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September 2013

Critical Questions for Critical Illnesses

 

In this month's issue of newsletter, we like to answer 2 questions commonly raised by our clients with regards to Critical Illnesses. 

 

Number 1: How much coverage do I need in the event I contract Cancer?

Number 2: What type of advice should I seek from my Advisor?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number 1 : How much Coverage do I need in the event I contract cancer? 

 

Typically, a cancer-stricken patient will ask their doctor 2 questions, "how long more will I survive and how much money will be needed to sustain that?" 

 

After a surgery, there will be changes to his lifestyle like food intake and more consciousness on healthy living. While some of the new changes do not require more spending, there will still be some costs to put him to a state, where one can be free from fear of cancer-cells lingering around, such as: 

 

1. Surgeon's fee and consultation by oncologist

 

2. Hospital charges for inpatient treatment

 

3. Chemotherapy and post-hospital follow up including TCM 

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Besides the severity of the cancer stage, the cost of the above will also copy with factors like choice of public or private-run medical institution and types of organ affected. We have recently saw a total claim made by blood cancer patient, amounting to S$580,000 after just 18 months of treatment. 

 

4. Potential loss of income during treatment & recuperation

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Most of the time, the victim has to factor in other potential problems. Besides having to pay for fixed and on-going expenditures, he might suffer the loss of income, therefore bringing financial stress to his dependents,which potentially eats up the portion fo savings intended for other uses. In the real case of Mrs Tha, (pseudo name), during her chemo treatment, she was replaced by someone else in the company she has worked for in the last 9 years. As a result, she suffered a loss of income of about S$167,000 inclusive of year-end bonuses, all in that 2 years when she felt too weak to go back to her energetic self. 

 

5. Loss of quality of life when adjustments are needed

 

Be it someone else who needs to work harder to provide for what has been lost, or suffering from postponement of plans due to lack of funds, the repercussion list from inadequate planning goes on. We have come to know of such delays in wedding plan, tuition plan, business expansion plan and the not so detrimental delay of leisure-travel plans. Nonetheless, these losses can be avoided by choice, when plenty of resources can made available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number 2: What type of advice should I seek from my Advisor?

 

This question can be answered in a few ways. We wil discover from the perspectives of:

 

1) Reasonability of advice

2) Comprehensiveness of products proposed

 

Before any recommendations are made, your advisor would have looked into the existing coverage the client has and attention should be given to: 

 

A) Any gaps in existing coverage or is the existing sum assured adequate?

B) Which area do you wish to address first?

 

When the above two discussions are done, then the necessity of any proposal can follow. This forms the reasonability of advice mentioned earlier.

 

As for comprehensibility of products, owing to the open competition amongst insurers and transparency in product information required by MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore), most insurers have been constantly improving and enhancing their product features to anticipate the changing needs of Singaporeans.

 

A few points to take note; is your current policy covering you early stages of cancer (as compared to conventional definition of cancer)? Does your policy cease to cover you after you have made the first claim?

i.e. the need for multiple crisis cover etc.?

 

Below are a few examples of AIA products which provide comprehensive critical illnesses’ benefits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With this, we hope this issue of newsletter has answered the 2 main questions about Critical Illness Coverage.

 

For more information on the above plans, do not hesitate to call our team for a non-obligatory consultation session. Thank You.

 

AIA Singapore won Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand (Gold Award), as a result of our customers’ votes! 
For 9 consecutive years: 2004 – 2012