Today, 1 April 2020 marks the start of phase 2 of the Movement Control Order (MCO). Time surely flies, it’s actually been 2 weeks since we stayed at home.
In the past 2 weeks, while it may seem like days off (which in reality it isn’t), there have been many anxieties, uncertainties, panics and stress affecting everyone.
I’m not spared too. I guess the tiredness of juggling between work and taking care of my special son physically got to me. I knew there was something wrong when I started feeling numbness on my arms. Ran to the pharmacy and got myself a blood pressure monitor. True enough my blood pressure was high – beyond the norm. As it never happened before, I was anxious and went to the clinic later that afternoon to check.
Just before this episode happened, I was thinking to myself that I should write about the importance of takaful in light of this pandemic and the predicted after effect. But yesterday happened, so I took a backseat for the day. Today I’m trying to complete the mission I had set earlier.
Let’s face it, the economic outlook looks gloomy. No point masking it.
In a media statement, IMF more or less declared the world is in the state of recession – as bad or worse than the one in 2009. The earliest recovery is forecasted to start in Q4 2020 and this can only happen if the virus is successfully contained globally – it’s all interconnected. If the world fails, it would be later. Hopefully everything goes well and the economy will bounce back as hard as it fell in 2021.
Your first thought would probably be – “Oh no, it’s going to bad.”
It will be tough, I won’t kid you. I don’t have the sight of how it’s going to be. Only what is reported or written by analysts. But at least, there are early intervention actions taken by the Malaysian government. Good or bad, time will tell.
For us individually, we need to focus on what’s within our control.
Early signs seem to show we are on the right track (or at least some kind of track) and if everyone brace through it together, it will probably work out somehow. The road will be bumpy but if we continue to push through, we’ll eventually reach the end of the “tunnel”. Hopefully the journey won’t be too scarily dark.
Usually in these kind of situations, when times are tough on our wallets, the first item that gets dropped from the list will be takaful or insurance coverages. It’s a natural reaction, considering the product is intangible in nature – it’s difficult for people to appreciate.
But one thing that COVID-19 has taught us in the past few months is how important takaful/insurance coverage is – be it a health based plan or just plain vanilla protection.
COVID-19 reaffirms to the world that sickness and death are not bias, it hits everyone regardless of age, ethnicity, location, status – etc. No one is spared from the being exposed to the virus.
Against this backdrop, it’s not really a surprise that people are more aware and interested to obtain takaful coverage during this period. While this awareness may seem a bit late – literally at the neck of time, it’s still a worthwhile self discovery and action.
I’m a firm believer in protection based takaful products as to me this is the fundamental reason why people should take up a takaful plan. We have other instruments that can help us deal with our other financial needs. Right now, what’s important is to ensure as an individual we are protected and more importantly to ensure our loved ones are financially protected in case anything happens to us.
It’s also not the best scenario to invest in the current landscape. There will be those who argue that while the unit price is cheap, why not buy now. The thing is, with the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives is at a higher risk than anything else and the immediate financial assistance for ourselves or our loved ones is more critical than any long term returns.
The other piece that is super important during this period is to obtain maximize protection coverage at an affordable price. When I say maximum, it doesn’t mean it has to the highest coverage and for sure, we don’t need the most expensive one. It’s really what you need, nothing fancy.
The key to it all is for you to be comfortable with what you need to regularly pay to ensure you are continuously protected during difficult times i.e you can still pay your takaful contributions even during tough financial situations e.g. recession. We never know what can happen in the future – loss of income, riskier health environment, etc.
Remember, the importance of having takaful protection doesn’t go away during difficult times – in actual fact, the level of importance multiplies.
In my current role, I’m actually a distribution channel owner – responsible for business generated through the online channel. The price points are relatively cheaper and (or but) the products are simple, basic and straightforward. It’s for those who prefers to be independent and self manage their takaful certificates. By all means, you’re more than welcome to go get one now online.
But there are many options out there that can suit your preference – be it in the way you want to be serviced or the benefits you need. All channels have a unique solution that could meet your needs – agency, banca, group, online (during MCO all channels are doing it online/non face to face) – it’s really your choice.
I personally have products from multiple channels (all of them I think).
What’s more important right now is to have protection – meaningful and sufficient protection.
So – if you don’t have a takaful protection yet or you think you don’t have enough, go get one now. And make sure you can afford it, so that you and your loved ones can be rest assured they are protected at all times, especially during these trying times.
Stay home. Stay safe. Stay protected.