Do you have critical illness insurance?

[Martinus]

so it's like a Hep C lottery?

Yes, essentially.

Only that they do not cover hep C and only cover HIV if it is through blood transfussion so I'm fucked either way.

[Martinus]

And that's not so different, philosophically speaking, than life insurance, only that instead of your family getting a paycheck on your death you get one on the death of your liver.

[HVC]

so it's like a Hep C lottery?

Yes, essentially.

Only that they do not cover hep C and only cover HIV if it is through blood transfussion so I'm fucked either way.

get regular blood transfusions. Trick the system!

[HVC]

and 150 a month isn't bad, considering your current expenses and pay. if it buys you peace of mind then that's a added bonus.

[viper37]

i don't get the point of the insurance, really. i guess insurance companies needed a new revenue stream. i blame dguller

weak sociliast medicine in Europe and Canada & overinflated costs of health care in the US.

#1: Presumably, you want to live.  You don't want to die waiting for surgery, chimiotherapy.  Not everybody has 25-30k$ lying in their bank account.  This type of insurance gives you 100-200k$ (and more) so you can circumvent the waiting lists and go where you'll be treated.  If you don't live in a big city, you have to relocate for your treatment or pay expensive medications that most certainly won't be covered by the public insurance, so you need cash to pay for this EPO at 600$ a dose twice a week.  If you already have private insurance, you're probably already covered though, so they lose some validity.

#2: Insurance don't pay for everything, and never pay for 100% of the costs (franchise).  If they set the franchise at 20% and it costs you 100 000$, having some money to pay the franchise is nice.  Also, it may be a way to avoid being shipped to India for your heart surgery.

[viper37]

Well there is that.  But with disability insurance you get covered for the whole period of disability.  This is a one shot payment that may or may not be adequate.  So the lottery analogy works in a number of ways.

you may not have disability insurance.  Lots of people don't have these.  And they are tied to your work, so if you lose your job or you retire, you get 0 benefits.  Yet, you may have costs to incur.

[Zanza]

There are no waiting lists for life threating treatments here and I've never heard about a "franchise" system. Our public health insurance pays 100% of expensive stuff. You only have to pay for cheap day-to-day stuff yourself. So based on that, I still don't see the point of this kind of insurance. I find Marty's argument regarding having to pay a mortgage more compelling.

[crazy canuck]

Well there is that.  But with disability insurance you get covered for the whole period of disability.  This is a one shot payment that may or may not be adequate.  So the lottery analogy works in a number of ways.

you may not have disability insurance.  Lots of people don't have these.  And they are tied to your work, so if you lose your job or you retire, you get 0 benefits.  Yet, you may have costs to incur.

None of that explains why Marti might do it.

[Monoriu]

I will never buy this kind of insurance.

I am an office worker.  I basically do not require any physical labour, unlike many jobs out there.  And my job isn't customer-facing.  The chance of me not being able to work due to an illness is lower than average.  So if I buy the insurance, I will be subsidising other folks. 

There is free and universal health care in HK.  If I have a problem, I can attempt to fix it. 

The payout isn't much, and is notoriously difficult to get. 

[Zanza]

I will never buy this kind of insurance.

I am an office worker.  I basically do not require any physical labour, unlike many jobs out there.  And my job isn't customer-facing.  The chance of me not being able to work due to an illness is lower than average.  So if I buy the insurance, I will be subsidising other folks. 

At least over here, long-term disability insurance obviously takes into consideration what kind of job you have. So you would get the standard rate for office workers, not the one shared with manual laborers.

[mongers]

If criticism was an illness, Marty wouldn't be able to afford the premiums.

[Monoriu]

I will never buy this kind of insurance.

I am an office worker.  I basically do not require any physical labour, unlike many jobs out there.  And my job isn't customer-facing.  The chance of me not being able to work due to an illness is lower than average.  So if I buy the insurance, I will be subsidising other folks. 

At least over here, long-term disability insurance obviously takes into consideration what kind of job you have. So you would get the standard rate for office workers, not the one shared with manual laborers.

Over here, critical illness insurance usually isn't sold separately.  It is usually bundled with life insurance, which is reasonably popular.  My wife and I pledged to each other that we will never buy life insurance. 

[Grey Fox]

I will never buy this kind of insurance.

I am an office worker.  I basically do not require any physical labour, unlike many jobs out there.  And my job isn't customer-facing.  The chance of me not being able to work due to an illness is lower than average.  So if I buy the insurance, I will be subsidising other folks. 

At least over here, long-term disability insurance obviously takes into consideration what kind of job you have. So you would get the standard rate for office workers, not the one shared with manual laborers.

Over here, critical illness insurance usually isn't sold separately.  It is usually bundled with life insurance, which is reasonably popular.  My wife and I pledged to each other that we will never buy life insurance.

I admire your courage.

[Monoriu]

I admire your courage.

This isn't courage.  It is a sign of love.   

[Grey Fox]

No, it's courage.

When you croak on that treadmill of yours. She'll be left with only savings & a mortgage she can't afford.

Courage.