Cancer & Critical Illness

Cancer & Critical Illness policies (also known a Specified-Disease Insurance in some states) provide cash payment to you in the event you are diagnosed with cancer or a critical illness. 

Here’s how they work:

1. You purchase a policy with a set dollar coverage amount (ex. $5,000, $25,000) and pay a monthly or annual premium for that policy. 
2. If you are diagnosed with a specified disease such as cancer (or suffer a heart attack), then you submit proof of that diagnosis to the insurance company and they send you all or part of that dollar amount coverage to you directly. 
3. You can then use those funds to cover medical costs that Medicare doesn’t cover (deductibles, copays and more). 
4. You pay the provider directly. The provider does not bill the insurance company. 
5. You can use the funds to help with the costs for:
   • Alternative treatment or medicine not covered by Medicare
   • Travel expenses
   • Daily living expenses 
   • Personal care: You can hire someone to take care of you are take care of things around your home if you can’t. 
   • Mortgage/Rent
   • Taking a vacation
   • Buying a car (to get you to and from treatment)

Cancer Policies

In the section Retirement Insurance Costs and Issues, I have noted that according to studies, you have about a 40% chance of developing some form of cancer. 

A Cancer policy might make sense to you if:

• You have genetic predisposition (family history) for cancer. You can get DNA tests that may be able to aid you in determining if you have higher risk of cancer or another disease.
• You’ve lived a lifestyle that is conducive to increasing your risk of developing cancer in the future. 
  • You smoke or have smoked in the past: According to the CDC: “People who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who do not smoke. Even smoking a few cigarettes a day or smoking occasionally increases the risk of lung cancer. The more years a person smokes and the more cigarettes smoked each day, the more risk goes up.”
  • You don’t exercise
  • You consume lots of sugar and processed foods
• You’ve worked a job that increases your risk of developing cancer.
• You believe alternative treatment may be better for you in the event you get cancer. Traditional Medicare insurance does not cover alternative treatment. You can use the funds from the policy to help cover alternative treatment…whether it be here in the U.S. or if you decide to travel outside the U.S. for treatment. 

Critical Illness Policies

A Critical Illness policy helps cover health issues such as the following:

• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Major Organ Transplant
• Blindness
• Paralysis
• Deafness
• Kidney Failure
• Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
• Coronary Angioplasty Surgery

Interested in discussing and potentially obtaining a Cancer or Critical Illness policy? Then, contact me and let’s talk and find out if there’s a good option for you and your family.