Answer library
Supplemental Insurance
Cash-benefit policies that fill the gaps your medical plan leaves.
Why supplemental insurance
- Supplemental insurance can pay a cash benefit to you and help protect you financially.
- Health insurance isn’t enough, especially if you have a high-deductible plan.
- Illness and medical bills contributed to more than 62% of all bankruptcies.
- Of those filing bankruptcy, almost 78% had health insurance (Harvard, “Medical Bankruptcy in the United States, 2007,” The American Journal of Medicine).
- 42% of Americans say they live paycheck to paycheck (2010 CareerBuilder survey).
Cancer insurance
- Cancer insurance complements your medical and disability income coverage.
- Eases the financial impact of a cancer diagnosis by providing a lump-sum benefit to help pay additional expenses.
- Thanks to advancements in modern medicine, chances of recovery from cancer have greatly improved.
- The lump sum can be used to pay deductibles, or normal living expenses like mortgage/rent and utility bills — “It’s your money … you decide how to spend it!”
- Nearly 78% of all cancers are diagnosed in people 55 years and older.
- Cancer is the second leading cause of death, behind heart disease.
- 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women develop cancer in their lifetime.
- Common financial problems for cancer patients (Livestrong survey, 2015):
- 64% made financial sacrifices
- 59% used retirement or other savings
- 39% could not cover the costs of care
- 32% borrowed money or went into debt
- 66% worried about their future finances
- Stand Up To Cancer — get involved
Critical illness, heart attack, stroke
- Critical illness insurance complements your medical and disability income coverage.
- Eases the financial impact of a critical illness with a lump-sum benefit.
- Most medical plans don’t cover everything — medical co-pays, deductibles, and home help can remain.
- Every 40 seconds someone has a stroke; 79% of patients survive; the average out-of-pocket cost for stroke is $23,380.
- In the U.S. a heart attack occurs every 43 seconds; 84% of patients survive; the average out-of-pocket cost is $21,955.
- Cardiovascular disease is the leading global cause of death, claiming more lives each year than all forms of cancer combined.
- The average cost of a severe heart attack (direct and indirect) is about $1 million.
- Policy features:
- A lump-sum benefit to use as you see fit — medical expenses, mortgage, car payments, help around the house, experimental treatments, or even a vacation
- Coverage that can go with you if you leave your employer
- Critical illness costs cause more than 60% of all bankruptcies; 78% had health insurance; the average medical bankruptcy is under $15,000.
Accident insurance
- Helps handle the medical and out-of-pocket costs that add up after an accidental injury — emergency treatment, hospital stays, medical exams, transportation, and lodging.
- 1 in 8 people seek medical attention from an injury each year.
- 67% of all emergency room visits are injury related.
- Cost of a broken leg (costhelper.com):
- Without health insurance, non-surgical treatment typically costs up to $2,500 or more for a fracture that requires a cast
- $210 leg X-ray on average (NewChoiceHealth.com), but as much as $1,000+ at some radiology centers
- $221–$238 for application of a short or long leg cast
- $90–$200 typical doctor fee for non-surgical fracture office visit
- $250–$950 for treatment (Carolina Orthopedic Surgery Associates)
- Indirect costs: time off work, additional help at the house, transportation
Hospital confinement
- Even with health insurance, hospital stays can be expensive.
- Hospital confinement indemnity insurance can help pay for things like deductibles, transportation, and rehabilitation costs that would usually come out of your pocket.
- Key features:
- Benefits can be based on days spent in a hospital, outpatient/inpatient surgery, emergency room, and rehab — depending on the plan’s design
- Lump-sum benefits are paid directly to you to spend as you want
- Help with out-of-pocket expenses that may not be fully covered by health insurance
- Benefits paid regardless of any other insurance you have
- Spend benefits on what you need — coinsurance, lodging, child care
- The average hospital stay is 4.9 days.
- The average cost of a hospital stay has doubled.
Disability insurance
- Disability insurance (income protection) insures your earned income against the risk that a disability keeps you from working — due to injury, illness, or a condition causing physical impairment.
- About 90% of disabling injuries and illnesses are not work-related — which means Worker’s Compensation does not cover them.
- 1 in 4 Americans in the workforce today will suffer a disabling injury before they retire.
- How much: the rule of thumb is that men spend 1–3% and women 2–4% of income on premiums to cover up to approximately 70% of pretax income.
- Elimination period options: most plans offer 14, 30, 60, or 90 days; the longer you’re willing to wait for benefits, the cheaper the premiums.
- Benefit duration: most plans offer at least 12-month and 24-month options; if the disability is serious, you must be disabled at least 24 months before you can get Social Security disability benefits.
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