In this post, I am going to share 5 reasons why I signed up Prudential Prulink Assurance plan.
I signed up for the plan after thorough consideration.
Read on to know more.
Table of Contents
- My perception of insurance
- 5 reasons why I signed up Prudential Prulink Assurance plan
- Final thoughts
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My perception of insurance
From what I remember, as a teenager, I had a bad impression of insurance and a very bad impression of insurance agents.
That was because, in my younger years, my late father told me ‘Do not trust insurance or insurance agents. They promised thousand of things but when something really happened, you can’t find them.’
My late father said that because he had some bad experiences with things related to insurance.
When I started working in the early 2000s, I have done some reading and did my own research on insurance.
I also discussed and talked to my colleagues and friends about insurance coverage.
One of my brothers has a few friends working in the insurance industry and they also helped me to understand more about the importance of having insurance coverage.
About two years later, I bought my first insurance policy, Prudential Prulink Assurance Plan. It is an investment-link policy that provides both protection and investment to its policyholders.
5 reasons why I signed up Prudential Prulink Assurance plan
So, why I signed up Prudential Prulink Assurance plan? These are the reasons:
1. For my own protection
When I started working, I was thinking, if I suddenly had a serious illness or was involved in an accident and was not able to work and earn income, what will happen to me?
Will I have enough savings for the treatment and those health-related matters?
Will I trouble my parents and family for that?
Sometimes, these thoughts made me not able to sleep at night.
If I have an insurance policy with medical insurance, at least I am covered for health and surgical needs. And there is financial support during the tough time too.
Thus, the Prudential Prulink Assurance plan gives me financial protection.
2. For my saving
The second reason is as part of my saving plan.
Prior to signing up for the insurance plan, I didn’t have much commitment, but I just don’t know where my money goes to.
So, with the insurance plan, I forced myself to save a few hundred every month to pay the premium.
At least, when I received my yearly PRUlink account statement, I know where my money goes too.
3. For my investment
Since the Prudential PRUlink Assurance plan is an investment-link policy, a portion of my premium will be invested in selected funds.
When I signed up for the plan, my insurance consultant advised me to invest in an equity fund because he said I am still young Which means I have plenty of time to grow the fund.
A few years later, his assistant advised me to switch some of the equity funds to bond funds due to the slower market.
I didn’t’ regret listening to their advice.
So far the return from both Prulink bond and Prulink equity funds are quite impressive.
4. For my retirement
As mentioned above, the Prudential PRUlink Assurance plan is an investment-link policy. So, there will be cash value generated from the fund investment.
With certain terms and conditions, I can use the cash value for the purposes below:
- to enjoy the premium holiday during my retirement (the monthly premium will be deducted from the cash value)
- for my personal needs. I can withdraw the cash value and use it according to my needs
With the hope that everything goes well, I shall have additional cash from the investment for my retirement fund.
5. For my future
When I learned that the premium increase with age, I know that I must have insurance coverage as early as possible.
I don’t want to wait until I have a family or other commitment. Because by then, the premium would be higher.
Furthermore, the insurance company had the right to reject applications with a health problem.
Final thoughts
Among all the above, the main reason I signed up for the plan is still the first reason, which is for protection.
In case of any accidents or serious illness happened, there will be financial support for myself and my family members.
With the increasing price in the health care industry, it is wise to have appropriate insurance coverage especially medical insurance for oneself, as early as possible. For that, you may want to take a look at PRUValue Med Booster and PRUMillion Med Booster. Both plan cover your medical costs and pays a lump sum in case of death or Total and Permanently Disabled (TPD).
If you are looking for a reasonable premium, you might want to read my sharing on how to lower health insurance premiums.
Lastly, discover my other insurance post under the insurance and protection category.
