Salaried workers are the group most likely to feel "I already have full benefits" — social security plus the company's group insurance. But that sense of safety has several gaps you cannot see. Here are four reasons why people on a salary should also have cover of their own.
Reason 1: A single source of income is the biggest risk
The strength of being a salaried worker is steady income — and that is the weakness at the same time, because the whole household usually depends on one salary. If serious illness stops you working, or something happens suddenly, the income stops at once while the expenses do not. Social security does provide compensation for loss of income, but the ceiling is far below many people's actual salary. Personal life and disability cover therefore works as a far more realistic income replacement.
Reason 2: Company benefits are not yours forever
Group insurance is genuinely good, but it is tied to being an employee. The day you resign, change jobs, are laid off or retire, the cover leaves along with the staff card. And by that day we are usually older, premiums are higher, and there is a risk of having developed a condition that makes a new application difficult or leads to an exclusion. Holding a personal policy that belongs to you, not to the company while still young locks in cover before the door narrows.
Reason 3: The savings you worked so hard for need armour
Salaried workers build wealth through consistency — saving month by month for each hundred thousand. But the cost of one major illness can sweep away several years of savings in a few weeks. Good health insurance is therefore not an expense but armour around your savings: accepting a predictable premium to close off an unpredictable loss. That is the basic logic of sound financial planning.
Reason 4: A tax deduction you are already paying for every month
Salaried workers have tax withheld automatically, so deduction planning produces an immediate return in the form of tax saved. Premiums for life, health and annuity policies are deductible within the limits and conditions set by law [check the latest information], which means the cover you buy comes with a tax discount easing the cost — and the higher your tax bracket, the more significant that discount. That said, buy primarily for the protection; the tax benefit is a by-product.
How to start without straining the budget
A starting formula that works in practice: set total premiums at no more than around a tenth of income. Begin by filling the gaps in the benefits you already have — for example, using a health plan with a deductible alongside your group scheme, which brings the premium down considerably — then add life cover according to your real obligations. Review it whenever your salary rises or life changes, and your cover grows along with your career. If you would like to know where the gaps in your existing benefits are, message us on LINE and we will check it with you — no charge.
This article was inspired by material from the Thai Financial Planners Association (TFPA) and has been entirely rewritten.