Getting back On Track

No one likes to think about illness but the unfortunate reality is you, or someone close to you, is likely to be critically ill at some stage. ¹

For example research showed cancer and cardiovascular disease to be the two leading causes of the burden of disease in Australia.²

How would your family cope financially if something like either of those were to happen to you?

Help is at hand

However, Critical Illness insurance can help get your life back on track for around $2 per day. ³

MLC Critical Illness insurance also now offers you and your family⁴ the additional benefit of exclusive access to the medical advice service offered by Best Doctors^® (see box).

An expert view

In a recent article⁵, Stephen Mitchell of Canstar Cannex, the independent financial analysts, wrote, “Even though adequate life insurance cover is crucial, Critical Illness insurance is possibly even more important, as most people find that just recovering from a serious illness or accident causes a huge burden.

Apart from initial hospitalisation, there are likely to be several complicated financial issues to deal with such as ongoing treatment, at-home care, equipment and maybe even home modifications.

Regional patients also have the added cost of travel and accommodation on top of everything else.

A serious illness usually means months off work, drastically reducing the amount of money coming in. This is further exacerbated by a partner taking time off work to act as a carer during convalescence or a holiday.”

The possible cost to you

Recent research by Newspoll⁵ shows that a critical illness means you might have to:

• face major costs for medical treatment and rehabilitation, which may mean you have to
• use up your savings, or
• sell your family home.

Not a pretty picture.

If you have a family, you already know it’s the most precious thing you have and worth very special care.

1. NATSEM, Health and Income in Australia, 2003.
2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, The burden of disease and injury in Australia, 2003.
3. Based on a male, non-smoker, aged 37, purchasing $200,000 of MLC Critical Illness Plus cover as an extension to Life Cover on a level premium.
4. Family means you (as the insured), your spouse and any dependent children.
5. Banking + Finance Magazine, October 2009.
6. Newspoll, August 2009.

Article sourced from MLC