Most people think the worst with this situation. ‘So I’ve had something really serious and I’m going to die soon’, or ‘I’ll be terminally ill’.
Not so often the case today with advances in medical technology and treatment. With Critical Illness claims there is something like an average of 80% of people are still alive and 88% of them are working after 5 years*. Sounds like good odds of survival to me.
If the odds are so good why do you need Trauma or Critical Illness Cover?
You need to get through the recovery phase to have those odds. Distracted by job and business financial worries distracts from focusing on your recovery. We’ve already seen too many heart attack patients have death claims because they went back to work to early, we wouldn’t like to see that with our clients.
Dealing with Debt, we have covered here.
The other things you need to consider with a critical illness are:
- Replacing the income of a partner or family member if you need them to stop working and look after you.
- If you were in business, it would be having enough cash on hand to hire a replacement and keep the business going, though this does boarder on key person cover which we talk about here.
- Modifying the environment to allow disabled access, you may need to consider ramps and disabled showers and toilets. Lifts, hoists, modified vehicles; there is quite a list.
- If your medical insurance does not cover all of your treatment costs, then your trauma cover may be able to fund this.
In short, trauma cover is a lump sum designed to assist you financially where and when you need it. The trick is having enough to be meaningful without getting carried away with too much premium, as later in life it can become expensive just when you need it the most.
*Source, Actuaries Summit 2013