Re <<Mohn paid $1,700 a month for insurance using a line of credit on her mortgage until April 2020>>
Seems a crazy expensive number. At that rate, especially w/ after-tax money, is not insurance, but a very expensive tax that leads to bankruptcy if not plugged.
In HK a few families can get together and organise a company to buy group health covering all members, and we do together w/ friends. Whenever a particular drawdown causes the group rate to rise substantially, the family responsible for that rise chips in the premium difference attributable to the coverage drawdown (i.e. major surgeries). Our share amongst a group of four families is ~US$ 3,500 per annum. The coverage includes treatment at private hospitals in HK and emergency treatment whilst traveling.
Optionally / separately each family, and we do, may buy extra coverage for particular family members (i.e. kids, wife, whatever) in the form of riders to life insurance policies w/ savings feature to cover catastrophes (cancer and such, up to US$ 2M coverage per policy). After ~10 years of payments the savings component of the life insurance policies generate enough income on the kids insurance to pay for global coverage of the health riders for life. The annual payment for the policies is ~US$ 10K per kid. For the wife I bought many years when we first got married in 1995, and I vaguely recall paying about USD$ 14K for 15 years, and she has been fully covered for catastrophe as well as double-basic ever since 1995 but no payment since 2010.
Bought same for daughter and son when they were born. Daughter’s policy all paid up when she reached 10 in 2014. Son’s policy requires one more year of payment. Gifts that keep on giving per long term planning.
Of course the Insurance counter-party must survive. I cashed-in my own 26-years-old policy in 2009 March when events looked wobbly and bought physical metal. Very heavy, and eternally solid insurance.
On top or at the base and double-base (in case when the special purpose company comes asunder) + catastrophe insurance, we have universal public hospital care at nominal charge, and I do not know who pays for it, only sure I am not paying much. |
