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Breast Cancer

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imagesGet Them Covered

October marked Breast Cancer awareness month around the world. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in Australia, with 14,940 women predicted to be diagnosed with the disease in 2013, rising to 17,210 women in 2020. That’s an average of 330 women a week.

 

 

In the last five years, breast cancer has made up 50% of all of trauma insurance claims paid to women. And a high prevalence isn’t just observed for trauma. Breast cancer accounted for 20% of income protection claims, 18% of TPD claims and 15% of life and terminal illness claims.

 

Increasing age is one of the strongest risk factors for developing breast cancer, but it doesn’t just affect older people. Two out of three cases will be diagnosed in women aged 40-69, key ages for insurance coverage.

 

How can insurance help?

Trauma cover can provide a lump sum payment in the event of diagnosis. You can discuss with us how much cover is needed and you may include funds for treatment, supplementary income, reducing debt or even for a spouse to take time off work. Given the high chance of claim, trauma is the most expensive of the lump sum covers available.

 

Trauma insurance can cover breast cancer diagnosed at any stage. Definitions have evolved in the last few years to provide full claims to most women, even if they are diagnosed early, referred to as carcinoma in situ. Modern definitions should cover women who have a lumpectomy and follow up treatment like radiation or chemotherapy, rather than requiring more dramatic treatment to satisfy a claim at an early stage.

 

Keeping life going

Of course not all women will cease work. Australian women have an 89% chance of surviving more than five years after diagnosis. Certain income protection definitions and benefits can help provide support.

 

Cancer patients are one of the most likely groups of claimants to continue working through treatment. Finding a policy with a 10 hour definition will give them the flexibility to work up to 10 hours a week while undergoing treatment, without financial penalty. You may also look for a policy with a counselling benefit. While grief support is common on life cover, under income protection, this benefit gives access to support and comfort during a difficult and stressful time.

There are lots of considerations when choosing a policy for cancer coverage and sometimes it is impossible to be across all the benefits.

 

To find out how trauma insurance can help you, contact our office today!

 

1,3, 4. www.nbcf.org.au/Research/About-Breast-Cancer.aspx

2. Claims paid between 2009 and August 2013

There’s more to income protection than you may think

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incomeProtection-4When discussing income protection with clients, we find there’s no shortage of misconceptions around what income protection actually covers, and how far reaching this cover can be.

 

 

Some people think that income protection only covers injuries and has limited value for those in low risk occupations. The reality is that it also covers illness, which makes up 40 per cent of claims.

 

Furthermore, it’s not only illnesses with obvious physical affects that are covered.

Mental illness is responsible for many claims and is by no means uncommon in our community; one in five Australians will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives.

 

Many clients are equally unaware of the variety of ways income protection can assist, through supplementary benefits and support beyond the basic income stream. The following real life story dramatically illustrates the value of quality income protection insurance.

 

How Simon’s story unfolded

In the three months following the death of Simon’s best friend, Simon developed a debilitating post traumatic stress disorder resulting in clinical depression and time off work.

 

Fortunately, some years earlier Simon had purchased income protection.

 

This paid him a regular income, which helped replace lost wages. Simon was also offered a rehabilitation benefit, through which he was assigned a rehabilitation adviser.

 

The rehab adviser developed a management plan and worked with Simon’s GP to identify appropriate courses of therapy.

 

With Simon unable to return to his own occupation, the rehab adviser engaged a specialist — paid for by insurance — to retrain Simon for the building industry. Simon progressed well and was able to secure his first building job.

 

A twist in the tale

Long working hours, less family time and medical support took its toll; Simon suffered a relapse. The rehab adviser once again became involved and even organised a personal trainer to help Simon lose weight and to improve his general well-being.

 

Simon persevered, recovered and was able to recommence work, this time with more on-the-job training and support. Despite the fact that he was working full time, the insurance continued paying partial income support, due to his wages being less than what they were prior to his disability.

 

Taking the next step

Simon’s story demonstrates the value of quality income protection insurance that goes beyond a simple income stream; insurance that provides holistic support for the complexities that illness can bring.

 

Source I Asteron

 

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. If you found yourself in a situation similar to Simon’s, could you survive without income protection? Don’t leave it to chance; speak to us today about the income protection options available to you.

 

People seeking support and information about depression can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 and MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.

mining-for-insurance

mining for insurance

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mining-for-insurance

mining for insurance

It has been difficult for some mining occupations to access life insurance in the past. But times are changing.

There are a number of reasons why working in the mining industry is very different to many other occupations.

In addition to working in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, mining workers are often forced to live a long way from their loved ones. This is one of the reasons miners don’t always stay in the industry all their careers.

