Hope for Dread Disease Victims

Dread diseases or critical illnesses are those maladies that are listed in specialized health insurance policies that offer insurance cover for a number of common illnesses that threaten lifestyle, longevity and/ or leave the patient with significant and lifetime residual morbidity. It is a good idea to apply for one or more of these as critical illnesses and accidents that might cause a critical health condition generally don’t have the habit of knocking doors before letting themselves in your body. Please remember that the insurance policies offered by each organization is unique and dread disease covers come in a choice of disease packages to be insured against. For example, one organization may offer a package that covers 36 known common and critical ailments while another may provide against 4 major lifestyle diseases. You should evaluate your risk factor to each carefully to choose the type of insurance coverage you wish to apply for.

Also, there are generally a few added clauses of age and the survival period post diagnosis namely, that the policyholder should be less than 60 years of age and should not expire within thirty days of diagnosis of the disease. The premiums can also vary depending on if the policyholder himself or herself draws it or, if it is drawn by a family member like, a wife or husband. The waiting periods for insurance covers also vary depending on the organization.  

The dread disease insurance contract terms may also state specific stipulations that define (within the insurer’s framework) when a diagnosis of a critical illness can be eligible for the insurance cover. These conditional clauses may vary according to insurance organizations. To be eligible for the insurance cover, some might ask for a medical specialist to certify the conditions stated in the insurance form for the particular disease under which the policyholder applies for cover, while others may insist on the results of certain medical tests done by accredited institutions.  

On repeated complaints, however, these procedural demands have become standardized in some countries. This helps in maintaining the transparency of insurance procedures, grant of claims and even helps in comparing policies for prospective policyholders. However technical clauses for eligibility for insurance cover, claims etc. may still vary from insurance organization to other organizations. 

There are many ways in which a policyholder can be compensated on diagnosis of a critical ailment under the insurance cover. Some dread disease insurance policies directly pay the stipulated amount to policyholders or their husband/ wife depending on who files for the claim. Some policies can directly transfer the necessary amount to healthcare providers of the policyholder for the treatment costs of the critical disease as covered by the insurance policy. This includes the fee for the consultation with medical specialists and treatment and/ or operative procedures at a pre-defined group of well-known and reputable hospitals. However, these treatments may have a limited compensation depending on the policy, i.e., up to a certain amount per period of treatment as already defined in the policy. But this procedure can also help in avoiding lengthy reimbursement procedural hassles. Yet other policies can also offer to bear the costs of travel to specialized treatment centers along with another caregiver/ family member. This type of policies also provide for their accommodation and other concierge services like, translators, a local caretaker etc. 

While timely insurance against dread diseases are universally recommended, qualifying for an insurance policy requires the applicant to pass a series of health checks by the insurance company’s underwriter. These generally involve a thorough report of the applicant’s medical history, lifestyle habits, history of hereditary illnesses, potency of smoking and drinking levels and body mass index. If the applicant is found to be under the normal risk category, the insurance company agrees to insure the applicant in return for the payment of regular premiums.  

Now that you know a general overview of what dread disease policies are like, let’s get down to the main question. Isn’t this simply an added expenditure to your monthly bills? Why should you spend real money behind a miniscule probability of being affected by one or more of the specific diseases mentioned in the insurance clauses way further down in your life? The only answer that I can give you to this is to look at the recent statistics of the incidence rate of these diseases. Most of them are brought about due to lifestyle habits, hectic schedules and the compulsion to live in a polluted, overcrowded environment due to our career and livelihood choices. At the very beginning of one’s life or career, the chance of a dread disease or a sudden accident seems like an absurd possibility. But as we grow older and start noticing friends or acquaintances whose lives are suddenly disrupted by a similar tragedy, the remote probability seems near home all of a sudden.  

Simply filing for a dread disease or life insurance is not enough. For adequate coverage, you should plan for your expenses in case of an emergency same as you plan for your monthly budget. Preparing for your incurred personal expenses like treatment, operative, post-operative and convalescence period is as important as providing for your family during the period of crisis and even after, in case of a partial or full impairment in earning capacity. The amount that you spend in paying your dread disease insurance premiums does not reflect the extent of your monthly expenditure, but the strength of your survival plan in case of a mishap. It will make sure that the entire life that you have constructed bit by bit, the sort of lifestyle that you are used to, do not get demolished due to the stroke of a single misfortune. Insurance policies have even evolved to the extent that some can allow you to lead the most enjoyable period of your life without the stress of regular work in case of diagnosis with a confirmed terminal illness like, an advanced stage of cancer.  

If you have already decided to go for a dread disease insurance scheme, there are a few things you need to know. Much as most insurance companies pretend to be the best friend you will ever have, most of them become quite reticent when it comes to actually responding to a claim. So it is advisable to do a thorough research before committing to any insurance policy. Look at their track record, reputation in the market, speak to previous policyholders or their relatives if you can and qualify their feedback. Apart from checking for the insurance company’s reputation, you should also be extremely careful when reading the specific clauses and conditions stated in the policy form.  

