Although no one wants to detect serious illnesses, the environment and our daily lifestyle today may constantly lead to severe illnesses. Apart from deteriorating health, it may also impact our accumulated wealth. Being prepared to cope at all times may be a way to help reduce financial risks. Today, we would like to introduce everyone to ways to protect against financial risks with 'critical illness insurance'.
Before we learn how to protect financial risks with critical illness insurance, let's look at the risk of death from severe illness and future risk prediction information together.
Statistics of deaths from serious diseases
Data from the World Health Organization indicates that 'cancer' remains the leading cause of death worldwide, especially prevalent in the group of 'low to middle-income countries’, accounting for 70 per cent of global deaths, with a continuous upward trend. This means that if Thailand is in an economic downturn, it will directly impact the quality of life and well-being. We may be at a higher risk of dying from cancer as well if we do not have financial reserves to improve our quality of life.
According to the Department of Medical Services in Thailand, statistics reveal that in the year 2566, there were 140,000 new cases of cancer patients per year or 400 people per day. Moreover, it is essential to note that the rate of cancer occurrence in young people has increased due to unhealthy eating habits, accounting for 30-40%. This has caused a majority of people to worry about the increasing prevalence of cancer in the future.
Trends of severe diseases in the future
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that from the year 2024 onwards, there will be over 20 million new cancer cases globally per year, and predicts that by 2030, there will be up to 13 million deaths from cancer worldwide annually if every country does not have effective disease prevention and control measures in place.
But we can constantly observe ourselves, whether we have symptoms that may pose a risk of detecting serious illnesses or not, so we can treat them in time and reduce the risk of death. Let's try to check ourselves preliminarily with the methods we provide.
How to quickly check your symptoms to see if you are at risk of a severe illness or not
1. Feel weak, unable to take a step, sweating, and cold.
If you have ever experienced frequent thirst and frequent urination, but not due to alcohol consumption, it may be diabetes. Although the number of deaths from diabetes is not high, the number of deaths from complications is not insignificant, such as hardened arteries, stroke, and heart disease.
2. Dizziness while riding in the car, dizzy, had to stand and hold on to the railing.
If you have had symptoms of iron-deficiency anaemia before, such as blood loss through menstruation, during pregnancy, blood in the digestive tract, or chronic diarrhoea, the patient may have pale skin, dizziness, palpitations, easy fatigue, and cracked corners of the mouth. Prevention can be done, but the cause of the blood loss must be identified and treated accordingly. The doctor may provide iron supplements for long-term consumption. At the same time, it is advisable to choose foods high in iron content, such as liver, red eggs, dried fish, spinach, etc.
However, checking these symptoms is just a preliminary step. We should regularly check our health and prepare financially for potentially high expenses if a severe illness is detected. Let’s start planning our finances today.
Impact on expenses when a severe illness is detected
When a severe illness is detected, the subsequent consequences are high risks in terms of medical treatment expenses and various other costs. The Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, specifies that the cost of treating cancer ranges from approximately 250,000 to 8,500,000 baht for each treatment process.
If we do not set aside money for these expenses, it could impact our savings and our families. Future healthcare costs may continue to rise along with inflation, and they could be expensive based on the treatment steps for specific illnesses.
In addition, if we want to receive the best treatment with new medical treatment technologies to have a chance of curing various serious illnesses, it will inevitably incur much higher costs than before.
From the above information, it is evident that the expenses related to severe illnesses are very high. However, everyone should not worry. There are various ways to plan for these expenses. First, check the primary social insurance coverage together to see if it can cover the risks of severe illness expenses and what conditions are involved. This will help us consider and choose suitable and cost-effective critical illness insurance.
Does Social Security cover the treatment of severe illnesses?
Social security benefits cover medical expenses and medical services for both outpatients and inpatients with serious illnesses, but the benefits depend on the disease and treatment conditions specified by social security.
