IMPORTANCE OF TERM INSURANCE FOR EARLY STAGE CRITICAL ILLNESS
The menace that is critical illnesses like cancer, stroke, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Coma, heart attacks and liver diseases has contributed to 60% of recorded death cases in the world today. The high number of statistics point to a grim future making it all the more important to have a term insurance plan for critical illness.
Critical illness term insurance is an insurance cover that provides coverage for a specified number of years to an insured but less expensive than permanent life insurance. In case the insured dies when the policy is still active a death benefit will be paid their dependents.
On the other hand, critical illness term insurance gives the insured a lump sum payout when they are diagnosed with the various critical illnesses covered by the plan. This payout is intended to cater to the patient’s expenses while they recover from the illness.
Before taking up critical illness term insurance, understand the payout structure of the insurance plan. With critical illness, one can consider the accelerated plan or the basic life plans with add-ons. Getting this right will guarantee a payout to you if you live to the maturity of the plan or to your dependents in case of your untimely demise from critical illness.
Another thing to consider before taking up this cover is how much coverage do you need? Taking up a critical insurance plan coverage that is 3 or 4 times your annual income will help cover your daily expenses at the point when you are diagnosed with a critical illness and cannot continue working.
Always find out if the plan by the insurance service provider is renewable or the premium payments will increase as you get older. The older you get the likelihood of critical illness increases. You don’t want to be left with medical expenses and lost income while recovering from a heart attack because the policy didn’t cover you when you retired. The best place to get information about insurance companies is from reviews on platforms like US Reviews, left by other people.
Lastly, take into consideration the stage your sum assured is paid out during your illness. Different insurers have different policies in this regard. Always ask about the different stages you can claim for payment when you have been diagnosed with critical illnesses. Some plans have room for multiple claims, so ask your insurer about this before taking up a cover. You don’t want to be exposed if you suffer another critical illness and the insurer fails to pay.
Understanding the various stages you can make a claim is important to get a payout from an insurer. Most term plans have a waiting period meaning the assured cannot make a claim within this period. Others go the extra mile of specifying the waiting period or survival period of up to a month meaning the policyholder has to survive up to a month after suffering from critical illness in order to make a claim. But this should not worry you because surviving critical illness is possible due to advancements in medicine and technology.