The first thing to check for is to of course evaluate your personal risk factor. Check your medical history thoroughly, look for hidden illnesses in the family tree, examine the impact of any past accident or your present lifestyle on your future physical well-being and combine all these factors to finalize your risk assessment. Take help from medical professionals or your family physician if required. This step is vital as dread disease insurance comes in a customization of innumerable types of packages apart from the basic 36 dread diseases insurance cover. You must test your unique physical condition to see which insurance cover could be most suited to it. Most dread disease insurance forms will clearly specify one or more conditions under which the policyholder will be eligible to file a claim if struck down by that particular disease. Always keep in mind that it is not enough to simply suffer from a disease mentioned in the insurance cover, but also to satisfy the conditions stated in the policy to be eligible for the cover. Look below for a standard policy statement from Cancer and Specified Dread Disease Benefits from Sun Life Financial (applicable for the state of Alabama). This is provided just as a simple example and we do not endorse any of the company’s products: whittenassoc.com

Apart from the above, almost all insurance companies include a ‘survival period’ clause in their policy statements. What this means is that the policyholder should survive a number of days as stipulated in the policy form after the detection of the disease. This period generally ranges from 28 to 90 days depending on the insurance company. This clause is generally included to limit the amount of fraudulent claims insurance companies have to deal with. Many a times, people register for dread disease policies when they already know they, or their family member are suffering from one or more dread diseases covered by an insurance policy and then disclaim all previous knowledge of the condition until diagnosed with it under medical supervision. However, in most other cases, the insurance companies themselves benefit from this clause as many policyholders may not live through the stipulated survival period. 

So how do you avoid this trap when you have painstakingly paid your premiums? There are two ways to ensure that you get your claim under your dread disease insurance cover. The first of this is to add on some Life insurance cover along with your dread disease policy. This guarantees that even if the policyholder dies before the survival period is over - the life insurance benefits of the policy are still received by the policyholder. The second, albeit a less conventional way, is to adjoin a Terminal Illness option to the dread disease policy one applies for. This method ensures that the insurance company pays out the benefits if the medical professionals (approved by the company) come out with a projected survival rate lesser than a period of 12 months after diagnosis with the terminal illness. This however includes the first survival period of 28-90 days depending on the policy. 

Coming down to premiums for dread disease insurance, you should know that there are three types of insurance premium schemes available on the market. These three types are Guaranteed, Reviewable and Renewable Premium models. These are explained in detail below: 

· Guaranteed Premiums can actually look like the most expensive of the lot when you go shopping for a dread disease insurance policy. But this can actually work out to your advantage if you observe other types of premium models over a period of time. The advantage of this type of premium is that the amount that is quoted as premium by the insurance company at the very beginning when you apply for the policy - stays the same throughout the period of insurance. This enables you to cover against the threat of dread diseases without unnecessary headaches about increased risk factor of claims and fluctuating overall economic conditions like value of currency, inflation etc.  

· Reviewable Premiums look the most tempting to start with but may actually run to your disadvantage later on in life. This is because while the initial premium in this type of policy is generally a much lower amount to start with, this amount is reviewed at regular intervals of time (say, every 5 to 10 years). The premium amount decided after each period of review is unpredictable as it may stay the same as before, or increase, or even decrease depending on your luck. This is actually a bit of a gamble as you cannot control by how much the premium amount might increase if it is increased at a subsequent review. 

· Renewable Premiums are another ball game entirely. This is because like Reviewable Premiums, the insurance policy premium is changed after certain periods of time when you renew the policy. But it is not only the premium that can change depending on increased/ decreased risk factor of future claims, but also the amount of insurance cover can change depending on the amount of premium that you decide to pay. This can work out to your advantage or disadvantage depending on how skillfully you handle your insurance policies and finance. One advantage offered by this type of policy is that insurance companies generally allow you to automatically renew your insurance without going through the formality of applying for a new insurance cover, once the stipulated time period (say, 5 to 20 years) is over. But at the same time, there is no guarantee that they will allow you coverage for the same substantial amount of dread disease insurance as this will depend on your increased/ decreased risk factor to file a claim. 

The disease combinations covered in dread disease policies differ from company to company. But to give a broad general idea, here is the deal: 

There are two basic kinds of coverage. The first of these generally include the most likely/ threatening of dread diseases, i.e. heart attack, stroke and potentially fatal cancer.  

There is a reason as to why these three are covered in most dread disease insurance policies. According to recent statistics, one in every two men in the United States has a chance of developing heart diseases. For women, it is one in every three. Stating the risk factor for every type of cancer is beyond the scope of this article, but the overarching rate is nearly comparable with that of developing a coronary disease.

The problem with suffering with one or more of the above is not only the treatment costs, but the increased cost of living henceforth in the policyholder’s life. As Dr. Marius Bernard, the founder of dread disease insurance puts it: “The outcome of a major health crisis is more likely to be survival than death. But having survived, the cost of living is greater than the cost of dying.” A debilitating disease or condition brought forward by unforeseeable circumstances need not be necessarily fatal, but is more or less guaranteed to increase the costs of living or decrease the afflicted person’s earning potential from its very diagnosis. With the rising incidence of life-threatening diseases and critical conditions due to lifestyle, accidents and/ or environmental pollution, it is perhaps indispensable to apply for one or more dread disease insurance coverage to ensure a stress-free and secure financial status despite the increased risk of health complications. Warding off all negative thoughts about future health complications for a carefree resent life is a luxury our generation can no longer afford. It is high time that we started to look upon dread disease insurance as an investment that has a high chance of paying out in the end, even if only in the form of the mental peace that it offers. The earlier one starts to pay the premiums, the more substantial his/ her dread disease insurance coverage is likely to be when he/ she get older.