The job cuts have come fast and furious, amounting to thousands. On the day you received your redundancy letter, you might have been tempted to panic because the certainty and security of a monthly income was no longer there. Don't.
There are still products that offer some protection against ill-health, death and other disasters.
There is insurance available for you as long as you have a source from which to make payments, such as the interest earned on the invested proceeds of your severance cheque, or income from a pension/retirement fund.
If you have no such income, you may want to consider the National Health Fund's Jamaica Drugs for the Elderly Programme (JADEP), which provides prescription drugs for chronic diseases at at highly discounted prices.
But, if you are receiving a pension, or if you have received a redundancy check which - hopefully, you have invested wisely - you will have some source of income which can be proven, either through a statement from your bank or broker, or pension slip, to local insurance companies.
individual health policies
Truthfully, individual health policies now available to you will be somewhat more expensive than thatthose available to workers whose policies are often subsidised by the companies with which they work; but the bottom line is, they do exist.
Group-health plans are offered through local churches and credit unions in collaboration with the major insurance companies. Just by becoming a member of a credit union by opening a share account, you will be able to participate in the health schemes available.
Local credit unions offer the Medecus credit union series at executive, gold and standard levels, each of which offers differing benefits, according to what one pays.
The standard is the most affordable, with a monthly premium of $2,077.70 for single applicants; $4,155.60 for a member plus one dependent; and for a member with multiple dependents, the cost is $5,239.
Items covered under the policy include maternity care, preventative care, mental-health care, prescription drugs, dental, optical and overseas care.
DEATH BENEFITS
Credit unions also offer family-indemnity plans which are intended to pay for funeral and related expenses, in association with CUNA Mutual Insurance Society.
The plan offers death benefits for the credit union member and up to five family members, including mother, father, spouse and children. The products are as follows:
Plan A - Death benefit of $80,000 for monthly premium of $422.40
Plan B - Death benefit of $120,000 for monthly premium of $633.60
Plan C - Death benefit of $150,000 for monthly premium of $792
Plan D - Death benefit of $250,000 for monthly premium of $1,320
Plan E - Death benefit of $400,000 for premium of $2,112.
Should any family member who is listed die, the sum agreed will be paid within 24 hours and the policy remains in force for others who are named on it as long as premiums continue to be paid.
One cannot ignore the future security of dependents, even though one has not secured another full-time job.
In addition to credit union indemnity plans, you can arrange to cover future needs in education, food, health and housing for your children by purchasing some life insurance.
Beverly Dixon, senior executive agent at Guardian Life in Kingston, notes that for a premium of $2,000 monthly, one would be able to get death benefits of $1.3 million for dependents and - for one's own use - some $90,000 in cash value every five years.
Of that monthly premium, $800 would go towards the life-insurance component, and the other $1,200 to investments.
Agent Moralda Green of Sagicor Life Jamaica in Montego Bay says that a premium of $2,000 would purchase life insurance (death benefits) of $1.2 million and provide a cash value of $91,000 in five years.
PENSION PLANS
Government pensioners would continue to enjoy highly subsidised health care and should make sure to ask for this through the Accountant General's Department, which makes deductions of less than $500 monthly per pensioner and funnels payments to Sagicor Life, which has taken over the former Blue Cross health portfolio.
The cost for individuals is $190 and for family plans, $340.
JADEP
For everyone, including those with some income and those with no predictable source of financial support, the Jamaica Drug For the Elderly Programme (JADEP) is essential.
All Jamaican residents, 60 years and older, who have been diagnosed with one or more of the conditions covered, such as diabetes and some mental disorders, are eligible to enrol for JADEP membership.
You can enrol for JADEP membership at any government health centre, at the Council for Senior Citizens, or at the National Health Fund. Application forms are also available at health clinics or your doctor's office.
The completed forms must be delivered by bearer or mail to the NHF office in Kingston, which in turn, will deliver the JADEP health card to you.
Take along proof of age, such as birth certificate or passport, driver's licence, national voter's identification, senior citizens identification, or a letter from a justice of the peace, medical doctor or pastor, verifying age when applying for the card.
If you cannot physically visit an enrolment centre, you can have someone do so for you, but you must send proof of age.
The cost of medication under JADEP is:
$40 for one item on your prescription
$80 for two items on your prescription
$120 for three items on your prescription
$160 for four items on your prescription
$200 for five items on your prescription
$240 for six items or more on your prescription.
The JADEP card can be used together with Medicus and Sagicor health plans to cut your expenditure on medication.
avia.ustanny@gleanerjm.com
Illnesses covered by JADEP include:
Hypertension or high blood pressure
Diabetes or 'sugar'
Glaucoma or pressure in the eyes
Cardiac or heart disease
Arthritis
Asthma
Vascular conditions or circulatory problems
Psychotic conditions
Benign prostate hyperplasia
High cholesterol