoverable.

Trip cancellation or curtailment could mean a loss of thousands of ringgit in money spent on flight tickets, accommodations, car rental, booked tours and excursions.

Not only your trip is affected, you’re losing tons of money to boot? 

6. Sickness and injuries

We’ve all come across news and stories of Malaysians stranded in foreign hospitals, unable to pay for the exorbitant hospital charges after receiving treatment for illnesses or injuries.

This risk should never be taken lightly as sickness and injury can happen to anyone, anywhere. While it may be a part of the daily life while at home, falling sick when you are abroad is a whole new ball game. Firstly, you are exposed to all sorts of new germs, bugs and unfamiliar environment, increasing your risk of falling ill. Secondly, do not expect to just walk in to a clinic and pay RM 50 for consultation and medicines.

Without the proper insurance coverage, you could exhaust all your life savings on these unexpected treatments. That is, if you even have any saving. 

Think ahead when planning for your trip

As a conclusion, we’d like to remind our readers to consider these travel risks when planning for your trip. Although these unfortunate events could happen to anyone, anywhere, there are ways to minimize their impacts. Aside from exercising all the safety precautions, you may want to consider travel insurance for its many benefits especially in covering for your financial losses from these mentioned risks.

To understand more about travel insurance, here is an article you may find useful:

Travel insurance – 7 Reasons Why it is a Necessity Not a Luxury

The post Travelling Abroad? 6 Travel Risks You May Not Be Aware Of appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.

This change happened on the 1st of July 2017, where the detariffication or liberalisation of motor insurance took place for the whole of Malaysia. It is not something that happened overnight, so if you’re hearing this for the first time, you have a lot of catching up to do!

Scroll down or click here for easy to follow infographic if you’re not a fan of reading.

Prior to this change (and for the past 30 years or so), the price of car insurance followed a strict tariff structure provided by BNM. So irregardless of which insurance or takaful company you bought your insurance from, the price had always been pretty similar (with some minor differences due to other factors). Two main factors that determined the price of insurance were: vehicle engine and sum insured (either based on agreed or market value).

The Malaysian Guide to save on car insurance

Factors determining the price of car insurance today

Oh how things have changed! Today the price of your insurance is calculated based on all sorts of factors! For instance:

The vehicle itself – vehicle age, engine size, car model theft rate, safety features;

The driver/ car owner – years of driving experience, occupation, marital status, history of traffic violations and insurance claims etc.

Here at iBanding, we’ve touched on this subject extensively and many times over. So this time we shall look at this topic from a different angle – how your driving behaviour affects the price you pay for your car insurance.

Infographic: High Risk Driver vs. Low Risk Driver

Detailed explanation below.

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</p><br /><br /><br /> <p><strong>Source https://www.ibanding.my</strong></p><br /><br /><br /> <p><a href=’https://ibanding.com.my/what-type-driver-are-you-car-insurance-price-depends-on-it/’><img src=’https://ibanding.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Insurance-Cost-depends-on-your-driving-behaviour-EN.png’ alt=’Insurance Cost depends on your driving behaviour – Infographic’ width=’500px’ border=’0′ /></a></p><br /><br /><br /> <p>

How you drive = how much you pay for your insurance!

The price of your car insurance is largely determined by your risk profile as a driver and car owner. In a nutshell…

High risk driver = Higher car insurance price

Low risk driver = Lower car insurance price

1. The Careful Driver vs The Reckless Driver

The careful driver is always alert while on the road and is considerate. To the careful driver, his safety and the safety of his passengers as well as other road users is of utmost priority and importance.

With this attitude, he takes traffic regulations seriously. He has a very slim chance of getting involved in accidents. And when he does, it’s not his fault. Therefore he probably has never made any claim against his insurance policy.

The reckless driver is the complete opposite. They are inconsiderate, they road rage, are ill-tempered and they completely disregard the safety and well-being of other road users, or that of their own for that matter. Being Malaysians, like it or not, we all have seen them in action on the road.

Their careless and reckless behaviour often result in a higher number of road accidents to their names. This also leads to more number of motor insurance claims against their insurance policies.

2. The Traffic Observer vs The Traffic Violator

A driver who abides by traffic rules naturally is a careful driver. They take rules seriously and therefore may have very few traffic violations or none at all. They don’t drive above speed limit, don’t overtake at double-lines and they use their indicators when making a turn.

Needless to say, a traffic violator takes traffic rules lightly. They do no necessarily care about the safety of others or that of their own. Speeding, using mobile phone without a hand-free kit while driving, overtaking dangerous and recklessly and running red lights. Naturally, these drivers are no strangers to speeding tickets and other types of ‘samans’.

3. The Vigilant Driver vs The Incautious Driver

We are looking at this from the aspect of car safety and not from the aspect of driving behaviour. The vigilant driver always ensures that his car is safe. They install sufficient safety devices and features and make sure to always leave their cars at safe locations. But that is not all. They also ensure that they send their cars for checkups and maintenance on a regular basis.

