Why is Early Critical Illness needed?

Early Critical Illness vs Major Critical Illness

Generally, early critical illness and major critical illness differs in the severity of the medical condition itself. Let's take Heart Attack of Specified Severity for example. Here is part of the definition for:

*Early Stage: Insertion of a permanent cardiac pacemaker that is required as a result of serious cardiac arrhythmia which cannot be treated via other means.

*Major Stage: Death of heart muscle due to obstruction of blood flow, that is evident by at least three criteria proving t he occurrence of a new heart attack.

*Disclaimer: Refer to policy contract for full details.

According to a resource from Singapore General Hospital,

"You will need long term follow up. Initially you will be seen at 4 to 6 week intervals to check the pacemaker is functioning as intended. If there are no

problems, the follow up interval may be lengthened to every 3 months or more."

Cost Involved

MediShield Life or Private Integrated Shield Plan may cover the inpatient hospitalisation bill, as well as pre- and post- hospitalisation for a stipulated period of time. In the industry, AIA Singapore gives the highest pre- and post-hospitalisation coverage of up to 13 months for treatment via AIA Preferred Providers.

Even with such extensive coverage, it is barely sufficient to cover the lifetime worth of follow-up cost.

More Details:

Is MediShield Life enough in Singapore?

Is Integrated Shield Plan necessary in Singapore?

Will work be affected?

Honestly, it is difficult to say as everyone's body is different. For the most part, we all want to stay healthy and assumed that recovery is as simple as it seem in reading or on television.

However, reality often differs. For instance, what if you are suddenly unwell and cannot cope with the condition? Will you need to take time off work?

In case you are wondering, all these are from my years of experience after doing so many claims for my clients throughout my entire career. From the moment I did my first critical illness claim, I hope I never have to deal with it again.

Furthermore, your income will always be lesser than what it should be since part of your earnings is used to pay for your medical bill to keep you safe.

Besides, we haven't discussed on the long term repercussions associated with such medical conditions.

Is it worth it?

Yes, cost for early stage critical illness coverage is more expensive than coverage for major critical illness alone. This is because of a number of factors, e.g.

• Number of covered conditions (LIA has a guideline to cover 37 major critical illness conditions, AIA covers 43 major critical illness conditions and a total of 175 when we include early critical illness)

• Probability of occurrence / detection

• Claim experience

• Definition for payout

For this purpose, the key question will always to be able to find one that brings the right value.

By far, all my clients prefer to have critical illness coverage with a broader definition for payout, as compared to one with complicated terms and conditions. This is because all my clients prefer to focus on recovery, rather than to fight the technical jargons.

Hence, you may wish to research along the same path as well.

How much coverage should I have?

Before we look into how much coverage we should get, one of the most important things to do is to have a complete understanding of your existing insurance portfolio. Through this process, it allows us to understand the coverage that we have, any financial gap, as well as to find out whether we are overpaying for our insurance policies.

Key Reasons:

Why Every Client needs an Insurance Policy Summary

How much insurance coverage should You have?

As a general rule,

10% to 20% of your annual income on healthcare insurance and life insurance

Basic Life Cover = 10 times your annual income

Critical Illness Coverage = 5 times your annual income

More Details:

Understanding Your Personal Cash Flow

All things considered, you should speak with an experienced consultant who is able to give you the right advice based on real-life encounters. This will definitely help you to make an informed decision. Ultimately, it is your life and you will pay for it either via an insurance company or only from your own pocket.

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Hi Kelvin, where you find this information? Anyways I jus wanna check in cases of your ECI but u didn't stay hospital so does that means that there will be no coverage ?

Hi Kel Vin,

Hospitalization plans (current ones) cover part (not all) your hospital bill and follow up treatments up till 13 months after your discharge.

However, an early critical illness may not mean that you recover in 13 months. There's no guarantee. And having funds available will give you an option not to return to work for a while and focus on recovery.

A cardiac pacemaker insertion would be considered an early critical illness. The recovery time frame could be anywhere from weeks to a few months. If you are employed, there's still a limit on the amount of hospitalization leave that you can claim. If you are self employed, then the payout will be even more important to ensure that you have funds to sustain yourself while before you fully recover.

I strongly disagree. If you have met people with ECI, they are in no condition to work mentally and fully. I have clients who walk the same road as you until they experience ECI. As usual, they regret not getting it. The need is much less than CI, but having some is better than none.