Critical Illness Insurance | Buy Critical Illness Insurance Policy | Singapore

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Critical Illness Insurance

One is illness and other is critical illness. Normally illness is for few days, may or may not need hospitalization but critical illness for prolonged periods which requires specialized treatments along with post-care. When we talk of Critical illness, the bad C-word comes to our mind – Cancer but it is not true. There are many other critical illnesses too like heart – attack, stroke, kidney failure or transplants etc. Hence, critical illness insurance is a must, as one doesn’t know when any of these illnesses knock yours or your near one’s doors.

Why Critical Illness Insurance?

Critical illness insurance is insurance that gives you a lump-sum pay-out upon diagnosis of specific critical illnesses. It also provides additional coverage for medical emergencies like heart attack, stroke, or cancer. As these illnesses often require higher medical expenditure, these policies pay out cash to help cover those overruns where traditional health insurance may fall short.

This way we see that Critical illness insurance pays a lump sum when you are diagnosed with a critical illness covered by the policy. It provides stability to your financial health while you are struggling with your physical health.

The Life Insurance Association (LIA) Singapore has standard definitions for 37 severe-stage critical Illnesses, such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure etc. However, critical illness plans offered by the various insurers may vary in the number and type of critical illnesses covered.

For a standalone critical illness plan, there are several types on the market and the basic type usually provides coverage for late-stage critical illnesses.

Other variations in the market include:

• Coverage for early and/or intermediate stages of critical illnesses (ideal for situations when you detect the critical illness early).
• Multiple claim options wherein your policy remains in-forced even after you’ve made a claim on it. They provide coverage for recurring critical illnesses or future incidences of another critical illness.

When you want protection that goes beyond just covering your medical costs, critical illness insurance is an appropriate choice.

It can be viewed as a supplement to health insurance, which is just about covering medical costs. It doesn’t compensate you for any loss of income – for instance, if you are forced to take time off work or have additional expenses (i.e. transport costs to the hospital, health supplements, mental wellness sessions, etc.) incurred. This is where critical illness insurance becomes important. Though we may term it as ‘supplement’, it is a very important one. So, if you are worried about losing income in case of any critical illness, critically illness insurance is your savior.

Findings of the LIA survey reveal that the average Singaporean has a critical illness insurance gap of $256,000. That number is essentially the estimated ‘lost earnings’ from having to take time off work to recover from an illness.

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