Insurance is one of those topics that feels irrelevant until the moment it isn't — a sudden hospitalisation, an accident, or a medical emergency in the family. For students deep in exam preparation, it's easy to assume insurance is "a problem for later, once I have a job." But understanding it now, even without buying a policy immediately, puts you years ahead when you do start earning.
Many students rely entirely on a parent's employer-provided health cover or assume they simply won't get seriously ill young. Two problems with that assumption:
The practical takeaway: once you have any independent income (even a modest stipend), a personal health insurance policy — even a basic one — is worth understanding and eventually buying, rather than relying solely on someone else's cover.
Term insurance is often marketed toward people with dependents — spouses, children, ageing parents relying on their income. If you're a student with no dependents yet, you might assume it's irrelevant. But there's a specific reason to consider it early: premiums are locked in based on your age and health at the time you buy the policy. Buying a term plan at 24, when you're healthy, can cost a fraction of buying the same cover at 34. If you know you'll eventually support a family — which most exam aspirants planning stable government or banking careers do — buying early, even a small cover, saves significant money over the life of the policy.
You don't need to buy a policy today if you have no independent income yet. But understanding these basics — the difference between health and term insurance, why early purchase is cheaper, and what mistakes to avoid — means that when you do start earning, you can make an informed decision in your first year of income instead of putting it off for another five, which is what most people do, often at real financial cost.