● Covered 26 chronic diseases include diabetes, hypertension, chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, congestive heart failure, stroke, cancer, immunodeficiency, emphysema, chronic kidney disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, hyperlipidemia, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma, lupus, haemophilia, tuberculosis, thalassemia, hemochromatosis, psoriasis, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, and toxic thyroid adenoma. It covers both medical treatment costs and medical services.
● Cancer can be treated for free according to the specified guidelines until the end of treatment. 20 types of cancer can be treated under this right, including breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, oesophagal cancer, liver cancer, bladder cancer, testicular cancer, stomach cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in adults, prostate cancer in adults, acute promyelocytic leukaemia in adults, chronic myeloid leukaemia in adults, osteosarcoma in adults, and childhood cancer.
However, in cases where treatment according to the specified guidelines is not possible and treatment with cancer treatment drugs and/or chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy is necessary, medical expenses can be reimbursed up to the actual payment, not exceeding 50,000 Baht per person per year.
- In 2024, treatment rights for 3 groups are added, including 1. Bone marrow transplantation 2. Receiving treatment through surgery for 5 diseases 3. Treatment for sleep apnea
● Diseases and medical services that are not covered by the treatment entitlement include diseases or illnesses that are caused by substance abuse, diseases that require hospitalisation for more than 180 days in a year, renal replacement therapy in cases of chronic kidney failure that are not end-stage, any cosmetic procedures without medical reasons, ongoing investigational treatments, infertility treatments, unnecessary tissue biopsies, any surgeries or examinations beyond what is necessary for the treatment of the disease, organ transplants, gender reassignment surgeries, surrogacy, services provided during a rest and recovery program, dental care, and eyeglasses.
From the social security benefits we mentioned earlier, although we can use the right to receive treatment for various serious illnesses, there are still limitations on the types of illnesses and other expenses. We have no way of knowing which illnesses or treatment conditions may not meet social security criteria. Therefore, having "critical illness insurance" is a way to protect against financial risks and provide more peace of mind regarding expenses.
What is critical illness insurance?
Insurance is designed to provide coverage if the insured person is diagnosed with a severe illness as specified in the policy. If the disease is detected while the policy is still in force, the insurance company will pay a lump sum for the insured person to use for medical treatment or other expenses incurred during the treatment.
We should do this when we have suitable physical health to avoid being denied. Because if a severe illness is found early, some insurance companies may be unable to provide coverage. Today, we have a technique to choose to buy critical illness insurance to share.
Techniques for Choosing Critical Illness Insurance
● Age of Insurance Coverage: Choose an insurance policy with an age of coverage that is suitable for the insured’s age and can extend the coverage period for as long as possible. This will help provide long-term protection against serious illnesses without having to bear the risk yourself.
● Coverage Amount: Choose from coverage amounts per year. The minimum should be around 3 million baht or more to cover general medical expenses and serious illnesses. Insurance coverage of severe illnesses should focus on receiving a lump sum payment upon diagnosis for medication or new treatments that improve healthcare quality and other expenses, with an extended coverage period, such as coverage until age 99.
● The insurance premium is at an affordable level. Health and critical illness insurance premiums will gradually increase with age. Therefore, we need to assess our ability to pay long-term premiums. If we cannot pay the premiums throughout the policy term, it will affect the coverage and benefits we receive. Starting a new health and critical illness insurance policy may result in changes to our health that are different from when we first started, making it difficult to obtain a new policy or require higher premiums.
● A financially stable insurance company. It is essential to consider the insurance company’s income, expenses, profits, and financial stability. It is crucial to assess whether the company has good financial flexibility. One key aspect to consider is the solvency ratio of the fund, which should be at least 140%. Additionally, choosing insurance from companies that have not had issues with paying claims is advisable.
However, treating serious illnesses always comes with significant expenses, and we never know when misfortune will strike. Simply saving money in the usual way may not cover these costs. Therefore, preparing financially for medical expenses with critical illness insurance is one way to provide peace of mind for our financial well-being.