{"id":6052,"date":"2026-11-02T04:00:56","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T04:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/02\/the-cost-of-being-unprepared-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T04:00:56","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T04:00:56","slug":"the-cost-of-being-unprepared-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/02\/the-cost-of-being-unprepared-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"The cost of being unprepared \u2013 Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are moments when life reminds us just how fragile our existence is. One minute, you are busy pursuing your dreams, building your career, running your business and making plans for the future. The next, an unexpected health challenge could bring everything to a standstill.\n<\/p>\n

This week, I encountered three experiences that made me think deeply about the relationship between health and money.\n<\/p>\n

The first was the story of a popular comedian who was hit by a stray bullet, an incident that nearly cost him his leg and brought his career to an abrupt halt. For months, his recovery appeared uncertain. Eventually, he had to travel outside the country for surgery, which offered renewed hope of regaining the use of his leg. As I followed his story, one question kept coming to mind: What if he did not have the financial resources to access that treatment?\n<\/p>\n

Almost immediately, I came across another heartbreaking story. A young girl had lost her brother because her family could no longer afford to continue his medical treatment. It was difficult to imagine how helpless that family must have felt, knowing that the resources required to continue his care were beyond their reach.\n<\/p>\n

Then, almost as though life wanted to drive the lesson home, it was my turn. I fell ill and needed medical attention. For a change, I decided to visit a government hospital. However, after seeing the conditions, I could not bring myself to wait any longer and eventually opted for private healthcare.<\/p>\n

That experience left me with a personal conviction: I never want to find myself in a situation where the inability to afford quality healthcare becomes an additional burden during an illness.\n<\/p>\n

These three experiences brought me to an important realisation: Illness is not just a health challenge; it can quickly become a financial crisis.\n<\/p>\n

The hidden financial cost of ill health<\/h3>\n

When people discuss wealth creation, the conversations usually revolve around savings, investments, property acquisition, business ownership and retirement planning. These are important, but there is another aspect of financial planning that deserves equal attention: protecting ourselves against health-related financial risks.\n<\/p>\n

Consider a professional who earns \u20a61 million monthly and has consistently saved and invested for ten years. Suddenly, a major health challenge requires expensive treatment, repeated hospital visits and months away from work. The person may have to withdraw investments, exhaust emergency savings, borrow money or even sell assets to meet medical expenses.\n<\/p>\n

For a business owner, the consequences could be even more complicated. If the owner is unable to work, business operations may suffer, revenue may decline and employees may be affected.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, household expenses, school fees, loan repayments and other financial obligations do not stop because someone is ill.\n<\/p>\n

This is how a health crisis can gradually undo years of financial progress.\n<\/p>\n

The reality in Nigeria makes this conversation even more important. According to the World Health Organisation, out-of-pocket payments accounted for approximately 72 per cent of the country\u2019s current health expenditure in 2023. In simple terms, a significant proportion of healthcare costs is still paid directly by individuals and households rather than through pooled funding arrangements. This places considerable financial pressure on families, particularly when unexpected medical needs arise.\n<\/p>\n

Healthcare should not depend entirely on your savings<\/h3>\n

One common mistake people make is assuming that their savings will always be sufficient to handle medical emergencies. While having an emergency fund is essential, some medical conditions can require resources far beyond what an individual has accumulated.\n<\/p>\n

This is where health insurance becomes an important part of financial planning. Health insurance helps individuals and families access specified medical services under an agreed benefit package, reducing the need to pay the full cost of covered treatment from personal funds whenever medical attention is required.<\/p>\n

Nigeria\u2019s National Health Insurance Authority Act 2022 provides a framework for expanding health insurance coverage to residents, including employees and people in the informal sector.\n<\/p>\n

Individuals can also explore private health insurance options to complement available coverage.\n<\/p>\n

Beyond health insurance, other forms of financial protection deserve consideration. Critical illness insurance provides financial benefits when an insured person is diagnosed with specified illnesses covered by the policy. Personal accident insurance can provide financial benefits for qualifying accidental injuries, disability or death, depending on the policy. Life insurance, on the other hand, can provide financial support to dependants when the insured person dies.\n<\/p>\n

These solutions serve different purposes. Their benefits, exclusions, waiting periods and conditions vary, so it is important to understand what each policy covers rather than assume that one plan will take care of every eventuality.\n<\/p>\n

Protect your ability to earn<\/h3>\n

Your ability to earn an income is one of your most valuable financial assets. Yet, many people spend years protecting their cars, homes, businesses and other possessions without giving sufficient attention to protecting themselves.<\/p>\n

Think about it: if your ability to work suddenly disappears, how long can your current financial resources sustain you and your family?\n<\/p>\n

This is particularly important for self-employed individuals, entrepreneurs and professionals whose income depends heavily on their physical presence and ability to perform.\n<\/p>\n

Financial preparedness should therefore include an emergency fund, appropriate health coverage and protection against other major risks that could affect your income and family responsibilities.\n<\/p>\n

It is also worth reviewing any existing employer-provided health benefits. While these benefits are valuable, they may not necessarily provide sufficient coverage for every medical need. They may also be tied to your employment.\n<\/p>\n

Do not leave your family stranded<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most painful part of a health crisis is watching loved ones struggle to raise money for treatment. Families should not have to begin fundraising before they can even consider accessing necessary healthcare.<\/p>\n

Of course, no financial plan can guarantee that we will receive every treatment we need or prevent every tragedy. But adequate preparation can reduce the financial pressure that often accompanies these situations.\n<\/p>\n

We cannot always determine when illness or an accident will happen. However, we can make deliberate decisions today about how financially prepared we want to be when the unexpected happens.\n<\/p>\n

You spend years working to build a better life for yourself and your family. Do not focus only on accumulating wealth while neglecting to protect the very things that make that wealth possible.\n<\/p>\n

Building wealth is important, but protecting your health, your ability to earn and the people who depend on you is equally important.\n<\/p>\n

Do not wait until sickness arrives before you realise that health is wealth, and protecting that wealth requires more than prayers and good wishes.<\/p>\n

\n

Related News<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\"Add
\n\t<\/a>
\n\t
\n\t\t\"Follow
\n\t<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Source: <\/p>\n

Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are moments when life reminds us just how fragile our existence is. One minute, you are busy pursuing your dreams, building your career, running your business and making plans… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}