How important is Critical Illness Insurance Cover?

Critical illness insurance provides you with a cash lump sum if you are diagnosed with a critical illness, protecting you and your family, if you are unable to work due to illness. Critical illness insurance covers a wide range of illnesses including cancer, dementia, heart attack and heart disease.

Most people do not believe that this will happen to them and we hope it never does, however:

• On average,  every 40 seconds someone in the US has a stroke
• An estimated 82.6 million (that’s 1 in 3) of American adults have 1 or more types of cardiovascular disease.
• More than 1 in 3 people develop cancer during their lifetime

In 2011, the critical illness insurance claim history from a leading Hong Kong insurer showed that 77% of their female critical illness claims were due to cancer, compared with 49% of male claims.

Statistically, there is evidence that as cancer is being detected earlier, more and more people are surviving. However it can take a long time to recover fully from a critical illness, during which time you may find it hard to work to cover your living expenses and medical bills.

Most Health insurance policies have a maximum payout, which may not cover the full treatments and surgeries available, leaving you unable to receive full treatment.

Critical illness insurance can give you peace of mind, knowing that if you are diagnosed with one of these illnesses, you would not need to worry about financial obligations, as your insurance policy will pay you a cash lump sum to take care of all your expenses.