Your premium would depend on the amount of cover you take, your health, age and gender. If you are generally healthy, an insurance plan that has an annual cover limit of RM 20,000 to 50,000 may be adequate for you. Your annual premium payment for such a plan may vary between RM 170 to RM 303.

(Insurance premiums are subject to change. This estimate is based on AXA Affin General Insurance Bhd's 'Smart Care Executive' package.)

Ideally, yes. But the premium you have to pay for outpatient cover can be costly. Therefore, students may find it more cost effective to rely on the medical facilities provided by public hospitals such as University Malaya Medical Centre (if you are in Klang Valley) and clinics at your college/university.

Insurance cover is provided by licensed local and international companies such as the following (ref http://www.bnm.gov.my).

• AmAssurance Berhad
• American International Assurance Company Ltd.
• Hong Leong Assurance Berhad
• ING Insurance Berhad
• Malaysia National Insurance Berhad
• Malaysian Assurance Alliance Berhad
• MCIS Zurich Insurance Berhad
• Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad

You may find it useful to first talk to a licensed insurance agent or a broker to discuss your needs and obtain appropriate cover for your specific needs.

Takaful is an insurance service marketed as an Islamic Shariah compliant form of insurance. Insurance plans that cover almost all conventional areas of insurance such as personal accidents and medical cover are also provided by Takful insurers. Given below are the Takaful insurers in Malaysia (ref http://www.bnm.gov.my).

• Commerce Takaful Berhad
• Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful Berhad
• HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
• MAA Takaful Berhad
• Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad
• Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad
• Takaful Ikhlas Sdn. Bhd.
• Takaful Nasional Sdn. Bhd.

If you have a vehicle you need to obtain motor insurance both for the vehicle and against third party liabilities. Also remember to get cover for all the drivers who drive your car. Premium rates for motor insurance are fairly standard. It is also advisable to take a householders (home contents) policy as this would give protection against theft and damage to your valuable items such as laptops, digital cameras, personal computers etc.

If you are not insured you run the risk of having to pay huge medical bills. There are instances where some students have had to pay thousands of Ringgits to settle medical bills while others have suffered substantial losses on account of valuable items being lost or stolen.