Just like death, serious illnesses don’t discriminate. They could affect anyone, at any time, and may not only put significant strain on you, but they could also wreak havoc on your family’s finances.
If you were to be diagnosed with a serious illness, these are just some of the potential costs you could expect to pay.
• Private room in a nursing home – $97,452 per year(1)
• Licensed home health aide (non-Medicare certified) – $49,188 per year1
• Average out-of-pocket expenses for cancer patient – $703 per month(2)
Most budgets are not prepared to handle these kinds of expenses. But fortunately, you can be prepared with life insurance. Some life insurance policies include living benefits (accelerated death benefit endorsements), which allow the policy owner to access a portion of their death benefit while living to use towards medical costs, bills, family vacations, or in any way you choose. It can be a saving grace for many families already going through a difficult time, and can strengthen you and your family’s finances in a powerful way.
A real-life story about a man’s brush
with death, and how living benefits helped him get through it.
Serious illnesses can and do happen. In this case, it was a cerebral hemorrhage.
Mike Anderson* was a healthy, physically fit 63-year-old. Unexpectedly, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was completely paralyzed. Mike and his wife, Laurie*, had recently purchased a high-priced home that came with a big mortgage. Mike’s health was the most important issue; however, it was hard to ignore the medical costs that were ahead of them.
“This came out of nowhere and we were going to need a miracle,” said Laurie.
Fortunately, Mike had a life insurance policy that had a special feature that allows an eligible policy owner to “accelerate” a portion of the death benefit annually for a qualifying illness. For the Andersons, the accelerated death benefit made a world of difference. After qualifying for the benefit, the family received a check for $145,000 to help cover the expenses for Mike’s care.
“I believe we got the best of both worlds because we received a portion of the policy proceeds when we needed it most and still have the remainder of the death benefit. It was truly a gift that we were able to be helped,” said Laurie.
Mike and his family never expected to encounter this scary ordeal. But luckily, they had living benefits to help get them through it.
If you would like a no obligation, second opinion into your Insurance Policy to see if it measures up email us at info@commonfinancialsense.com. Also, if you would like to discuss getting life insurance please let us know. We look forward to the opportunity to show where there may be inefficiencies and earn your business.
*Based on a true story. Client names were changed to protect identity.
1. Source: Genworth 2017 Cost of Care Survey, June 2017. Median cost is quoted.
2. Source: “Even Insured Patients Are Overwhelmed by The Cost of Cancer Care” Forbes, August 10, 2017