The incautious drivers do the total opposite. They do not give any attention to the safety of their cars. They leave their cars in areas with high crime rates. They don’t install additional safety features and they don’t carry out regular maintenance to ensures the safety and security of their cars.

Your role as a car owner and driver

No doubt our responsibility as car owners and drivers is to ensure the safety of other road users as well as our own. However with liberalisation of motor detariffication, we may have just gained one more responsibility.

The price of our car insurance now depends on our behaviour as owner and driver. High or low, cheap or expensive, we can more or less decide it on our own.

If you are looking for an experienced and knowledgeable insurance agent to renew your motor insurance, you can easily find one on our directory.

The post What Type of Driver Are You? Your Car Insurance Price Depends On It! appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.

Life insurance (or any kind of insurance for that matter) is not a fun subject. Don’t believe me, bring it up during a party and watch how quickly the crowd around you disappear.

Ever wondered why people dislike life insurance so much? Well based on my personal experience and observation, I would say the 2 top reasons are: One: it’s too complicated no one understands it. Two, it costs too much! Also, the fact that life insurance deals with death and sickness does not help. Too morbid! If you ask any insurance agent, they would say, “you need it”, so what is there to not understand?

Sure we can be suspicious of them but you know… they are right. Insurance (sadly) is that necessary evil we all hate to admit is important, and that we all need in order to safeguard ourselves and the ones we love against financial pitfalls. If you think life insurance is too complex, yet do not have the time to read up on it to understand why, here’s a simple guide for you. Take heed, if you fall into any one of these groups, you need life insurance.

You need life insurance if:

(Scroll down for complete article)

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1. You are a breadwinner

Breadwinner: The member of a family who earns the money that the family needs.
(Cambridge.org)

If you are the breadwinner i.e. provider for your family, you need life insurance. This is to ensure that if the most unfortunate of circumstance were to happen to you tomorrow, your spouse and children will be taken care of financially.

People say that you only need life insurance if you are the main breadwinner of your family. This is not entirely right. In this day and age, where even two-income households struggle to make ends meet, both partners should take up life insurance.

2. You have a home mortgage

Mortgage: A loan given by a bank, mortgage company or other financial institution for the purchase of a primary or investment residence.
(www.investopedia.com)

If you have a mortgage for your house, you need life insurance. This is to ensure that your family does not have to lose their home in the event of death or total permanent disability (TPD). Nothing can be more tragic than your loved ones having to move out of their home during the time of their bereavement.

Another option that you can choose is MRTA (Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance) or MLTA (Mortgage Level Term Assurance). Although these options are not compulsory during the application for a mortgage, it is highly recommended especially if you do not already have an adequate life and medical plan.

3. You have aging parents who rely on you

You may be single and never plan on getting married. Nevertheless, you may still have others who rely on you financially. Such as aging parents or a special-needs sibling.

Your beneficiaries do not always have to be your spouse or your children. In the Asian culture is it a norm for adult children to care for their parents. In such a case, you should make sure that your parents or other dependents can continue to receive the care that they need should you pass on prematurely.

4. You are a business owner

If you are a business owner, your family may end up with the business debts when you die. Having a life insurance ensures that your beneficiaries are not burdened by these debts. The pay-out from your life insurance plan can be used to pay off your debtors and estate taxes.

If you are in a partnership, a specialized life insurance called the Key man or key person insurance can help surviving business partners keep the business afloat with the death benefit. While a buy-sell arrangement allows the business partners to buy out your share when you die.

5. You have unpaid loans and debts

Have you thought about what would happen to your unpaid credit card debts, your personal loan or car loan when you die? Many don’t. And those who do usually assume that these debts would be cancelled. Not quite true.

What happens to the loan or debt depends on several factors, which includes: Is it a secure or unsecured loan? Is there a guarantor? Is there any possession in your estate left behind when you die.

Secured loan : a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset (e.g. a car or property) as collateral for the loan, which then becomes a secured debt owed to the creditor who gives the loan (www.wikipedia.org).

Unsecured loan: a loan that is issued and supported only by the borrower’s creditworthiness, rather than by any type of collateral. (www.investopedia.com)

Depending on the factors above, banks or creditors have the following options:

a. give the beneficiaries the option to take over the loans and transfer the assets to their names
b. go after the guarantor who will have to continue with the loan
c. sue the estate of the deceased to recover the amount owed to them

So having a life insurance can help pay off all your loans and debts either secured or unsecured so that those you leave behind do not need to be burdened by them.

Still unsure if you need life insurance? We recommend doing some research before making a decision. Speak to several trusted insurance or Takaful agents if you need more information about life insurance. You can find reliable agent on iBanding’s directory here.

The post You Need Life Insurance If You Are… appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.

