The Case for Critical Illness Coverage

Source: https://www.voluntarybenefitsmagazine.com/

In our scurry to help people and our clients get the right health plans that meet the qualifications and mandates set out by the Affordable Care Act, we may be missing some of the most basic and easiest to implement options that cost the employer little to nothing in terms of dollars. The smartest and best insurance advisors have known about all the super benefits of having a voluntary insurance carrier in their circle of influencers, but so many times those advisors overlook them to have the answers to their client’s issues. Many of us have heard about cancer, accident, and even those bridge products that are available. These can all be helpful to any advisor looking to make a positive difference in their client groups and the people who work in them. However, another product can go overlooked, critical illness insurance.

I feel that the best way to explain any benefit is to address it through an example of usage. It’s also a great way to talk to clients about how it could work for them. Let’s look at a young executive. They are moving up the corporate ladder and looking to take on more and more. They have ambition and some might even say they are “all in”. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Some of the best and brightest dive head first into their fields and don’t come up for air until they have “made it”. It’s admirable and I hope the best for those people. However, in their drive to reach the top, they might develop bad habits. Lack of exercise and eating right has resulted in consumption of energy drinks and foods that would be better suited to a teenage metabolism. When they sleep, they crash hard and when they wake, they hit it harder than the day before. The cycle continues until one day they feel chest pain. They get shortness of breath. They just don’t feel right. They head to the doctor (even though they don’t have time for all of this) to get it checked out. The doctor runs a series of tests only to tell their overworked patient that they have had a minor heart attack. The doctor then recommends some time off to relax and get things back to normal, or they may advise some other alternate means of taking care of themselves.

The person who is “too busy for all of this” listens and heeds nothing and heads back into the grind. A little while later the earlier symptoms happen again. This time they are a little more severe. They head back to the doctor only to have their fears, once again, confirmed. This time the doctor has no choice but to require them to take major time off from their jobs that have seemingly been the cause of these symptoms. This time, the doctor suggests a 6 to 12 month leave depending on how well the patient follows the plan laid out for them. Not only does the ladder they are climbing start to crumble, but that employer doesn’t have a “we’re sorry you have been busting it for us and now you’re at risk of serious health issues” policy in place to pay this executive while they are taking this much needed time off. The climb stops, and so does the money.

Now, that’s our scene. As a benefits advisor, what could have been done to really help this process? What could have helped make this hard working person feel a little better about taking some personal time? How about a policy that would have paid them their yearly salary just for that heart attack diagnosis? That’s what a critical illness policy can do. Other things like stroke, end stage renal failure, blindness, paralysis, coma and the like are covered. What could a benefits advisor have done to help an employer look like the hero? How about offering this kind of policy as a group policy for all his employees he knows are going to be staying late to get that next promotion. Any good business wants people on their team who give all they can. What they don’t want is to come across as cruel to the point of not caring when someone gives their all and that person’s body says, “no”.

Critical illness coverages whatever is needed; whether it’s income replacement or help paying for their continued premiums on health insurance while they are out. Either way, it’s a way for a company to care for their people or a way for people to care for themselves for the “just in case” situations. If all an employer does is make this policy available to their people, they are a winner to those who might need it.

I am often asked what I do. I could say, “I am an insurance advisor” and that would be just fine with me. In some cases, I do, but it doesn’t really tell what I do for other people. For those of you in the field who would like another way to say it you could try this, “I shield people for the possibilities of life, while protecting people for the eventualities of life.” Think on that for a bit. No matter what life throws at us, there are ways we help people shield and protect against those “hiccups” we run into from time to time. Notice that I used the words “for” instead of “from”. I can’t protect someone from having a heart attack, but I can provide the assistance needed for that heart attack. Get it?

Health issues are nothing to play with. Our bodies tell us things we need to know and if we don’t slow down from time to time to listen to them. They have a way of “speaking” a little louder when they are at the breaking point. They tend to scream to where we can’t ignore them any longer. Critical illness insurance coverage allows us to clear our minds and listen.