Read more: 3 reasons why I signed up for Prudential PRUsaver
photo credit: Got Credit Insurance Key via photopin (license)
Insurance is a form of protection against unexpected loss.. But however, we have to take care of not to overprotect, to such that it eats up a big chunk of our income
My sis bought this and paid 200 monthly premium for 29 years for 50K life and 50 k crisis cover plan. 68K total. Now her surrender value is 13K. She made a loss. No agent who kept changing contacted her and she didn’t check as busy working. Now retired, then discover this big loss from Prulink Assurance plan. Caution: only if you have time to check and change funds or whatever – non guaranteed, don’t expect it to grow. You can make a loss.
Hi Kim, sorry for the late response. Was occupied for the past few days.
Thank you for your comment and for taking the time to share about your sister’s experience with prudential assurance. Since she didn’t expect the loss, she must be disappointed with the low cash value.
At the moment, I am not an insurance agent or financial adviser. What I can suggest is to check the details of the surrender value such as any deduction made within the 29 years to pay for the premiums including the premium increments and other insurance fees/charges.
Personally, there were 2 premium increments for my Prudential Prulink assurance plan for the past 20 years, mainly due to the rising cost of health coverage. I can choose not to opt for the increment but I decided to do so. The reason is I am still able to cover the premium.
Totally agree with you when you said the policyholder must have time to monitor the policy including the investments. And you are right again when you said there’s no guarantee in the investments/cash value accumulated. Always remember, there are risks in every investment.
What we can do is monitor and try to minimize the risks. The policyholder also must understand and be aware of the policy before signing up.
For the past 20 years, I’ve learned not to depend on my insurance agents. And I don’t blindly accept their advice as well. What I did was to take the time to find the information on my own and then share with the agent what I want. Now, it is also common to buy insurance online, which means you don’t have to engage an agent to have the policy you need. But again, the policyholder must know what she’s buying.
For your sister, please tell her to reconsider before surrendering the policy. In my personal opinion and from my reading/research, the main reason for an insurance plan is for its protection. Investment is the optional/additional part of an insurance plan.
Lastly, I hope your sister has other savings/investments for her retirement.
Hi Andy, you're right. Do not overprotect. For single person, it should be ok. But for those with family, the bread winner must ensure the family needs and welfare are well taken care of if anything happened to him/her.
As for me, I think having a life insurance is best only if you are young and with dependents.
By the way, nice title: money magnet. I am also a personal finance blogger and hope to see you too on my blog. 🙂
Hi Millionaire Acts, thanks for dropping by. I hope to be able to collect enough $$$ before I reach 60 years old. So, I will not depend on insurance for protection. Perhaps 60 years is too old, and now I am thinking to reduce it to 50 years old… I had a quick glance at Millionaireacts.com, you really have a resourceful and informative blog. Keep posting!
Perhaps you should get decreasing term insurance instead. As you will accumulate more wealth, you will need less protection.
I am not sure if you should consider investment for choosing insurance. The need to pay premium constantly is good but the management charges and returns might not match your investment goals.
Also, some insurance don't send you the performance regularly. It might be too late when you realized the insurance fund is doing badly.
Hi Thien Rong, thank you for your advice. I think decreasing term insurance is a good idea. I consider the investment is an extra point from my insurance coverage 🙂 Usually, I monitor my prulink fund myself as my insurance advisor seldom call me. Hmm.. I noticed that she only call me when she want me to-up up my investment/increase my medical card coverage/premium ;p
Kinda lousy service provided by your agent!! Get a new one?
Hi Kris, lousy service because no more commission for her… my friends and colleague also comment on the same things on their agents.. any recommendations?
lousy service, change your agent, find an honest agent who willing to service you under non-commission period. it is hard to find, but there are such agent out there.
Hi, My name is Jin. Somehow someway, i found this blog while googling for something. anyway, I am from prudential also. Not trying to sell myself here, I m pretty new in the line, only 2 years. But if you guys outthere needs anything or having any queries with insurance policy, try contacting me. [email protected]
Hope u guys have the best experience with insurance. 🙂
take care!
Hi Jin, thanks for dropping by 🙂 that's great to know. If there's any issue, will contact you. Btw, you're based in where? I am from Kuching, Sarawak.