Imagine you’re on a routine visit to your doctor when you
receive some information from a test that changes your life in an instant. The doctor has to sit you down and calm you
prior to delivering the news of your critical illness. While you process the information, your
thoughts are consumed by your will to survive.
You start to think about how you will respond and beat the illness. Suddenly, however, you begin to identify with
how your illness will affect the other people who you hold dear to your
heart. Your own survival instinct is now
haunted by the reality of the real world economics of survival.
Hopefully, you won’t have that experience, however,
statistically, odds are that you or someone close to you will have a moment
like the one illustrated above. When
that moment occurs, it can be a calming emotion to know that you are prepared
for the economic ramifications of surviving.
Most people have thought about life insurance and actually
own some. That’s a great idea, as it can be a great way to protect an estate,
pay final expenses and even pass on some wealth to those who still need your
financial support. But let’s not jump to
conclusions quite yet, as most critical illnesses do not end with a sudden
death. Modern medicine and sophisticated
methods have allowed us to live many years during and after treatment for a
critical illness such as cancer or a heart attack and most life policies only
pay if you die. Also, many working
people have disability insurance, which replaces a portion of their paycheck
after an elimination period that can be as long as three months. Both life and disability insurance policies
are effective methods of protecting against the financial pitfalls of our
inevitable humanity. But there is one
more highly effective tool that you should consider to hedge your bet against
the odds of financial breakdown as a result of a diagnosis and that tool is
critical illness and/or accident insurance.
Critical illness insurance has been around for quite some
time; however, many people do not take advantage of the inexpensive premiums to
protect against the ancillary costs of the treatment. Losses of wages, deductibles and out of
pocket expenses are just a few of the issues creating your need for cash. In fact, a Harvard study found that 86% of
individuals who filed for bankruptcy did so because of out of pocket medical
related costs. And 70% of those people
had major medical coverage[1].
Critical illness and accident insurance products can be
inexpensive and typically pay a lump sum upon diagnosis of a qualified illness
or accident. The extra cash can be used
to pay expenses that are not paid by major medical coverage, including putting
food on the table. Quite frankly, it
might be the most important hedge against financial breakdown after an illness
or accident beyond having major medical coverage. Your savings account and other investments
won’t have to be drawn down as you focus on recovery. While many identify with the title of the
coverage, we’d like to suggest that critical illness and accident insurance be
categorized as another form of financial protection. It’s worth considering before you experience
the conversation. Hipskind Seyfarth Risk Solutions is your solution to all of
your insurance needs – personal or business.
