The Value of Critical Illness insurance
If you’re diagnosed with a serious illness, one of the last things you want to worry about is your finances. A Critical Illness insurance policy helps provide protection from a variety of covered conditions, so you can focus on getting well. In in the event of a big health emergency, such as cancer, heart attack or stroke, critical illness insurance could be the only thing protecting you from financial ruin. Many people assume they’re fully protected with a standard health insurance plan, but the exorbitant costs of treating life-threatening illnesses are usually more than any plan will cover.
Key Takeaways
- Critical illness insurance provides additional coverage for medical emergencies like heart attack, stroke, or cancer
- Because these emergencies or illnesses often incur greater than average medical costs, these policies pay out cash to help cover those overruns where traditional health insurance may fall short
- These policies come at a relatively low cost. However, the instances that they will cover are generally limited to a few illnesses or emergencies
Critical Illness Insurance 101
As the average life expectancy in the United States continues to increase, insurance brokers are finding ways to make sure Americans can afford the privilege of getting older. Critical illness insurance was developed in the last few decades, as people realized that surviving a heart attack or stroke could leave a patient with insurmountable medical bills.
Even with excellent medical insurance, just one critical illness can be a tremendous financial burden. Critical illness insurance provides coverage if you experience one or more of the following medical emergencies:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Organ transplants
- Cancer
- Coronary bypass
Because these illnesses require extensive medical care and treatment, their costs can outstrip a family’s medical insurance policy quickly. If you don’t have an emergency fund or health savings account (HSA), you’ll have an even harder time paying those bills out of pocket.
Who needs Critical Illness Insurances?
Families: –
With Critical Illness insurance coverage, families may have peace of mind knowing they’ve done the right thing to keep the house running as smoothly as possible.
Small Business Owners:-
Owners are the heart and soul of their small business. If an owner is unable to work for a period of time due to illness or treatment, a Critical Illness policy may help keep operations running as smoothly as possible for a time.
Individuals in need of a high deductible filler
Critical Illness insurance may be the ideal solution for those who are worried about covering the costs of a high deductible health insurance policy.
Benefits of Critical Illness Insurance
- To pay for critical medical services that might otherwise be unavailable.
- To pay for treatments not covered by a traditional policy.
- To pay for daily living expenses, enabling the critically ill to focus their time and energy on getting well instead of working to pay their bills.
- Transportation expenses, such as getting to and from treatment centers, retrofitting vehicles to carry scooters or wheelchairs, and installing lifts in homes for critically ill patients who can no longer navigate staircases.
- Terminally ill patients, or those simply in need of a restful place to recuperate, can use the funds to take a vacation with friends or family
Since medical bills are a common cause of bankruptcy in the United States, protecting yourself against that fate should be given consideration, especially if you have a family history of any of the illnesses mentioned above. Critical illness insurance can alleviate financial worry in the event that you become too sick to work. It provides flexibility in that the money paid out can be used as you wish, to cover a wide variety of potential needs.
