3 Reasons Women need Critical Illness Insurance
Do women have a higher risk of developing critical illness than men?
Given that there are many causes of critical illness, the question that we should be asking is “Is gender the determining factor?”
Although many discussions suggest that women are at a higher risk of critical illness than men, there is in fact no empirical and systematic study that could confirm this statement.
However, females should not underestimate their risk of developing critical illnesses. The trend of women suffering from critical illnesses has been on the rise in recent years, including cases resulting in death due to cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
According to the Centre for Health Protection, malignant tumors are the leading cause of death among Hong Kong women, and have been showing a significantly increasing trend over years. Therefore, it is crucial to attach greater attention to the risk of getting critical illness!
Why should women buy critical illness insurance sooner?
Based on data from the Hong Kong Cancer Registry, women’s incidence ratio of the top five cancers increases sharply after the age of 35. If you get insured only when symptoms appear, exclusions may be added or chances are, your insurance application may be rejected.
Therefore, you should consider purchasing critical illness insurance when you’re young, especially when premiums are typically lower.
For example, Bowtie’s critical insurance for a non-smoking female with a coverage of HK$500,000, would only require the policyholder to pay a few tens of dollars as monthly premiums before the age of 30.
Using below premiums calculator, you could see how much women aged 20 to 65 insuring with Bowtie’s critical illness insurance need to pay for the coverage.
Things to consider when purchasing critical illness insurance
We should never underestimate the risk of women developing severe illnesses. If you don’t have any critical illness protection, it is recommended to get insured as soon as possible to ensure that you have enough emergency funds to cover medical expenses and other daily expenses when misfortune strikes.
So, what exactly should women pay attention to when buying critical illness insurance?
Female CI Key point #1: Multiple protections
In recent years, some insurance companies offer multiple cover terms for critical illness insurance. This means that even if an insured person has developed a critical illness and finds it hard to get another critical illness policy in the short term, they still have their original critical illness insurance to protect against relapses or new critical illnesses.
Traditionally, most critical illness insurance policies offer a single payout, meaning the insurance will only include one reimbursement chance to the insured. Once the insurance company completes the payout, the policy is declared invalid. Given that it could be very challenging to obtain another critical illness insurance once diagnosed with a critical illness, patients will have no choice, but to bear all the cost if the critical illness relapses in the short term unfortunately.
In response, some insurance companies have introduced Multiple Cover Term Critical Illness Insurance that allows the insured to get claimed for two or more times. For example, Bowtie Term Critical Illness Insurance – Multiple Cover provides as many as 5 times of lump sum payments for the three most common critical illnesses: cancer, stroke, and heart disease, with 100% of the sum insured each to provide protection for illness relapses or newly diagnosed critical illnesses.
Female CI Key point #2: Coverage amount
Policyholder’s economic needs and affordability should be considered when calculating the amount of critical illness coverage.
The primary purpose of Critical Illness Insurance is to provide ample amount of cash assistance when the insured person is diagnosed with a severe illness specified in the policy.
Keep in mind that being diagnosed with a critical illness is the beginning of a long battle, which may take a patient 2-3 years to recover from several treatments. During this time, the patient may need to stop working to recuperate. As a result, a patient’s income could drop drastically and it is generally recommended for policyholders to use 2-3 times of their annual salary as a baseline for Critical Illness Insurance coverage, and then adjust accordingly based on individual circumstances.
On the other hand, when calculating the amount of critical illness coverage needed, one should not neglect their own affordability. The coverage amount is often directly proportional to the premium – the higher the coverage, the more expensive the premium. Therefore, policyholders should not blindly pursue high coverage amounts of millions or even tens of millions. Instead, they should tailor their coverage based on their actual needs while also considering factors such as daily expenses, living costs of parents and children, and mortgage payments to calculate the “best fit” coverage amount.
Female CI Key point #3: Premiums
As mentioned earlier, the higher the coverage amount set by the policyholder, the more expensive the premium. In addition to this, the insurance company’s operating model, type of Critical Illness Insurance, reimbursement options, coverage scope, etc, are some other decisive factors that may affect the insurance premium. Therefore, it is important to note that C
For example, current types of Critical Illness Insurance on the market are mainly divided into 2 types: (1) savings and (2) consumption. Generally, savings-type critical illness insurance allocates a portion of the premium for savings purposes, making it more expensive than consumption-type critical illness insurance, which purely provides protection.
Take an example of HK$1 million coverage for a 35-year-old non-smoker male, the monthly premium for Bowtie’s term Critical Illness Insurance is HK$144, while the monthly premium for whole life Critical Illness Insurance averages at HK$2,700, which is 17 times more expensive^.
Top 3 Critical Illness Protections Women Need Most
1️⃣ Cancer
According to government statistics in 2022, the number of female cancer cases is expected to surpass the number of men within a few years. This is mainly due to the relatively higher incidence ratio of female-related cancers such as breast cancer, cervical cancer, and ovarian cancer.
Between 2012 and 2015, cancer accounted for 83% of Hong Kong female’s critical illness claim cases. Moreover, breast cancer has shown a rising trend in younger age groups, with patients in their 30s or even those in their 20s. Therefore, women of all ages should not underestimate the chance of diagnosing cancer.
2️⃣ Heart Disease
Unlike female cancer, heart disease can be difficult to detect due to its unnoticeable nature of its symptoms. Not necessarily developed into chest pain, symptoms of heart disease could simply manifest as fatigue and sleep problems. However, such physical state is very common for Hong Kong citizens, which makes it even more harder to guard against.
Furthermore, due to physiological differences, women have a higher chance of experiencing another heart attack in the same year in comparison to men. A 10-year study obtained by the British Heart Foundation analyzed data from nearly 200,000 Swedish heart disease patients and found that the mortality rate (within one year after the onset) for female heart disease patients is more than twice that of men.
3️⃣ Stroke
The American Stroke Association has pointed out that women’s unique physiological conditions, such as hypertension during pregnancy, postpartum hypertension, contraceptive use, and hormonal changes after menopause, etc, has led to the development of blood clots. As a result, women have a higher risk of stroke compared to men, and hence, higher mortality rates.
Bowtie Multiple Cover Term Critical Illness Insurance: 100% Compensation
Bowtie Critical Illness offers a unique “38+4” reimbursement guideline. In addition to the 38 commonly covered critical illnesses, the “Supplementary Coverages” is also specially designed to cover “terminal illness,” “permanent total disability,” “inability to live independently,” and “major medical conditions,” providing comprehensive protection for both known and unknown diseases.
Moreover, apart from offering up to 5 claims with payout at 100% for the 3 major critical illnesses: cancer, stroke, and heart disease, Bowtie’s “zero commission” insurance plan also provides pure protection insurance that allows you to enjoy real protection at an affordable price.
If needed, clients will only need to submit a reimbursement form, medical report, and bank information online and wait for the approval results at home. Once the reimbursement application is approved, Bowtie can transfer the reimbursement amount to the designated account within an average of three working days. Fast and convenient!
Common Questions about Women's Critical Illness Insurance
Not necessarily. There are many decisive factors that affect Critical Illness Insurance’s premiums, including gender, age, and personal health conditions of the insured, which cannot be generalized.
Due to the physiological structure of women, their unique organs, and physiological conditions such as pregnancy and menopause, women are more likely to develop cancer, heart disease, and stroke to some extent.
