Insurance is not something you buy once and use for life, because our risks change shape as we age. This article draws a map of protection across a lifetime, showing what to emphasise at each stage. Use it to check yourself and everyone in your family.
Childhood (0–22): health and accident cover lead
The main risks at this age are illness and the accidents of childhood. The insurance that answers them is children's health cover and PA, with the parents paying the premiums. Life cover on the child themselves is not urgent, because a child has no income to replace. If the family wants to build an education fund, this is a good time to start, because there is a long period to accumulate. We cover the details in our article on choosing insurance for children.
Early career (23–30): the golden moment to start
This is the stage when premiums are lowest and health is at its best. The main risk is medical costs derailing your first accumulation of savings. The recommended order: health insurance as the foundation, accident cover added if you travel often, and life cover at a moderate level — unless someone depends on your income, such as parents you send money to, in which case raise the sum to match the real obligation. Once your income reaches the taxable threshold, the premiums also help as a deduction, subject to conditions.
Family years (30–45): when life cover must be highest
Marriage, a mortgage and children are the three events that push the value of your income to the people behind you to its peak. At this stage life cover should be raised to match the debts plus the long-term cost of raising a family. Term life insurance provides a high sum insured without the premium spiralling. At the same time, health cover must be complete for both you and your spouse, and critical illness cover starts to be worth considering, because the statistics for serious illness begin to move in at this age.
Pre-retirement (45–60): from protecting to preparing
Debts start falling, the children are growing up, and a life sum insured set high before may be reduced as obligations lighten. The new emphasis at this stage is health after retirement: review how long your current health plan can be renewed for and what the premiums look like in the later years, while accelerating the retirement income plan — annuities and investment. If you still have no critical illness cover, this is one of the last opportunities while the premium is still manageable and your health still qualifies.
Retirement (60+): making what you have work
The goal at this stage is not buying more but managing the protection you have accumulated so it fits your real life. Keep the existing health plan running, because starting again is difficult. Use the annuity income and returns you prepared to pay the premiums. And organise the documents for every policy, review the beneficiaries, and tell your family what exists and where — so the protection built over a lifetime reaches the people you love in full.
How to use this map
Find your own stage and ask: does the weight of my cover match my age? A great many people hold insurance bought ten years ago and never adjusted, although life has changed several times over since. Reviewing once a year, or at every major life event, is what keeps every baht of premium working where it should. If you would like help checking whether your portfolio matches your stage, message us on LINE.
This article was inspired by material from the Thai Financial Planners Association (TFPA) and has been entirely rewritten.