Read My Pro Advice on Insurance For Critical Illness

Critical Illness Insurance is promoted through greed and scare tactics. My advice on insurance for critical illness is learning more. Find out why buying this insurance may not be critical at all.

Critical illness insurance makes monster sales volume in countries outside the United States. The buyers are often ones who cannot afford major medical insurance premiums. Critical illness policies vary, but the majority provide benefits for major heart conditions, strokes, and cancer. These, in that same order are the three major causes of death. Likewise, for survivors, all three produce extremely costly medical bills. However, hundreds of other conditions also cause astronomical bills.

I recently had spinal-neck fusion surgery. A combination of an illness and accident required the surgical operation. My bill exceeding a whopping $50,000.00 amount. Critical illness insurance would not have paid a dime. My major medical insurance paid all but $20.00 for television and phone service during my hospital stay. Since 2002, I have been hospitalized 17 times. 2 were for heart conditions, 11 were for major strokes and TIA's (mini-strokes). Personally, I have no separate insurance for critical illness like my heart and stroke situations. Never have I had an outstanding bill of over $65.00 to pay.

My advice is buying insurance that is really essential. Do you have your important insurance needs covered. This includes your cars, your home or apartment, enough life insurance, and quality major medical insurance. If so, and if you have the financial means examine disability income coverage, and long-term care insurance. If you have ALL these properly covered, there should be a plan in effect to provide for an adequate retirement. Even if you belong with the very minority of Americans that have covered all these bases, should you even consider critical illness insurance?

My insurance background advice would be to get some financial awareness of insurance companies. Obtain information similar to what I have assembled about the amount of money insurance companies spend on paying out claims. With companies that sell auto and homeowners insurance the amount of claims paid can approach the money they collect. Especially if a storm catastrophe hits their policyholder's. Now examine the claims paid by critical insurance that collect money from people buying their plans. If is not unusual to see claim payments below a 60% to 70% ratio. Extremely profitable results are obtained when a critical illness insurance carrier collects much more money than ever paying out.

Ask yourself the purpose of buying insurance. Your answer is probably close to mine. Insurance is bought to pay for a risk that you would have problems handling with the money you have available. Critical illness insurance should rarely be purchased, except in poor countries to cover a need, when proper coverage may not be affordable. Therefore two emotional techniques are used in America by insurance salespeople. The sales person will tell you how you could have large unpaid expenses if you a critical illness should occur. They will give you a grocery list of possible expenses to create a fearful scare.

Take it from me, a person who sold health insurance but never bought insurance for critical illness. I experienced heart and stroke situations highlighted in these policies. I am also in the early stages of leading to bone cancer. With my major medical insurance coverage tested many times, I have no fear of large unpaid bills that will devastate me. If an insurance agent selling this coverage approaches you, ask the agent to see the policy that the agent personally bought. Most agents cannot afford the necessary insurance coverage, let alone one with little risk value.

Please do not be a sucker to the extra paycheck approach. A smart person NEVER buys risk insurance to try to make a few dollars. Likewise, insurance companies would not sell critical illness policies except for the fact that they are so profitable to them and the agent that sells the policy. $25 a month for 10 years is $3,000. If you found $3,000 under your pillow today, I am sure you could find a good way to spend it.

Donald Yerke
11 Dec 2009