“Dear! Dear! Oh thank God you’re finally awake!”

Joe slowly starts to rouse to the sound of his wife’s voice, a tinge of hysteria detected in her tone. As he attempts to get up, he realises that he is unable to move his limbs; worse, he can’t even feel his limbs.

His eyes eventually adjust to the sunlight filtering in from the windows, and he takes in his surroundings. His wife, Alice is seated by his right. He smells the faint scent of disinfectant. He looks down and notices to his horror that his body is almost fully swathed in bandages.

His heart sinks. His mind - static.

Joe feels Alice’s hand cup his face - the touch reassuring. “Dear, after that truck accident you’ve been hospitalised for almost 4 days. Your boss and colleagues had stopped by last evening. They send their well-wishes and want you to take it easy.”

“4...days?” Joe’s mind whispered.

Then, a surge of thoughts floods into Joe’s mind. “How about the hospital bill? How about the cost of therapy? Or surgery? How Long more am I going to stay here? Am I going to be able to afford all of this?”

“The nurse says that your hospitalisation will be covered by the insurance plans.” Alice’s voice sounded distant; Joe was still lost in thought.

Then, Joe’s mind wanders back to the time he just started working, almost 15 years ago.

He remembers getting hounded by insurance agents on his way home from the MRT station, pressing him to take up a hospitalisation plan; a scene that was played out for what felt like months. The cumulative experience left a bad aftertaste in Joe’s mouth and only served to fester his distrust of insurance plans.

Joe avoided getting any insurance for the better part of a decade, set in his belief that insurance was just a scam tactic by salesmen. Then an incident occurred at his previous workplace that throttled his worldview.

One of the senior managers, Mr Tan, had suddenly collapsed at his desk, and was immediately rushed off to hospital. He was diagnosed to have a brain tumour which required urgent surgery. Mr Tan had spent almost 3 weeks in the hospital, and the bill amounted to six figures. Mr Tan also regularly had to take medication and attend routine medical checkups, which increased his expenses.

Throughout the process, Mr Tan had not seemed overly concerned with the financial side of things; instead he had focused on getting well. Joe eventually found out that it was Mr Tan’s hospitalisation coverage that allowed him to focus on the thing that mattered most - his recovery.

That event was jarring for Joe, and led him to get himself and his family hospitalisation coverage.

Joe smiles slightly when recalling that memory. His heart stops palpitating. He is thankful that he had understood the importance of getting coverage and had applied for it before tragedy struck. He is grateful that he was enlightened of the knowledge, despite the scummy sales tactics that almost made him lose faith.

Joe has learned - how about you?