Why You Need Health Insurance AND Critical Illness InsuranceAs a Singaporean citizen, you enjoy a basic level of health insurance from MediShield Life. This benefit is also received by PRs in the country. However, you might have heard people advise you to upgrade your medical coverage by taking an Integrated Shield Plan. You may also have been told to look into getting critical illness insurance.
So, do you really need both these health insurance products?
The answer is a definite YES. In this article, we will take a look at how an Integrated Shield Plan and critical illness insurance work in tandem to give you holistic protection against the expenses of medical treatment. First, let’s understand what each of these two products entail in terms of coverage offered.
An Integrated Shield Plan is a hospitalisation insurance product. It covers you within defined limits for treatment costs incurred during hospitalisation as well as for expenses pre- and post-hospitalisation.
Your MediShield Life coverage is pegged at B2/C class wards in public hospitals; an Integrated Shield Plan will help you afford treatment at different wards or even in private hospitals of your choosing. Plus, your Integrated Shield Plan will usually come with a lot of added benefits such as the option of a high cover limit (up to S million or more), coverage for overseas medical care, and value-added services like cashless transactions and concierge service. Do note that the features of the Integrated Shield Plan will vary between insurers.
- Critical Illness Insurance
A critical illness insurance plan pays you the sum assured as a lump sum amount if you are diagnosed with any of the critical illnesses covered by the insurer. This payout can be used by the insured person for any expense they face. For instance, they may use the funds to afford the co-pay portion of their hospitalisation insurance. Or, they may use the money to support their expenses during treatments and while recovering.
These days, insurers in Singapore offer highly customisable critical illness insurance plans. You can buy basic coverage to begin with and later widen the coverage of your plan so that it covers you against recurring conditions and relapse too. You can even opt for a rider that gives monthly payouts in addition to your critical illness insurance lump sum for a certain number of years upon diagnosis. The features of critical illness coverage and the riders do vary between insurance providers.
- Why you need an Integrated Shield Plan AND critical illness insurance?
You may wonder why you need a critical illness insurance plan if you are already covered by MediShield Life or an Integrated Shield Plan. The answer to that can be explained in this way – your hospitalisation (health) insurance plan helps you afford the actual costs involved in the treatment of your illness whereas the critical illness insurance payout helps you manage your other financial obligations.
Let’s take a closer look…
If a person is diagnosed with cancer, they can use their hospitalisation insurance (Integrated Shield Plan) to cover the surgery and subsequent treatment costs (chemotherapy, radiation therapy, etc.). However, with an illness as severe as cancer, that is not where the expenses end. The person would most likely not be able to go to work while they receive chemotherapy. This means they no longer have an active income and have to depend on their savings for the day-to-day expenses of running their home. In addition to this, there may be other expenses – for example, a domestic worker might be required to provide round-the-clock care for the patient. Affording the domestic worker’s salary from one’s savings can be quite difficult especially if there are many other financial responsibilities too.
This is where the payout from critical illness insurance can prove helpful.
You can use the lump sum funds to pay for your rent or mortgage, child’s school fees, groceries, transport or car fuel, domestic worker’s wages, and so much more. Basically, the payout helps act as a temporary income replacement. You can focus on getting your treatment and recuperate with peace of mind.
This is how critical illness insurance and health insurance work together to give you holistic medical coverage.
We hope that this article has helped you gain insight into the importance of these two medical insurance products. Do speak to a financial advisor for guidance in selecting a critical illness insurance plan and health insurance plan for you and your family.
Take care.
READ MORE: - 3 Reasons Why Missing Out On Critical Illness Coverage Is A Huge Mistake!
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