There are some conversations we avoid because they’re uncomfortable.
We don’t like talking about illness.
We don’t like talking about death.
And we especially don’t like talking about what happens financially when something goes wrong.
We’d much rather talk about saving for a vacation, buying something we’ve been wanting, or finally getting our finances together, “someday”.
I understand that. I’ve been guilty of it myself. But sometimes life has a way of forcing you to think about the things you would rather leave for another day.
My Mama passed away on August 21, 2026, at 6:56 in the evening. She was 91 years old.
She had been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in 2018. After years of living with cancer, she eventually developed complications from the disease, and her final illness was community-acquired pneumonia.
I wrote about my Mama in a Facebook post, and I don’t want to repeat everything I said there. But losing her has been one of those experiences that makes you look at life a little differently.
When someone you love dies, there is the obvious heartbreak.
You miss them.
You think about the conversations you had, the things they taught you, the memories you have, and all the things you wish you could say one more time.
But there is also the practical side of death that nobody really wants to talk about.
There are arrangements to make.
There are decisions to be made.
There are expenses.
And there is the uncomfortable realisation that life doesn’t stop being expensive just because you’re grieving.
That thought has stayed with me.
We spend so much time preparing for the things we want
We’re constantly encouraged to save.
Save for a house.
Save for your children’s education.
Save for retirement.
Build an emergency fund.
Invest your money.
Make your money work for you.
All of that is important. But there is another part of financial planning that I think we often forget.
Protection.
Because what good is spending years building your savings if one major illness or unexpected event can wipe a huge portion of it out?
That’s not to say that having savings isn’t important. It absolutely is. But savings and protection serve different purposes.
Your savings are money you’ve worked to put aside. Insurance is there to help protect you financially when something happens that you didn’t plan for.
And unfortunately, sometimes the thing you didn’t plan for is the thing that costs the most.
I’m not naturally good at thinking about Insurance
I’ll be honest.
When I see a page full of numbers, percentages, financial terminology, and complicated-sounding words, my brain tends to shut down.
I’m sure I’m not the only one.
We hear “insurance” and immediately think about paperwork, complicated policies, and something we’re going to have to spend hours trying to understand.
So we put it off.
I’ll look at it later.
I’ll get it when I have more money.
I’ll deal with it when I’m older.
I’ll do it when I actually need it.
But that’s the problem. You don’t get protection because you know something is going to happen. You get it because you don’t.
You don’t know when an illness might appear.
You don’t know when an accident might happen.
You don’t know when your family’s circumstances might suddenly change.
And Mama’s passing has made that reality feel much less theoretical to me.
So, I’ve been looking at GInsure
One of the things I’ve been looking at recently is GInsure, which is available through the GCash app.
One of the products available through GInsure is Oona All-In-One Health Insurance, which offers different plans designed to provide protection. There are plans that include coverage for critical illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, and stroke, depending on the plan selected.
A plan starts at ₱48, with different coverage levels depending on the plan. Some of the listed benefits include critical illness coverage, hospital income, and accidental death and disability benefits.
And that’s something I appreciate about the concept.
It doesn’t have to be about suddenly becoming an expert in insurance.
It can simply be about starting the conversation.
Looking at what is available.
Understanding what is covered.
Understanding what isn’t covered.
Looking at the cost.
And deciding whether a particular plan makes sense for you.
The process is also available directly through GInsure in the GCash app: choose the relevant category, select Oona All-In-One Health Insurance, choose a plan, answer the health declaration questions, review the information and complete the payment.
Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone should automatically buy an insurance policy.
✅Read the terms.
✅Look at the exclusions.
✅Understand the coverage limits.
✅Make sure you understand what you’re actually paying for.
⚠️The information provided for Oona also lists exclusions and conditions that need to be considered, which is exactly why reading the product details matters before making a decision.
Lessons I Learned
My Mama taught me so many things throughout my life.
Some were things she deliberately taught me.
Others were things I learned simply by watching her live her life.
And now, somehow, even in her passing, she has managed to school me one last time.🥹
She reminded me that we don’t get to choose when life changes.
We don’t get to choose when an illness comes.
We don’t get to choose when an accident happens.
And we don’t always get the luxury of having plenty of time to prepare.
But while we can’t control what happens to us, we can control some of the preparation we make beforehand.
That’s the part I’m thinking about now.
Not because I expect the worst.🙅🏻♀️
Not because I want to live my life worrying about everything that could possibly go wrong. Although very overthinker of me.
But because I don’t want to wait until something happens and then find myself thinking:
“I wish I had done something about this sooner”.
That is a very different kind of regret.
Maybe protection deserves a place in our financial plans
We talk so much about making money.
We talk about saving money.
We talk about investing money.
But perhaps we should also talk more about protecting the money we’ve worked so hard to earn.
Because if you spend years building your savings, wouldn’t you want to give yourself some protection against the possibility of having to use all of it because of an unexpected medical situation?
I know I do.
And I know that, after what my family has just experienced, I’m looking at this differently than I did before.
My Mama’s passing has reminded me that life doesn’t come with guarantees.
And perhaps that is the lesson she is leaving me with.
Prepare while you can.
Not because you’re expecting something bad to happen.
But because you love the people who may have to deal with it alongside you.
And because sometimes being prepared is one of the quietest ways we can take care of the people we love.
I’m still learning about insurance myself. I’m not an expert, and I’m certainly not going to pretend that I understand every number and every term the first time I read them.
But I do know this: I’d rather spend a little time now understanding my options than find myself wishing I had done it when it was already too late.
My Mama taught me many lessons in life.
And even in death, she has managed to teach me one last one:
Don’t wait until you need protection to start looking for it.
Because tomorrow isn’t promised.
And if there is something we can reasonably do today to make tomorrow a little less frightening, maybe it’s worth doing.❤️
GInsure is available through the GCash app. If you're considering health insurance, take the time to explore the available plans, read the coverage and exclusions carefully, and decide what makes sense for your needs and budget.