There are tons of medical insurance plans to choose from in Malaysia. It can get pretty overwhelming, confusing and complicated at times because everyone is offering so many different variations of the same things.

This article aims to shed some light on the differences between a standalone and a rider medical insurance — which most of us Malaysians have. If you are not sure of how to look for the right medical insurance, this Infographic may give you an idea.

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</p> <p><strong>Source https://www.ibanding.my</strong></p> <p><a href='https://ibanding.com.my/medical-insurance-rider-or-standalone-infographic/'><img src='https://ibanding.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Medical-Insurance-Standalone-vs-Rider-Infographic.jpg' alt='Medical Insurance -Standalone-vs-Rider (Infographic)' width='500px' border='0' /></a></p> <p>

What Is A Standalone Medical Insurance?

While there are many types of medical insurance, there are three types of cover that can make up a standalone health insurance.

1. Hospital and Surgical cover

This really means charges and fees for hospital related services and supplies such as room and board, surgery, operating theater, ambulance fee and consultations.

2. Critical Illnesses

A critical illness cover can be for someone who could be diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses such as angioplasty, stroke, or cancer. Treatments for such illnesses are usually expensive. Here is a list of critical illnesses that insurance companies in Malaysia offer.

3. Long-Term Care Benefits

This is usually beneficial for someone who has a chronic illness that took away his or her ability to take care of themselves. The benefits are like home care, live-in caregiver, housekeeper, hospice care or a private duty nurse.

How Are They Packaged?

Most insurance companies in Malaysia offer the three individually or combined. Either way, you will receive a medical card which you can use when you’re admitted to the hospital.

It can also be used for clinic visits or a check-up with your doctor at the hospital. When you’re short or out of cash, you can use the medical card without burning a hole in your wallet.

A standalone policy covers benefits such as room and board, unlimited lifetime limits, kidney, cancer treatments, surgical and operational fees. While some insurance companies offer coverage such as nutritional allowance, compassionate care allowance and much more.  

Renewal Conditions

Most standalone policies provide a guarantee that your policy will be renewed even though you’ve been diagnosed with an illness before your next renewal date. This is good to have. Here’s the reason why. Say if you were diagnosed with diabetes this year, and your policy is not a guaranteed renewal policy, the company has every right to reject your renewal.

Now, you’re left with zero coverage for next year. Adding to that, other insurance companies won’t accept your application either, because now you have diabetes and it’s a risk they are usually not willing to take.

If you are not sure, read your policy’s fine print or speak to your agent. Your agent can help you interpret the terms and condition. If you don’t have an agent, use iBanding to find and connect with an agent to help you.

Premiums In A Standalone Policy

Here’s the tricky bit. Even though your policy may be guaranteed for renewal the following year, it doesn’t mean your premium is guaranteed or fixed. Your premium could change the following year.

If you’re wondering why there are two factors that can affect a premium increase — age and medical inflation rate.

Insurance companies usually provide a schedule showing different amounts according to age group. So the older you are, the higher your annual premium gets.

According to Aon’s 2016 Global Medical Trend Rates Report, Asia’s average medical inflation is at 9.4%. And Malaysia’s medical inflation rate is at 14%. Typically, insurance companies revise premiums every 2 to 3 years.

What Is A Rider In Life Insurance?

Life Insurance

Ideally, a life insurance is for someone who’s looking to help their family members financially when they’re no longer around.

It’s never pleasant to think of the worse. However, it’s good to check it off your list – live a peaceful life without having to worry about your family.

An example of a life insurance is the investment-linked policy. Generally, when you purchase the investment-linked policy, insurance companies will offer a rider

Think of the rider as the meal add-on to your plane ticket. In that sense, you can’t really purchase the meal unless if you fly with the airline that you bought the air ticket from.

Riders

A rider can be a critical illness cover where on top of your investment-linked policy, it provides additional coverage when you’re diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses such as encephalitis, stroke, angioplasty or cancer.

When you have investment-linked plus critical illness as a rider, premiums will be channeled in two portions, one being the premium paid to your investment fund and the other to pay for your critical illness policy.

Comparing Medical Insurance Rider and Standalone In Malaysia

Typically, when you compare a rider and a standalone premium, you might find that a rider is cheaper than a standalone. But it’s only cheaper because it’s packaged together with life insurance.

With a standalone policy, its benefits are far more comprehensive compared to a rider — even though a standalone premium can seem higher, the coverage you get could be worth your money.

Then again, it’s always wise to ask yourself what you truly need. Some people are fine just opting for a standalone because they only need medical cover.  

But if you’re leaning towards getting coverage to secure your family’s future and need a medical cover for yourself at the same time, a life insurance plus a rider, could be ideal.

Are you finding it hard to decide between a standalone health insurance and a life insurance that includes a rider?  Share with us your experiences.

The post Medical Insurance Rider Or Standalone – Which Is Better For You? [Infographic] appeared first on iBanding Making better decisions.