How do I apply for a quote?
To apply for an initial quote, please fill out the following form: https://asknoahk.com/critical-illness-quote-form/
What are the insurance options regarding Critical illness?
- Critical Illness Comprehensive Policy – Covers a full listing of illnesses that can significantly affect the health and financial well being of you and your dependents.
- Cancer Only Policy – Covers only cancer for you and your dependents
- Heart Attack & Stroke – Covers only Heart Attacks and/or Strokes for you and your dependents.
What is a critical illness?
Critical illnesses are considered life-threatening illnesses that create a significant medical and financial burden. Health insurance may only cover a portion of the total costs charged to a patient or their parents/guardians. Out-of-pocket expenses such as copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles are common costs that are incurred to a patient before the health insurance coverage is applied. With health insurance, any payments made by the insurance companies are made directly to the medical facilities. If a patient doesn’t follow proper protocol and obtain necessary authorizations prior to having necessary medical procedures performed, they risk being denied coverage from the health insurance companies.
What is Critical Illness Insurance?
Critical Illness Insurance is a type of supplemental insurance that generally pays out a one-time lump-sum cash benefit if you or your dependents are diagnosed with an illness that is listed on the insurance policy. The payment is made directly to you, the owner of the insurance policy, and not to the hospital/medical facilities. Many people assume they are fully protected with a standard health insurance plan. However, the significant costs of treating life-threatening illnesses are usually more than what any plan will cover. Even with excellent medical coverage, just one critical illness can be a disastrous financial burden.
Critical Illness Insurance can pay for costs not covered by traditional health insurance. The money can be used for nonmedical costs, including transportation, child care, living costs, etc. The lump-sum cash benefit can be used as the owner of the insurance policy sees fit.
What illnesses are generally covered by a comprehensive Critical Illness Insurance policy?
- Heart Attack—Death of a heart muscle due to obstruction of blood flow.
- Cancer—A cancerous tumor positively diagnosed with uncontrolled growth and is spreading throughout the body.
- Stroke—Damage to the brain from interruption of its blood supply that causes permanent neurological damage with continuous symptoms. Excludes brain damage due to accident or injury.
- Major Organ Transplant—Includes one of the following organs: heart, lung, liver, or kidney.
- Kidney Failure—Chronic irreversible failure of both kidneys, requiring permanent dialysis or transplant.
- Alzheimer’s Disease—A progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions.
- Benign Brain Tumor—Noncancerous brain tumor that is continuously growing and may impair brain functions. Known to cause seizures, paralysis, vision impairment, and speech impairment.
- Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery—Open-chest surgery or minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery to correct the narrowing or blockage of one or more coronary arteries.
- Paralysis—Total and irreversible loss of use of at least 2 entire limbs due to injury or disease persisting for a period of at least 6 weeks and with no foreseeable possibility of recovery.
- Terminal Illness—The conclusive diagnosis of an illness that is expected to result in death expected to occur within 12 months.
- Lupus Nephritis—Occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the kidneys, leading to inflammation and possibly to organ damage.
Who needs Critical Illness Insurance?
Critical Illness Insurance is a great supplement for everyone. Critical illnesses have a negative financial affect medically and non-medically.
- Parents—Parents are financially responsible for their medical bills and the medical bills of their children until they reach 18 years old. More children in the household generally require more coverage. If a child is unfortunately diagnosed with a critical illness, there is no guarantee that health insurance will cover all the medical costs. Insurance companies may reject paying the medical bills for any reason. Medical facilities have the option to sell the right to collection to debt collectors. Unpaid medical bills can damage your credit. Additionally, parents may require time off work to care for their children. The lump-sum benefit can alleviate some financial stress.
- High-Risk Professionals—Your family medical history may be a great indicator of what your future health might look like. If there are any illnesses that run in the family (heart attacks, strokes, cancer, etc.), it would be a great idea to see what coverage you can get to plan ahead.
