Opening this year's premium notice is disheartening: it has gone up again, and it will keep going up with age. The important question is not only "why is it more expensive?" but "how do I prepare so I can still afford it at 70 or 80, when I need it most?" This article answers both.
First, understand: two forces push the premium up together
The first is your own age — health risk rises with the years, so the premium adjusts as you enter each new age band under the plan's table. The second is medical inflation, which raises the system's overall claims costs every year. Together these can make the premium in retirement several times what it was in your thirties. Knowing that picture from the day you buy is the first step in preparing.
Strategy 1: ask for the premium table by age from day one, and plan the whole line
Before buying, or even if you already hold the plan, ask for the premium at every age band up to the maximum renewal age. Then ask yourself directly: the premium you see at 65 or 70 — where will the money come from? The answer should be a concrete plan, such as annuity income or a portfolio set aside, not "I'll think about it later." Because that is the age when income stops just as the need peaks.
Strategy 2: build a "retirement premium fund" in parallel
A technique planners often recommend: during your working years, while the premium is still light, save the difference in parallel. For example, the current premium is 20,000 a year but you budget 35,000 a year for health, and the 15,000 difference goes into a long-term investment portfolio every year. Over twenty or thirty years that fund grows large enough to pay the premiums after retirement. This turns "future premiums are expensive" into a savings problem you have plenty of time to solve. (Figures are illustrative.)
Strategy 3: manage the plan structure more cleverly with age
- Use a deductible where you have benefits or a reserve behind you, in exchange for a clearly lower premium.
- Consider plans whose premium structure helps with long-term planning, which we compare in our article on rising versus level premium structures.
- Review the limit so it is right-sized — don't pay for more than you need, but beware of reducing the limit against medical inflation.
Strategy 4: look after your health and your claims record
Under the current rules, claims behaviour beyond what is necessary may affect the copayment conditions at renewal [check the latest information]. Using your entitlement according to genuine medical necessity and looking after your health continuously therefore helps both your body and keeps the overall premium system from rising too fast — a shared benefit for every policyholder.
What not to do: escaping high premiums by starting over repeatedly
Some people cancel their existing plan and buy a cheaper new one every two or three years. The trap is that every fresh start restarts the waiting periods, any condition that developed in between becomes a pre-existing condition and is not covered, and one day your health will no longer qualify you to move again. Continuity of cover is an asset with real value — don't throw it away for a short-term discount.
In short
Rising premiums are an unavoidable reality, but the whole line can be planned: know the premium table in advance, save in parallel, manage the structure, and look after yourself. Those four let you hold the cover through to the day you need it most, without abandoning it halfway. If you would like to plan your own premium path with the real figures, message us on LINE any time.
This article was inspired by material from the Thai Financial Planners Association (TFPA) and has been entirely rewritten.