Aside from the emotional toll when a loved one has a major illness, there is the financial toll. You want to do everything it takes to give your loved one the best chance of recovery, or the best quality of life if full recovery is not an option. The costs can quickly escalate, esp. with a long confinement or with treatments like chemo.
I think one of the most basic things you can do is get good HMO or medical insurance coverage. Make sure your loved ones have it too.
The other thing is life insurance with accelerated major disease coverage. This means that instead of waiting for you to die, if you get one of the major diseases covered, you can get the money to help with the cost of managing the disease. The contract will have a list of covered diseases.
The earlier you get this, the better. Your insurance premium goes up as you age. You could also develop medical conditions that can cause related illnesses to be excluded from your coverage.
TIP TO LADIES OF CHILD-BEARING AGE: There are insurance products that provide benefits should your baby have to be confined after birth or if your baby comes out with congenital disease. This is pretty good coverage to have because the health plans I know of do not provide coverage until after the 14th day of life. There is also minimal, if any, coverage for congenital diseases. I did not get this kind of coverage, though it had been offered to me twice before. You just don’t think you will have a baby with congenital disease, but it happens more than you think. Had I gotten this, it could have helped me a good P200,000.00 for Sofia’s expenses.
Don’t fret if you feel like you have limited budget for this kind of insurance right now. Some coverage is better than no coverage. You can buy more coverage later.
Disclaimer #1: This will likely not cover all of your expenses, but it can offer substantial support.
Disclaimer #2: I am not an insurance expert. Talk to a sincere insurance expert for advice. Let me know if you want me to connect you with a sincere insurance agent.
Sofia Ysabel 