- High-Deductible Insurance Participants—When participating in a high-deductible group health insurance plan, out-of-pocket costs accumulate and reset each year. If a critical illness requires treatment that spans over multiple years, you will have to pay the full deductible amount and coinsurance amount each year.
- Freelancers/Self-Employed—In the event you do not have access to group disability coverage, Critical Illness Insurance can provide a safety net if you are diagnosed with any of the specified conditions listed in the policy.
Are there any known exclusions regarding Critical Illness Insurance?
As with all insurance policies, there are always exclusions. Some types of cancer may not be covered. Chronic illnesses, such as Chrohn’s disease, are usually not covered. If you experience a critical illness once and it returns again, the insurance company may not provide a payout the second time for the same illness. Some insurance coverages may end once the owner of the policy reaches a certain age. I always stress the importance of knowing and understanding what’s in your policy. The last thing you want to happen is to be diagnosed with an illness and find out its excluded from your insurance policy.
What can the Critical Insurance Cash Benefit be used for?
- To pay for critical medical services that might otherwise be unavailable.
- To pay for treatments not covered by a traditional policy.
- To pay for daily living expenses, enabling the critically ill to focus their time and energy on getting well instead of working to pay their bills.
- To pay for transportation expenses, such as getting to and from treatment centers, retrofitting vehicles to carry scooters or wheelchairs, and installing lifts in homes for critically ill patients who can no longer navigate staircases.
- To pay for a vacation for the terminally ill patient and their friends or family or for those simply in need of a restful place to recuperate.
Why is Critical Illness Insurance important?
The high medical costs caused by critical illnesses may not be completely covered by health insurance. Unpaid medical bills do not go away. If you have any dependents, you are financially responsible for all their medical bills until they reach 18 years old, including all your own medical bills.
Medical bills are a common cause for bankruptcy in the United States. In normal circumstances when medical bills are not paid in full, the hospitals will give the rights to collect payment to debt collectors. If payment is not received by debt collectors, they will report the debt owed to the credit bureaus. Collection accounts may remain on your credit report for up to seven years, even if paid.
Critical Illness Insurance can reduce financial worry in the event that you become too sick to work or if your children sustain high medical costs due to a covered critical illness. Critical Illness Insurance provides flexibility in that you can use the money paid out as you wish to cover a wide variety of potential needs.
My employer has a group critical illness plan. Should I join the group, or should I get my own individual policy?
Group plans provide the lowest cost option because the risk is spread across the number of employees. Group plans are great if an employer has a group policy. However, there are a few things to consider:
- The moment you change employers, the Critical Illness Insurance no longer covers you or your dependents. There is no guarantee that future employers will provide similar coverage.
- If your employer cancels the insurance or forgets to pay the premium, then you risk not having coverage.
- Benefits received from group critical illness insurance plans are generally taxable as income if the employer pays a part of the premium.
- Benefits received from individual Critical Illness Insurance plans are generally received tax free. The benefits are tax free because you are paying the insurance premium with after-tax dollars.
What are the factors that affect the cost of the insurance premium?
The following criteria affect the cost of the insurance premium:
- Age—Older policy holders have higher premiums.
- Gender
- Health status—High-risk policy holders have higher premiums.
- Family medical history—Policy holders with high-risk medical histories have higher premiums.
- Use of tobacco—Tobacco users have higher premiums.
- State of residence
- The number of illnesses covered—Adding specific illnesses have higher premiums.
How much does Critical Illness Insurance cost?
Based on the latest available information online, a $20k Critical Illness Insurance policy can range from $20-$200 per month. Families (that include a spouse and children) generally pay higher premiums.
How does Critical Illness Insurance coverage work for a family?
As an example, let’s assume that John Bravo has a spouse and 2 children. If John has a $20k Critical Illness Insurance policy that includes his spouse and 2 children, then each member of his immediate family will have $20k available to them in the event they are diagnosed with a critical illness.
