Private insurance recommendation

Found this thread in the forum:
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+3789
However the link recommended there is dead:
http://www.globalhealth.jp/

I am a foreign national currently working in Japan, so I am in the national pension and insurance which are deducted from my salary monthly. Some of my Japanese colleagues have been suggesting that I should enroll in private insurance too on top of the national ones.

Being an insurance newbie since welfare is not as developed back in my country, it`s probably better to hear some thoughts and recommendations from people in a similar situation first, instead of just going to the nearest insurance shop. I have an assumption that since our risk of non-payment is higher, the premiums for foreigners are differently structured.

Also, there are probably insurances tailor-made for foreigners living here, not sure if it`s worth choosing those over local ones.

If you could share any personal experiences that would be swell. Any type of insurance will do (health, life, income etc.), or even if it`s not worth entering any private insurance at all.

if you join some insurances, you can have some tax deductions.
if your income is high enough, it is worth to join them.

generally speaking, many Japanese tend to join life insurance of high amounts (benefit).
but, money will be paid when you die.

It depends on your lifestyle.

If you have family who have to feed themselves even after your passing away you should select 生命保険, which is insurance for death.
After you die they pay decent amount of money to the receiver of money.

If you are single you should select 医療保険 or 就業不能保険.
医療保険 is additional health insurance. They mainly pay for hospitalization and operation.
就業不能保険 is insurance for the case you can't keep working for some reason for disease, injury and so on.

I am with a spouse who can feed himself alone and don't have kids. So I have relatively light 医療保険, which
costs about 5,000 yen per month.
But as long as you are protected by Japanese public health insurance you don't have to worry so much. It sets upper limit for your major treatment payment (like 80,000 yen per month). Only if you have decent amount of saving you don't have to bankrupt for medical expenses.

Thank you for the replies. I`m still single so yes I am thinking of getting one of those light medical insurance. Especially if it`s just 5,000 yen since that`s cheaper than my monthly smartphone bill lol

Ok, there are many companies and plans. I randomly picked some.
http://www.aflac.co.jp/iryo/cever/
http://www.tmn-anshin.co.jp/kojin/goods_medical/kit_neo/
http://www.lifenet-seimei.co.jp/product/medical/

I'm wondering what your colleagues' recommendation was based on.

In the past when the economy was better, there were lots of insurance products for which you can get all your money back and more after about a decade or after you reach a certain retirement age. Those who had enrolled in one of those back then can still keep paying now and except to get their money back in the future. While paying, things like surgeries are insured too. Typical examples were 一時払い養老保険 and various 個人年金保険. So long story short, they won't loose any money only if they look at it in a decade-long or longer life span.

But nowadays those types of insurances are very scarce. I managed to apply for a cancer insurance after 3.11 at Zurich Life which pays back just the exact amount of all the money I will be ultimately paying. But I'm not sure if it is still available in the same calculation.

Meanwhile, lots of cheaper insurances tend to be 掛け捨て In other words, you pay the money, but if you don't get sick you won't get your money back.

This is why people nowadays tend to avoid private insurance and instead simply focus on financial things such as buying bonds or something.

The reason I'm telling you this is that your colleagues who recommended you to enroll in private insurance could be those who enrolled back in the good ole days. If so, you need to think in a totally different mindset from theirs.

So in the past, people used to think, "If I'm saving money anyway, I might as well save money by buying insurance instead of putting it in a bank. That way I can save money and be insured at the same time." But nowadays, you might be simply loosing money if you don't get sick or injured.

So if your parents never had any genetic deseases, and you feel like you're maintaining a healthy life, and you don't have anything to loose being single with no intention to make a family, then maybe insurance is not your answer. On the other hand, if you can't afford to get big hospital bills, but instead can afford to keep paying little insurance for many years, then insurance is one great option. Again, you can do your research to find lots of other options too.

By the way, if you are going to one of those 保健の相談窓口 places, ask them what you can bring to help their calculation. I once went to one of them and ended up wasting a great amount of my time, because most of their questions ended up with me answering "I don't know. I have to check my bank book that I left home."

Incorrect: deseases
Correct: diseases

Sorry!

one of drawbacks of 医療保険 is that you can have a lesser deduction (医療費控除) , if you get a benefit from the insurance.
if you are in less stable job, like contract-based position, insurances have some benefit.
but, if you are in stable position, like many Japanese have, you will not lose your job, if you get a serious disease.

Thanks again for the infos, especially about asking the shop what I should bring for their calculation, that didn`t cross my mind at all.

This topic came up in the office since health check time is coming up, and colleagues said if I ever want to buy insurance it`s probably better to do it before the health check. It seems most of them are enrolled in prefectural insurances 県民共済 so I`m thinking of doing the same. But yes, I have to rethink what are the benefits for me and do more research before I decide. In the end instead of going to one of those hoken no madoguchi maybe I should consult a financial planner, but hey that`s another thread lol

I don't know how much you understand Japanese, but I remember that most of Japanese insurance companies require you to understand their insurance policy in Japanese.
It may be changed these days though.

Check this company
It says "Medical and Life Insurance for Foreigners Living in Japan"
http://vivavida.net/en/

Hmm, I guess your colleagues are implying that you should be enrolled in insurance before anybody (such as health checkup doctors) finds out something wrong with your health.

Anyway, my understanding is that most if not all 県民共済 products are reasonably priced but 掛け捨て That said, because it was reasonable, we were enrolled not in health insurance but 災害保険 of 県民共済 and recently found out that 全労災 was more reasonable while suiting our needs. But the best thing about those cheap products is that you can usually cancel it after a year without any disadvantage at all. Maybe it's a nice place to start.