Do I need Cancer & Critical Illness Protection?

What you may not know about cancer and critical illness protection policies may be financially devastating. I want to share some thoughts on this subject that I am extremely passionate about. First, I think it’s important to share some shocking statistics (American Cancer Society and American Heart Assn) to put things in perspective:

Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the USA for both men and women (Cancer #2) 92M American adults are living with some form of cardiovascular disease Each year, about 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke Each year, over 1.6M Americans are diagnosed with cancer and expected to rise to 2.4M by 2035 Over 15M Americans are currently living with cancer Men, 1 in 2 of us will be diagnosed with cancer and for women, it is 1 in 3…but it gets worse Americans aged 55+ account for a staggering 78% of cancer cases Some good news: The 5-year cancer survival rate has gone up 40% over the past 40 years In one study, 42% of those diagnosed with cancer reported a significant financial burden

Let’s face it, we don’t want to talk about our mortality and these morbid issues and so we bury our heads in the sand thinking “it’s never going to happen to me”. That’s what Jamie, a Florida woman thought too. She was a vibrant and active 58-year old woman when she was diagnosed with breast cancer (csn.cancer.org). Even with insurance, she amassed $75,000 in uncovered medical costs, that was ultimately reduced by the hospital to $30,000. That is an overwhelming sum of money for most of us to pay, which ultimately leads to many Americans filing for bankruptcy.

Franklin, who pays $450/month for her medical plan struggles to pay $659 each month for a cancer drug that does not have a generic equivalent and $600 every 3 months for follow-up scans. She now has a $100 co-payment each time she sees her oncologist because her employer switched coverage and the doctor is not in the new physician network.

In 2014, Brian D., a guest columnist for the Treasure Coast Newspapers was diagnosed with Leukemia. Even with his health insurance policy that covered his whole family, his total financial impact that year related to his cancer diagnosis came to $25,000. This accounted not only for his deductibles, copays, and maximum-out-of-pocket expenses, but also his loss of income for time spent with treatments.

There are thousands of dreadful stories like the ones mentioned above, and so many suffer financial devastation resulting from a critical or chronic condition. According a dismal 2017 CNBC report, more than half of Americans (57%) have less than $1000 in their savings. With a critical or chronic illness diagnosis, you’ll suffer enough with the emotional and psychological stress, so I say that you should NOT have to deal with the financial adversity associated with these life events.

 

What can you do?

Consider investing in a cancer or critical illness policy while you are still healthy! There is a misconception that these types of policies are cost prohibitive. Well, I’m here to tell you different and provide you solid facts. If you can afford to spend a mere $12/month (40-year old), you can protect your entire family with a $10,000 Lump-Sum Cash Cancer policy. Many companies go up to $50,000 and even some go up to $100,000 lump-sum amounts upon first diagnosis of cancer. Of course, as your age increases, so do the premiums. For a 54-year old, he can protect his entire family with a $10,000 lump-sum policy for only $22/month. In most cases, this cash benefit is also “Tax-Free”. So think about it…for less than $1/day, you can protect your entire family with at least $10,000 of coverage! If you’re interested in a critical illness policy, you’ll pay a little bit more.

Critical Illness policies come either as a stand-alone plan for heart-disease related cases or a combined heart-attack, stroke, and cancer policy. Of course, those plans will be a little more expensive than a stand-alone cancer or critical illness plan. The good thing about the stand-alone plan is if you were previously diagnosed with heart disease, you could qualify for a stand-alone cancer plan and if you were previously diagnosed with cancer, you could qualify for a stand-alone CI plan related to heart attack and stroke, etc.

The important thing is to protect yourself and your families with one of these great policies and the sooner the better. Like Life Insurance, the younger you are when you purchase these types of policies, the less expensive (or more affordable) they become. There are generally only 3 – 5 underwriting questions on these policies making it easy for most to qualify.

Anyone who has owned these policies and filed a claim will tell you how important it was to have that lump sum of cash come in when they need it most. Oh by the way, you can use the money for whatever you see fit (not just for medical expenses). A recent claim involved a Deputy Sheriff here in Florida with a wife and 3 kids who purchased a $50K lump-sum cash cancer plan and was diagnosed with cancer 5 months later. The company did pay him the $50K claim and what a major difference it made in his life. With all the direct related expenses and time off work, he was able to focus on his recovery and quality of life, and not stress about where the money was going to come from.

You have nothing to lose to call for a FREE quote to see just how affordable these plans are for you and your family. You owe it to yourself to protect your Quality of Life and Health. Contact our Stuart office today at 772-210-1020.