Do we require critical illness or ECI above 65 years of age if we are doing our own investing now? Will a disability income policy overlap critical illness policy needs?

Hi Anon,

That is a very good question and Elijah has answered very clearly. I think it's not a matter of whether you require it or not, as in regards to critical illness, it's more about the 'what if' it happens, what then? Will we want to use whatever we have gained from our investments and channel them to our treatments, or would we rather have insurance to provide us the resources for our treatments then.

There is no right or wrong answer, it's just what makes the best sense to you

Hi anon,

If a CI strikes, you will definite want to have the financial resources at hand to deal with the costs involved.

So you should ask yourself if you will be ready. And more often that not, most people will need a little more than what they have in their bank accounts. Even if you have amassed a large amount in your accounts, having extra money pumped in (thus delaying or even avoiding drawing down your assets) will definitely be helpful. Insurance is designed to put in your hands a sum of money when you need the most.

If your ideal of raising funds was via liquidation of assets, I will caution that sometimes, Murphy's law strikes and everything goes wrong at almost the same time. Your portfolio could be down 30%-50% in a crash...and then cancer comes knocking at the door. Is this a situation where you want to liquidate your holdings? Contrast this to an insurance policy, whereby the funds will be made available, regardless of market conditions.

Regarding the overlap, there might be some degree of overlap. Disability income is meant to restore your income to a certain level if you were unable to work at your current job due to illness, etc. Critical illness payouts are lump sum payouts. It is possible that critical illness might lead to temporary inability to work at your job (you'll get to claim both), but it is also possible that a disability prevents you from working at your job, but it is not a covered critical illness (you'll only get to claim one).