The Ultimate Guide to Getting Critical Illness Insurance in the UAE
Nitin Goryani, Life Insurance Expert
Life Insurance Expert & Personal Financial Advisor
When you’re living life in the fast lane, it’s quite common to overlook some critical aspects of your financial security.
By financial security here, I’m referring to the unfavorable event of a critical illness or permanent disability that can completely derail your family and future.
“Is my family ready to cope financially, in case I’m not able to earn a living, due to a critical illness?”
How many times has that thought occurred to you?
No matter what answer you have for the above question, it’s something worth pondering about.
As your financial advisor, I understand it may not be the most pleasant thought that occurs to you, but that’s the undeniable truth.
Can your family meet the cost of living, pay all bills & mortgages in case you’re diagnosed with any major critical illness or permanent total disability?
This is an important question to ask, and being a responsible breadwinner for your family, it’s incumbent upon you to seek solutions that will provide ease during unforeseeable times.
In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about getting critical illness insurance in the UAE, and how to get started with it.
What is Critical Illness Insurance?
Critical illness insurance or living benefit cover, (also known as critical illness cover or dread disease policy) is an insurance policy that compensates you with a lump sum payment, in case you’re diagnosed with a critical illness that’s listed in your policy.
What’s worth noting is that health insurance only covers the cost of your treatment and medications up to the limit of your policy.
Critical illness cover, on the other hand, not only protects you against financial losses arising from loss of income, but also enables you to continue the required treatment and pay for your recurring medical bills.
So, if you suffer from any of the illnesses mentioned in your policy, your insurance company will pay out a tax-free, one-off lump sum amount.
This claims payment relieves the whole family from financial burden that can multiply the amount of stress on you and them. It’s extremely useful to pay for your house mortgage, bank loans, rent, or alterations to your home, such as wheelchair access, in case you require it.
Having said certain policies also allows add riders like Hospitalization cost benefit, waiver of premium benefit, additional cover for lifetime total disability
Your financial advisor would be the right person to discuss this with.
Now that you know what critical illness cover is, it’s time to understand why you need it.
Why should you get critical illness insurance in the UAE?
People die of heart attacks younger in UAE than rest of the world (Source: Gulf News)
That headline itself speaks volumes about the need to get insured before it’s too late.
In another news, Zurich, one of world’s leading insurance providers just released its 2019 Customer Benefits Paid Report.
It has answers to why every individual needs to get insured as soon as possible, based on the key health risks in the Middle East.
The most important takeaways that may concern you are as follows:
- Cancer & Heart attack are the 2 main health threats in the Middle East
- Heart disease is more prevalent among men affecting 56% of male critical illness claimants.
- Cancer is the primary concern for women making up 81% of female critical illness customer benefits paid.
The team at Zurich also compiled some testimonials from clients who received their claims payment.
You can watch the videos here.
What ailments are covered under Critical Illness Insurance Plans in the UAE?
As per Zurich ME, some of the top critical illnesses that can be covered are:
- Alzheimer’s disease;
- Aorta graft surgery;
- Aplastic anemia;
- Bacterial meningitis;
- Benign brain tumour;
- Blindness;
- Cancer;
- Cardiomyopathy;
- Coma;
- Coronary artery bypass;
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease;
- Deafness;
- Encephalitis;
- Heart attack;
- Heart valve replacement or repair;
- HIV infection;
- Kidney failure;
- Liver failure;
- Loss of hands or feet;
- Loss of independence;
- Loss of speech;
- Major organ transplant;
- Major neuron disease;
- Multiple sclerosis.
If you have any specific requirements, feel free to get in touch with me to create a customized plan.
How does Critical Illness Insurance work?
The first step in getting critically insured is to set up a meeting with your financial advisor.
This is a crucial part of starting the process, because your financial planner will assess your current financial health and accordingly propose something that’s suited for you.
That’s why, you have to be very transparent about your finances and health problems, so that the policy benefits you aptly.
Once you’ve set up the meeting, you’ll understand that most critical illness insurance policies come with a list of illnesses that will be covered.
Each listed illness will specify the criteria that makes you eligible to qualify for a payout.
You should, therefore, review the Key feature document & Critical illness guide, to understand the finer details of the policy.
Run it through your financial advisor to get his/her expert opinion on the policy before signing up.
Most of the international insurance providers like Zurich and Metlife Alico offer policies that cover up to 35 critical illnesses.
These plans are flexible, and therefore remove the element of worry in case you plan to go back home.
Note: Not all critical illness policies are the same, because different individuals have different life experiences.
To help you understand these variations, I’ve listed down the broad factors that affect the price of your critical illness policy:
- The amount of lump sum cover you’d like to receive;
- Your age and gender;
- Your health conditions and any existing ailments
- Your smoking habits
- The period of cover: Number of years or whole life.
- Any additional riders you’d like to take on. For example, additional total permanent disability cover, hospitalization benefit, dismemberment benefit, waiver of premium etc.
All the above factors will be considered by the insurance company before issuing the policy.
Conclusion:
The minimum age to get critical illness insurance is 18, while the maximum age is 59, so make sure you apply for it while you’re young and healthy.
Your ultimate purpose is to live life to the fullest, and insurance makes it easier to do so by acting as a contingency in times of peril.
I’m Nitin Goryani, your trusted and certified financial advisor in Dubai.
Contact me today to achieve total financial freedom and live the life of your dreams.
Call me on: +971 55 9088535
Email: reachme@nitingoryani.com
