3 Compelling Reasons Why A Multi-pay Critical Illness Cover Is Your Best Bet for Comprehensive Protection in Singapore

Even the fittest and most health-conscious individuals are not spared from diseases and illnesses.

They can strike when least unexpected. The top 3 common illnesses in Singapore are cancer, stroke and heart attack. Treatments, tests, surgeries and therapies for these can cost a bomb. Worse still, they can recur, even many years after remission.

• Will you be able to pay for the medical expenses of a recurrence of the same illness or the diagnosis of a new illness?
• Will you be able to sustain your day-to-day living expenses given that there is a high likelihood you will be unable to work for the next 3 to 5 years?
• What are the definitions of critical illness in your current life insurance cover?
• What are the insurance plans that you own that cover you for early, intermediate and late stage illnesses? And do they provide for subsequent payouts, for example, in the event of a recurrence of the SAME cancer or a new cancer?

Multi-pay Critical Illness Cover – A Vital Part of Your Financial Plan

#1 Statistics – We Can’t Deny It
When I first saw these (alarming!) figures, I just could not believe that it is happening in reality. We cannot predict when we will fall seriously ill. But what we can do is to be financially prepared for it.

Do You Know?

• Close to 90% of all deaths in Singapore are due to major illnesses.
• Cancer and Heart Disease account for almost 50% of all deaths in Singapore.
• Everyday, 36 people in Singapore are diagnosed with cancer.
• The incidence of breast cancer has more than doubled in the last 40 years.
• The occurrence of prostate cancer has increased five fold in the last 40 years.
• Stage 3B patients have a 70% to 90% chance of getting a relapse within 10 years.
• 80% of colorectal cancer patients are subsequently diagnosed with liver cancer.
• 4.7 new kidney patients are diagnosed everyday in Singapore (Singapore ranks 1st in the world for diabetes induced kidney failure!).

(Source: The Straits Times “Sharp rise in number diagnosed with cancer” published 21 June 2015; The Straits Times “Breast, prostate cancers rising sharply in Singapore” published 21 June 2017; www.nkf.org)

#2 Survival Rates Are Improving With Advances In Treatment Options
With advancements in medical technology, this means that early detection can lead to a higher probability of recovery if the patient can afford to undergo the recommended treatments.

Cancer survival rates have been increasing over the last 35 years

• Survival rate of men for at least five years after a cancer diagnosis has gone up from 13.2% in 1973 to 1977, to 48.5% in 2008 to 2012.
• Survival rate in women have more than doubled, from 28% to 57.1% during the same period.

(Source: The Straits Times, “More in Singapore getting cancer but survival rates also up” published 27 November 2015.)

If you own a traditional critical illness plan, it is highly unlikely you will be covered for early or intermediate stage illnesses.

#3 You will be UNINSURABLE for the rest of your life
Most critical illness plans allows for only one claim and when 100% of the coverage has been paid, the policy terminates. And after being diagnosed with a major illness, you will be deemed uninsurable – you will not be able to get any life insurance thereafter.

So, what does all this mean?
Surviving cancer, especially an early stage one, is not unthinkable. Being diagnosed with more than one cancer is a very real possibility. I know this sounds terribly morbid but wouldn’t you rather be prepared by taking proactive action now than to ‘wait and see’ and regret later?