The belief that "insurance is for people with money" makes a great many people postpone having cover indefinitely — when the truth is the opposite: the less money you have, the harder an event hits, because there is no lump sum to absorb the shock. This article shows that a budget of a few hundred to a few thousand baht a month genuinely can start, and how to choose so that every baht works.
Change the perspective: people with less money need insurance most
Compare two people. The first has ten million in savings; one serious illness is paid for comfortably. The second has fifty thousand; the same event means debt and starting from zero again. Who needs the armour more? The answer is clear. Insurance is the tool for renting a large sum of money for a small annual rent — a mechanism designed precisely for people who do not yet have that lump sum.
The principle on a limited budget: buy protection, not money back
The big trap for people on a small budget is choosing a plan with money back because it feels like nothing is wasted — when for the same premium, a pure protection plan gives a sum insured several times higher. On a limited budget, every baht should first do as much protecting as possible. Saving is more efficient done separately in an actual savings instrument. Once income grows you can always add a mixed plan later.
A starting menu by budget (approximate figures, for illustration)
- A few hundred baht a month: you can start with personal accident (PA) cover, which gives a sum insured in the hundreds of thousands to a million for a few thousand baht a year. A good first layer of armour for a working person.
- 500–1,000 baht a month: add term life insurance — a sum insured in the millions is usually within this budget for a young person — or choose health cover with a deductible if you have other benefits behind you.
- 1,500–3,000 baht a month: you can assemble a complete basic set: term + entry-level health + accident cover.
The actual premium depends on age, sex and each company's plan. These figures are only orders of magnitude, to show that starting is genuinely possible.
Techniques to make a small premium work hard
One: buy while young and in good health, because the premium is locked to the age at which you start. Two: use your existing benefits as the base and buy only the supplement — with group insurance in place, choose a plan with a deductible. Three: pay annually if you can; it is usually cheaper than twelve monthly payments. Four: review each year and move up gradually with your income. A starting plan is not a lifetime plan; it is the first rung of the ladder.
What not to do, even on a small budget
Don't buy the cheapest premium without reading the cover — something cheap that cannot be claimed on is the most expensive thing of all. Don't be untruthful in the health declaration to lower the premium, because it turns the whole payment into nothing. And don't stop building your emergency fund in order to pay the premium: the two have to grow together. Insurance takes the large risks; the reserve takes the everyday ones.
In short
Security does not begin with a high income; it begins with starting. Someone who starts with 500 baht a month today will have both cover and financial habits that those waiting to "be ready first" will never catch up with. If you would like to know what set of cover your budget can assemble, message us on LINE and we can put it together — no charge.
This article was inspired by material from the Thai Financial Planners Association (TFPA) and has been entirely rewritten.