Critical illness insurance is more comprehensive life insurance. The cost of having one of these ailments can be thousands of euros, money that these policies help you to face so that you only have to worry about your health.
Half of men and 1 in 3 women will have cancer throughout their lives, according to a report by the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC). In 2019 alone, 275,562 new cases were diagnosed. However, diseases of the circulatory system, such as heart attacks, are the ones that cause the most deaths among Spaniards, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). In short, we are talking about serious ailments that, even if they are not fatal, involve a long and hard process for thousands of Spaniards each year. And, unfortunately, also a huge financial cost.
How much does it cost to suffer from cancer in Spain?
Cancer is one of the conditions about which there is more information. According to the AECC study, it is an ailment that costs Spanish society some 19,300 million euros each year. Although the part is paid for with public money, 45% is paid for by patients and their families. For example, localized lung cancer costs a person about 63,000 euros in total. In the case of breast cancer, the average cost is around 59,000 euros.
In addition, according to this same study, people who suffer from cancer lose a large part of their monthly income. This can happen for many reasons: for example, if they have to request a reduction in working hours or if they are granted a work incapacity. 30% of patients lose about 300 euros per month, but 4 out of 10 lose between 800 and 1,500 euros. Similarly, in many cases, there is a family member who stops working to care for the patient, so that the drop in their monthly income exceeds, in 8 out of 10 cases, 300 euros per month.
A serious condition can not only force you to stop working, but it also entails additional costs: pharmacy, travel, work on the home to adapt it to the patient… For example, a woman with breast cancer can pay between 700 and 3,000 euros just at a pharmacy. And a person with bladder cancer assumes, in most cases, between 350 and 750 euros just for medicines.
Can life insurance help me if I have a serious illness?
Life insurance covers death from any cause, whether due to a serious illness (cancer, heart attack…) or for another reason. If you take out one of these policies and get sick, your beneficiaries will receive the compensation money if you die. Its objective is that your loved ones can maintain a certain standard of living when you are gone, and they do not have to worry about money.
However, to be truly protected against the possibility of having cancer or a heart attack, the most recommended is serious illness insurance. As we have already said, a condition such as cancer can not only be fatal but also entails an enormous financial cost for the patient and their families. What if the disease does not allow you to work? What if your partner leaves his job to help you? The expense that it entails for a person can leave them in a very difficult situation, which they will have to face when they are recovered.
What is critical illness insurance?
The possibility of suffering from one of these ailments is, unfortunately, very real. But luckily, the chances of overcoming it are also very high. Therefore, we must think about what economic situation we want to have when we recover. Treatment is already a very hard process; it is unfair to have to worry about how much money you will have when you heal. To avoid this, there is serious illness insurance.
These policies work like traditional life insurance credit policies but are more comprehensive. If you are diagnosed with a serious ailment, you will receive compensation so that you can meet the costs of treatment and medical costs. In addition, they include many other features. Each company adds different coverage, but they usually also include 24-hour medical assistance, second medical opinion, travel assistance, burial expenses… The fastest way is to go to our comparator and check what each company offers you, to choose the option that best suits you. Convince.
What illnesses does it cover?
In general, these policies include all illnesses or medical situations that can be considered severe: cancer, kidney failure, transplants, cerebrovascular accidents (for example, stroke), myocardial infarction … Each company details which specific illnesses are covered by their policies, so you can consult and compare between them.
How does critical illness insurance work?
Critical illness insurance is doubly useful.
- If you are diagnosed with a serious ailment, the compensation will allow you to face the medical expenses so that you and your loved ones can focus on recovery. Keep in mind that the disease must be diagnosed after taking out the policy. If you have it before and you lie to the company, it will not be obliged to compensate you when the time comes. After diagnosis and payment, the policy ends.
- If you die for any reason ( a car accident, for example ), the compensation would be received by your beneficiaries. In the event that death is due to serious illness, keep in mind that the policy would have already paid you and expired.
However, there are various modalities, and it all depends on which one you hire. For example, there are insurances for serious illnesses that advance you apart after the diagnosis, with which there is still money left in case you die.
Choose the option that best suits you.
There is no perfect insurance, but there is the perfect one for you. Therefore, our best advice is to choose what is most important and choose the coverage and conditions that best suit your needs. From our platform, you can choose up to 4 policies and compare what they offer you: price, coverage, requirements…
Serious illness insurance is a guarantee of peace of mind. Thousands of people suffer from one of them every year and assume a high price for their health. Trust the specialists to protect your economy and yours. Do you join?
