Why Should You Consider Critical Illness Insurance? Medical advancements have improved to the point that people are surviving conditions that previously resulted in certain death. Due to increased survival rates, the survivors of these illnesses require financial support to continue maintaining their standard of living.
Before we examine the various Critical Illness policies, it would be prudent to examine statistical data that enables us to see why this coverage is crucial when it comes to protecting your financial future. Did you know... 1 in 8.8 women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime
1 in 9 men will develop prostate cancer
1 in 12 men and 1 in 17 women will develop lung cancer
1 in 4 Canadians will develop heart disease
70,000 Canadians suffer a heart attack each year
40,000- 50,000 Canadians have a stroke each year
145,500 new cancer cases were estimated to occur in Canada in 2004
(this translates to an average of 2,798 new cancer cases every week)
Sources: Heart & Stroke Foundation 2004 National Cancer Institute of Canada; Canadian cancer Statistics 2004.
BENEFIT OF OWNING CRITICAL ILLNESS COVERAGE This coverage provides the insured with a payment of policy proceeds upon a 30-day survival of a health impairment. If the insured dies while the policy in effect and before they qualify to receive the lump sum payment, all the premium payments on regular rated policies can be returned to the insured's beneficiary. How does one collect from this coverage? Let's assume that you have a $500,000 Critical Illness policy and you experience a heart attack; you would receive a $500,000 lump sum payment upon survival of over 30 days. This is why the Critical Illness policy is designed for the living. Your ability to go back to work does not prevent you from receiving face value of your critical illness policy.
Our research has enabled us to choose the contracts that have the most liberal definitions and cost effective premium structures. Here are some of the ways that the funds from Critical Illness Insurance can take care of your needs: Protecting your Estate from erosion Repayment of Loans Shareholder Funding Key Person Coverage Experimental Drugs Home/Vehicle Adaptation Cover cost of treatment anywhere in the world Child Care Nursing Care Quality of Life"Workstyle" change Access to Best Doctors
SURGERY COSTS | | CDN$* | US$* | | Aorta Valve Replacement or other Cardiothoracic Procedures | 143,004 | 134,954 | | Craniotomy for Multiple Significant trauma | 107,417 | 101,370 | | Coronary Artery Bypass surgery | 133,447 | 125,935 | | Cancer | 134,990 | 127,391 | | Kidney Failure | 201,490 | 190,148 | | Craniotomy (non-trauma related) | 62,182 | 58,682 | | Heart Transplant | 304,120 | 287,000 | | Total Mastectomy for Malignancy with complications | 25,258 | 23,836 | | Kidney Transplant | 137,754 | 130,000 | | Lymphoma and Leukaemia with major O.R. procedures | 47,196 | 44,539 | | Acute Leukaemia without O.R. procedure, age 0-17 | 37,468 | 35,359 | | Bone Marrow Transplant | 512,113 | 483,285 | | Liver Transplant | 388,892 | 367,000 | | Chemotherapy with acute Leukaemia as secondary diagnosis | 54,531 | 51,461 | | Lung transplant | 264,912 | 250,000 | *CDN/US exchange rate of 1.05 Source: American Re Health Care, Ingenix Database, 2007 |