When my son was born in 2020, I had no idea about the importance of insurance. At the time, I gave birth in a private hospital, and as part of the hospital benefits, they offered a free insurance policy. I didn’t read the policy, just signed it and didn’t keep any records.

After he was born, I kept thinking about asking an insurance agent what insurance my child might need. I procrastinated for a long time and finally texted an agent when my son was over four months old. The agent recommended hospitalization insurance and an education savings plan. Back then, my financial knowledge was vague. I thought savings plans were too inflexible due to the long commitment, so I decided not to buy one. I arranged a meeting with the agent to sign up for hospitalization insurance. However, as luck would have it, on the day we were supposed to meet, my son suddenly developed a high fever of 40°C and had to be hospitalized, delaying the insurance signing.

Unfortunately, my son was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, a rare acute immune system disorder. He stayed in a C-type ward at KK Hospital for 10 days and received IVIG treatment. After government subsidies, the bill came to over $3,000, which I paid entirely using my CPF (As for the insurance I signed during pregnancy, I lost the contract completely).

Although the medical costs were manageable, it was the first time I truly felt the anxiety of financial strain during a health crisis due to the lack of hospitalization insurance. Not long after my son was discharged, I immediately insured my family members holding LTVP with hospitalization insurance (which later proved invaluable when a family member was diagnosed with cancer, covering over $200,000 in treatment costs—but that’s a story for another time).

After his Kawasaki disease diagnosis, my son experienced mild coronary artery dilation and abnormalities in liver and kidney function, necessitating follow-up specialist consultations and treatments. These gradually decreased in frequency—from weekly hospital visits to monthly, then every few months, and finally yearly. Blood tests, cardiac ultrasounds, and other health indicators slowly improved. Two years later, after a final cardiac ultrasound, the doctor declared him fully recovered!

During this time, we had no insurance, and all expenses were out-of-pocket. Thankfully, since we went through the public healthcare system, government subsidies made the costs entirely manageable. I asked the insurance agent about applying for insurance again, but due to his medical history, any policy would exclude coverage for the lungs, heart, etc. I hesitated and didn’t proceed. Later, when I switched jobs and had employee benefits covering family hospitalization insurance, I thought it could wait.

Then came another challenge for our small family: my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, I had previously insured her with private hospitalization insurance. As we sought treatment and second opinions, we didn’t face significant financial stress. This experience reinforced the importance of insurance. I revisited my family’s policies, engaged an independent financial advisor, and upgraded some policies for all the family members.

The advisor helped me collect all of my son’s medical records and approached insurance companies to see if they would underwrite a hospitalization policy. Unfortunately, underwriting services were no longer offered. She advised me that since my son was still young, applying now with his medical history might result in a rejection, which wouldn’t be ideal. She suggested waiting a few years, as my company’s insurance already provided coverage.

But life rarely goes as planned. The economy took a downturn, and I was laid off. Just a few days after the layoff, I had an appointment with my advisor to sign an upgrade for my term life insurance. Knowing I was unemployed, she postponed the upgrade and instead suggested applying for my son’s hospitalization and critical illness insurance.

While reviewing the critical illness policy, I noticed that it covered Kawasaki disease complications (not as a critical illness, but with a special clause offering a $10,000+ payout). We submitted the application within days, and, fortunately, it was approved. This was about nine months after he had been fully discharged from the hospital.

Then, in early May, my son developed a fever lasting seven days. After three trips to KK’s emergency department, he began showing symptoms of Kawasaki disease again. He was hospitalized, diagnosed, and treated for a recurrence. Recurrence of Kawasaki disease is rare, with a probability of only 1-2%. This time, his hospitalization insurance had been in effect for just 45 days. After confirming with the advisor that the policy was active, we opted for a single room for treatment. The $7,000+ bill was mostly covered through e-filing, with the out-of-pocket portion automatically deducted from CPF. We even received a check refund for emergency department fees and coverage for follow-up consultations. Although the critical illness policy was still in the waiting period, I sincerely hope it will never be needed - it will only cover Kawasaki complications, and luckily my son’s second attack did not develop any complications.

✨ My Blessings

My son’s first hospitalization for Kawasaki disease gave me a deep understanding of the healthcare system. During the COVID-19 period, with international travel restricted, I worried about the affordability of medical care for my foreign-national parents living in Singapore, which prompted me to insure them with hospitalization policies. Later, when my family member was diagnosed with cancer and I lost my job, the first thing I did was to upgrade our family’s insurance coverage. We were fortunate to secure basic medical and illness coverage for my son before his second illness, and the hospitalization insurance was utilized effectively.

Losing my job coincided with a time when my family needed care. Thanks to proper insurance coverage and the retrenchment package, I was able to spend several months fully supporting and accompanying my loved ones without financial worries.

Each setback seems to be both a warning and a gift — a chance to build stronger financial and emotional resilience and to inspire me to work harder for my family, providing them with a safe haven.