Dawn has been working within the financial services industry for over twenty years. She specialises in all areas of finance and insurance and provides impartial advice to both residential and business clients.
I received a phone call from an old school friend completely out of the blue after nearly 15 years. It was lovely to catch up – the twists and turns in our careers, family life, school day gossip. Then she broke her unpleasant news - she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer last November. Thankfully there was a positive outcome. Following a mastectomy the following month, the prognosis has been good.
Like my friend, after being diagnosed with cancer, most women, particularly those with busy work commitments and family life, lament over their lack of knowledge about this worldwide epidemic and the symptoms that accompany it. The facts tell their own story...
I received a phone call from an old school friend completely out of the blue after nearly 15 years. It was lovely to catch up – the twists and turns in our careers, family life, school day gossip. Then she broke her unpleasant news - she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer last November. Thankfully there was a positive outcome. Following a mastectomy the following month, the prognosis has been good.
Like my friend, after being diagnosed with cancer, most women, particularly those with busy work commitments and family life, lament over their lack of knowledge about this worldwide epidemic and the symptoms that accompany it. The facts tell their own story...
- There are more than 200 types of cancer
- More than a quarter of a million new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK (that's a new case every two minutes, which is frightening!)
- Breast, lung, bowel and prostate cancer account for over half of all new cases each year
- Half of all cancer cases diagnosed in the UK could be avoided if people made changes to their lifestyle, such as stopping smoking, moderating alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy body weight and avoiding excessive sun exposure*
Now there's another side to this which is equally tragic, but nonetheless can be avoided. Were you aware that 1 in 6 cancer patients struggle with their mortgage or rent payments and 1 in 17 cancer patients lose their home? Think about these statistics for a moment and ask yourself, what would be the financial implications if anyone in my family were diagnosed with cancer?
There is help at hand to protect you from financial hardship and it comes in the form of an insurance policy. Critical illness cover would provide you with a lump sum in the event you develop cancer or any other critical illness. You usually have to survive for at least fourteen days before the policy would payout. If you have such a policy, it may be wise to examine the detail and make certain it provides comprehensive cover, particularly relating to cancer. If you've not heard of this insurance or never had the inclination of taking any out, then hopefully you will find this article beneficial.
The monthly premiums are dependent on your age, sex, medical history, health, whether one smokes, occupation and the amount of cover and term of policy required.
Would you be surprised to know that the most common critical illness claimed for is cancer? The Association of British Insurers (ABI) which is a lobbying organisation for the insurance industry has published standard definitions for the 23 illnesses most commonly covered by insurance companies (conditions such as Cancer, Stroke, Heart Attack, Multiple Sclerosis, Aorta graft Surgery, Blindness, Deafness, Parkinsons, Alzheimers Disease, Kidney & Liver failure) - as well as the policy exclusions often used.
The ‘key’ is selecting the right policy - some insurers offer far more comprehensive cover than others. Here are some points to consider:
Coming back to my friend mentioned at the beginning of this article. She finished the conversation by saying that she had a critical illness policy she'd completely forgotten about (she'd taken out the insurance years ago when she first got married). Last month she received a cheque from the insurer which she has used to pay off the mortgage. A nice ending to what could have been a far more tragic story.
There is help at hand to protect you from financial hardship and it comes in the form of an insurance policy. Critical illness cover would provide you with a lump sum in the event you develop cancer or any other critical illness. You usually have to survive for at least fourteen days before the policy would payout. If you have such a policy, it may be wise to examine the detail and make certain it provides comprehensive cover, particularly relating to cancer. If you've not heard of this insurance or never had the inclination of taking any out, then hopefully you will find this article beneficial.
The monthly premiums are dependent on your age, sex, medical history, health, whether one smokes, occupation and the amount of cover and term of policy required.
Would you be surprised to know that the most common critical illness claimed for is cancer? The Association of British Insurers (ABI) which is a lobbying organisation for the insurance industry has published standard definitions for the 23 illnesses most commonly covered by insurance companies (conditions such as Cancer, Stroke, Heart Attack, Multiple Sclerosis, Aorta graft Surgery, Blindness, Deafness, Parkinsons, Alzheimers Disease, Kidney & Liver failure) - as well as the policy exclusions often used.
The ‘key’ is selecting the right policy - some insurers offer far more comprehensive cover than others. Here are some points to consider:
- Does the policy at least meet the ABI minimum standards? For example, the definition of cancer should be “any malignant tumour positively diagnosed with histological confirmation and characterised by the uncontrolled growth of malignant cells and invasion of tissue. The term malignant tumour includes leukaemia, lymphoma and sarcoma”.
- What are the exclusions? Exclusions for cancer include the less advanced cases, pre-malignant, non-invasive, cancer in situ or borderline/low malignancy. Also certain prostate cancers, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and skin cancers can also excluded. (Refer to the ABI Statement of Best Practice for Critical Illness Cover - www.abi.org.uk for further information).
- In view of the exclusions on cancer, does your policy offer more extensive cover for breast and prostate cancer?
- With 46,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year that means that 1 in 9 women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives (Source: National Statistic website www.statistics.gov.uk – Oct 07). The issue with breast cancer is that about 30% of tumours are carcinoma in situ i.e. at a very early stage of the disease before it has become invasive and would therefore be excluded under the cancer definition. Does your policy offer mastectomy cover?
- Prostrate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer and there are 31,000 cases diagnosed annually. Does your policy cover this?
- Does the policy cover your children and will it payout in the event that you die?
Coming back to my friend mentioned at the beginning of this article. She finished the conversation by saying that she had a critical illness policy she'd completely forgotten about (she'd taken out the insurance years ago when she first got married). Last month she received a cheque from the insurer which she has used to pay off the mortgage. A nice ending to what could have been a far more tragic story.
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