Do you have critical illness insurance?

[Martinus]

Just to be clear, I am not talking about health insurance (i.e. insurance which covers medical costs of treatment), or life insurance (i.e. insurance paid to your family if you die), but insurance that provides for a certain lump sum being paid to you if you get one of the critical illnesses (e.g. cancer, heart disease, MS, internal organ failure, blindness etc.).

I am considering getting one but was wondering how popular it is and what to look out for (a lot of the ones I reviewed have some broad exemptions, e.g. "anything caused by radiation or poison" (not just as a result of a catastrophe) and the like).

[Grey Fox]

I don't think so.

One can only have so many insurances.

Also you put away 25% of your income, are you really telling me that isn't enough to cover your expense if you catch cancer?

[Brazen]

I used to when I was self-employed. They're notoriously difficult to get payouts from, though. You pretty much have to have proof of screening for pre-existing conditions.

[Monoriu]

No. 

[viper37]

I am considering getting one but was wondering how popular it is and what to look out for (a lot of the ones I reviewed have some broad exemptions, e.g. "anything caused by radiation or poison" (not just as a result of a catastrophe) and the like).

I got 2.  I don't have any invalidity insurance (too many speeding tickets for one company, too fat for the other one), so I compensate with these 2.
I should have enough money to be treated in the US if it comes to that.

What you should look for is what is covers and what it doesn't cover.  That's the first part.  They don't cover 100% of your risk, you have to assume some yourself.  You have to be comfortable with the level of risks you assume.

Second, watch for the diagnostic they ask.  Some ask diagnostic by one doctor, others will require 2-3 doctors to validate your illness and will ask for more tests of their own.

Third, watch the extras.  Mine comes with a hotline where I can get medical information on my disease, and assistance to find the best doctors in their field to cure me.

Fourth: price.  Yeah, it comes last.  Determine what you need and what level of risk you agree to take, than look at the price, and weight if it's worth it.  Sometimes, a good invalidity insurance can be better.  Here, in Quebec, with our shitty health care system, I'd prefer to have the opportunity to get treated abroad if I have cancer rather than wait to die.  But it's always up to you.


P.S.  I forgot the most important part, reading Brazen...  You got to make sure they test you before they give you the insurance, so as to avoid any claim of pre-existing condition.

[Barrister]

It's called long-term disability insurance, and yes I have it.

[Martinus]

It's called long-term disability insurance, and yes I have it.

No, it's something different, but similar. LTDI is about you being an invalid/unable to work (and more often has a periodical payment rather than a lump sum paid to you).

[HVC]

i don't know if a hypocondriac should get this type of insurance. Best case you read about all the different risks being insured and you freak out about what new diseases you have, worst case* you over estimate your risk and pay for insurance you don't need. Basic disability should be good enough for ya. does poland have socialized medicine?


* well, you know, worst case besides actually getting the disease you've insured yourself against

[Martinus]

We have socialized medicine. That's why I decided to get the insurance.

I don't really need a special pension scheme because any time up to 2 years before my retirement age I can transfer to be a state attorney or a judge and after two years I get a state-guaranteed pension at a rather survivable level (about $3000 per month), so I'm mostly worried about getting some serious illness that renders me incapable.

[Valmy]

No but I will eventually.  I am currently gambling I do not have a serious debilitating condition before I graduate.

[Valmy]

We have socialized medicine. That's why I decided to get the insurance.

I thought you Poles were freedom loving New Europe types not old encrusted commie Old Europe Dinosaurs.  Donald Rumsfeld fails me again.

[CountDeMoney]

The closest thing I can recall is Ronald Reagan's Catastrophic Health Care Act of 1988--which was supposed to be a bulwark against serious illnesses that surpassed basic Medicare coverage for the elderly--was repealed by Congress less than 2 years later, due to a combination of: 1) public bitching about the elderly having too many benefits to begin with, and 2) the elderly bitching about how they shouldn't pay any additional premiums for coverage.

[Martinus]

We have socialized medicine. That's why I decided to get the insurance.

I thought you Poles were freedom loving New Europe types not old encrusted commie Old Europe Dinosaurs.  Donald Rumsfeld fails me again.

Well, we have the system that was inherited after the communism era and now sorta pewters out, as there is not enough money to prop it up.

Besides, I probably wouldn't be as worried if I did not have a mortgage and didn't need at least PLN 20,000 per month to meet my expenses - so I need a bit of a cushion if due to health reasons I suddenly need to downgrade.

[Zanza]

LTDI is about you being an invalid/unable to work (and more often has a periodical payment rather than a lump sum paid to you).

I have that. Never heard about the other kind of insurance you talk about. What's the point? Either I am acutely sick and then the health insurance pays or I am chronically sick and can't work anymore and then my long-term disability insurance pays. It wouldn't fully replace my current income, but it would allow me to survive on it. I guess that's the point of a disaster insurance.

[Zanza]

Besides, I probably wouldn't be as worried if I did not have a mortgage and didn't need at least PLN 20,000 per month to meet my expenses - so I need a bit of a cushion if due to health reasons I suddenly need to downgrade.

Getting insurance that will guarantee you such an expensive lifestyle will have very high premiums though.