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It’s true what they say: becoming a parent can change your perspective on life and make you rethink your priorities.
Like many parents, I found that my priorities shifted the moment I held my child for the first time. Financial decisions that once seemed less urgent suddenly became important and I started thinking more about long-term about savings and investments to ensure my children’s future needs — whether it’s their education, everyday expenses or healthcare requirements — were well provided for.
I also began grappling with existential questions: What would happen to my family if I were no longer around? How would they cope if I became unable to provide for them due to unforeseen circumstances?
As a parent, my greatest concern isn’t about how much I can provide while I’m healthy and able to work. Rather, it’s the fear of not being able to support my family, whether due to my absence or health issues that prevent me from working. This is where the importance of insurance becomes undeniably clear.
The Importance Of Insurance For Parents
Before having children, my wife and I already had some basic life and health insurance coverage in place — enough to give us some peace of mind.
However, the desire to enhance our coverage grew significantly after we became parents. Suddenly, it wasn’t just about safeguarding ourselves; it was about ensuring that our children’s futures were secure, no matter what might happen.
Initially, life insurance was our primary focus. Life insurance provides a payout to your loved ones in the event of your passing, ensuring financial support for their needs, such as housing, education and day-to-day expenses. This type of coverage is essential for parents because it creates a safety net for the family’s financial stability in your absence.
However, I quickly realised that while having adequate life insurance coverage is important, it’s just one aspect of a comprehensive financial plan. Another equally crucial component is critical illness insurance, which offers financial support if you’re diagnosed with a severe condition such as cancer, stroke or heart disease. Unlike life insurance, which ensures your family’s financial security after your passing, critical illness insurance is designed to protect you. It provides the resources you need to focus on recovery without placing a financial burden on your loved ones.
What Does Critical Illness Insurance Cover?
Critical illness insurance typically pays out a sum of money if you’re diagnosed with a covered illness. This lump-sum payout can be used for various needs, from paying medical bills not covered by hospitalisation insurance, covering alternative treatments or maintaining your family’s lifestyle during a challenging period when you might not be able to work.
There are critical illness policies that cater to different stages of illness.
- Regular critical illness policies: Cover severe conditions, typically at advanced stages.
- Early-stage critical illness policies: Cover conditions at earlier stages, allowing for quicker intervention.
- Multipay critical illness policies: Offer coverage for multiple claims, which is vital because recovering from one illness doesn’t guarantee immunity from another.
Before becoming a parent, I already had a critical illness policy. However, it was a basic plan that only provided a payout if I was diagnosed with an advanced stage of a covered critical illness. While this level of coverage might have been adequate for me in the past, I didn’t feel it was sufficient after I became a parent.
How A Multipay Critical Illness Plan Works (And Why I Chose It)
When I decided to enhance my critical illness coverage, I looked into a multipay critical illness plan.
The primary difference between a multipay critical illness plan and a regular one lies in how the coverage is structured. Most regular critical illness plans terminate after a single payout, leaving no further protection. In contrast, a multipay critical illness plan provides extended coverage, ensuring continued protection even after an initial lump-sum payout upon diagnosis. This means that if the critical illness recurs after recovery, or if new illnesses arise over time, additional payouts will be provided. This enhanced layer of security is particularly valuable given the unpredictable and recurring nature of health challenges.
For example, the Singlife Multipay Critical Illness plan provides us with multiple payouts across various stages of critical illnesses:
Early or Intermediate Stage Critical Illnesses: Upon diagnosis of any of the 72 covered conditions, the plan provides a payout of 100% of the Sum Assured.
Severe Stage Critical Illnesses: For any of the 60 covered severe-stage conditions, the plan offers a payout of 300% of the Sum Assured, minus any claims already paid for the same critical illness group at the early or intermediate stages. The maximum payout under the Critical Illness Benefit is up to 600% of the Sum Assured.
Recurrent Critical Illnesses: Recognising the possibility of recurrence, the plan includes coverage for specified severe stage critical illnesses, such as major cancer. In the event of a recurrence, it provides a payout of 150% of the Sum Assured per claim, up to two claims. This results in a maximum payout under the Recurrent Critical Illness Benefit of 300% of the Sum Assured.
In total, policyholders may receive payouts up to 900% of the Sum Assured for critical illnesses, offering substantial financial support during challenging times.
Source: Singlife Multipay Critical Illness, Product Brochure
It’s important to clarify that while the Singlife Multipay Critical Illness plan can offer payouts of up to 900% of the Sum Assured, this doesn’t guarantee the full amount for every critical illness. The actual payout depends on various factors, such as the stage of the critical illness, whether there’s a recurrence after recovery, and if multiple critical illnesses occur.
In addition to the critical illness benefits, the Singlife Multipay Critical Illness policy also offers several other valuable medical benefits. For instance, it provides an amount equivalent to 20% of the Sum Assured (up to S$25,000 per life per condition) for specific scenarios, such as:
Surgical Removal of Tumours: If a borderline malignant tumour or a benign tumour with suspected malignancy requires surgical removal.
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Stay: When an ICU stay lasts for four days or more during a single hospital admission.
Special Benefit Conditions: Coverage for one of 27 specified conditions under the Special Benefit.
Here’s a hypothetical example of how a policyholder could potentially benefit from the coverage provided by the Singlife Multipay Critical Illness policy.
Source: Singlife Multipay Critical Illness, Product Brochure
My Takeaway For Fellow Parents
In my view, the Singlife Multipay Critical Illness policy provides comprehensive coverage against the uncertainties of critical illnesses by offering protection at early, intermediate and severe stages of a critical illness.
What sets it apart is its continued protection even after an initial payout is made, ensuring that financial support remains available in the event of relapses, progression to advanced stages or the occurrence of multiple illnesses over time.
While the future is unpredictable, taking proactive measures — such as reviewing and enhancing your insurance coverage — is a prudent step to safeguard your family’s well-being even amidst life’s uncertainties. Even for those who currently have insurance coverage, it’s essential to assess whether your coverage adequately meets your needs.
For parents, such extensive coverage offers peace of mind amidst life’s uncertainties. If gaps exist in your coverage, a plan like Singlife Multipay Critical Illness could provide the security your family deserves.
Top Image: Photo by Natanael Melchor on Unsplash
The post Why I Decided To Insure Myself With A Multipay Critical Illness Plan After Becoming A Parent appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
