Life is an unpredictable journey. While we cannot control the future, we can take steps to care for ourselves against the unforeseeable and defend our most valuable asset…our good health.
If you are one of the unfortunates and are diagnosed with a critical illness what would happen to you, your family, your lifestyle and your assets? Stress takes over and typically consumes our life from the emotional, to the physical and finally, to the financial. Coping with everything, while concentrating on recovery, can take its toll. Furthermore, managing unexpected additional expenses can make the situation worse.
The odds are with you that you will survive a critical illness because of advances in medical technology and new treatments…the question is at what cost to everything you have worked so hard to achieve?
The founder of critical illness insurance, Dr. Marius Bernard said it best “you need financial independence when you are ill not because you are going to die but because you are going to live.”
Consider some of today’s issues:
Our healthcare system continues to be inadequately funded in order to provide timely treatment, lifesaving drugs and essential services. The waiting time between a referral by a general practitioner and treatment has doubled in the last 15 years. This prolonged wait time can mean the difference between life or death. Having the liquidity to seek immediate treatment privately does not have to be restricted to the privileged few.
Critical illness insurance provides the answer. It pays out a tax-free lump sum amount on the diagnosis of a critical illness that you can use at your discretion.
Other financial concerns when one is suffering from an illness that people stress about relate to drug and healthcare costs not covered by the government, modification of a home or a vehicle, recover expenses such as rehabilitation and homecare, business continuity expenses, mortgage payments, other debt (loans, credit card and lines of credit) and various day to day expenses.
Some people might feel they can rely on disability insurance to replace income when they are critically sick. This is a misconception as it only offers a small part of the solution. An out of country coronary bypass surgery costs about $100,000 for a week’s stay in hospital. Disability insurance only replaces a percentage of monthly income required to maintain daily expenses.
Because critical illness insurance offers a lump sum settlement, it provides options that can address both anticipated and unexpected cash crunches. One does not have to be working to qualify for critical illness coverage. In fact, with critical illness protection, both spouses could be off work with one assisting the other through their recovery period.
“Being prepared” are the two words that resonate throughout, as life is not a dress rehearsal. The best, and really the only time, you can buy critical illness insurance is when you don’t need it.