Compared to many other occupations, mining can also be dangerous. Whether working above or below ground, mining workers are often exposed to risks associated with heavy machinery, vehicles and working with explosives.

Despite improvements in workplace safety over the last decade, the mining industry still had 2,555 serious workers compensation claims in 2009/10.

Mining is also one of the riskiest industries in terms of fatalities, with an average of 3.5 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2009/10. That’s almost double the national average of 1.92.

Combine these threats with the risks everyone faces in their day-to-day lives – like cancer and heart disease – and it makes sense for miners to have a contingency plan for sickness or injury.

Life insurance considerations for miners

Traditionally, miners have found it difficult to access life insurance on standard terms. However, there are now insurers who offer affordable protection to many mining occupations.

The most common types of life insurance are:

Life cover pays a lump sum if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness. The lump sum can be used to meet final expenses, pay off the family mortgage so that your family isn’t left without a home, fund future child education fees and set aside money to meet your family’s ongoing living needs.

Income protection cover pays up to 80% of your income if you can’t work because of sickness or injury. This money is essential in helping to meet your ongoing living needs, including meeting your mortgage repayments, while you are unable to work.

TPD cover pays a lump sum if you are totally and permanently disabled. This may help you repay debts and medical bills, make modifications to your home and motor vehicle, as well as meet lifetime living costs.

Trauma cover pays a lump sum if you are seriously injured in an accident, or if you are diagnosed with one of a number of serious medical conditions, like cancer and heart attack. The proceeds can be used to meet medical treatment costs as well as provide financial support if your spouse wishes to take time off work to look after you.

In addition, miners should look for insurance policies that provide additional protection for accidents and that recognise the true extent of your earning potential – helping you protect the rewards of your hard work.

With so many different types of life insurance available, it’s important to discuss your own life insurance needs with your financial adviser

 

Armour

Serious Illness – the chink in your financial armour

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Armour

Is there a chink in my armour?

IF you have income protection insurance and private health cover you may think you are in a strong financial position to face a serious illness. The truth is quite different.

Consider the case of Kathy, a 41 year-old self-employed marketing consultant, married with one young son. She was healthy, active, and with death cover, income protection and private health insurance in place, she thought she was well protected against any eventuality.

Kathy knew the missing piece in her protection portfolio was trauma insurance. But with income protection and private health cover in place, she wondered did she really need it?

It turns out she did.

In November 2009, Kathy was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two rounds of surgery followed, then chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and then the reconstruction surgeries.

Kathy wasn’t just a few hundred dollars out of pocket, or even a few thousand. After Medicare and the health fund had paid their parts, the gap costs came to tens of thousands of dollars.

‘For example, my out of pocket costs for radiotherapy were about $2,000 after Medicare and my health insurance had kicked in. The out of pocket cost I was quoted for reconstruction surgery was $10,000. And to pay for a year of Herceptin – a drug that has been shown to reduce the chance of breast cancer coming back by 52% compared with chemotherapy alone – I would have had to pay something like $80,000’, said Kathy.

‘That’s nearly $100,000 in out of pocket costs. Of course when your life is at stake you naturally don’t question the cost, you spend whatever it takes, provided you have the money in the first place.’

Kathy says that she would love to spend more time with her children and to scale back her work, but the reality is that she just can’t afford to.

‘If I’d had trauma insurance when I was diagnosed, it would have given our family that financial cushion to allow me to work less. To have a lump sum payout in the bank would get rid of that everyday financial stress, and the one thing you really need to do once you’ve been seriously ill is to avoid stress.’

 But what about income protection?

‘I wouldn’t dream of being without income protection cover, but the reality is that in my circumstances it didn’t really help this time. My policy would only pay out after two weeks of not working, and even though I had several bouts of surgery and chemo, I tolerated the treatments relatively well, and I was only in bed for about a week each time. I wasn’t actually away from work for long enough to qualify for a benefit.’

Ironically, Kathy’s financial adviser had previously encouraged her to take out trauma cover.

‘I really hope that I can stop other people making the same mistake by telling my story. If you don’t have a large amount of cash set aside to cope with something like a serious illness, don’t put it off. Just talk to your adviser straight away.’

Trauma cover

Trauma cover is designed to pay a lump sum in the event that you suffer one of the pre-defined traumatic events, which generally include cancer, heart attack, bypass surgery or stroke, plus many other conditions. This lump sum can help you meet the many out of pocket costs you can be faced with in the event you suffer a traumatic condition and – by reducing the financial and emotional stress you may otherwise face – can ultimately improve your recovery.

For information on trauma insurance, contact your financial adviser.