Scaled Benefits In Critical Illness Insurance

Scaled Benefits In Critical Illness Insurance

by

Mike Armstrong

Scaled benefits also called tiered or staggered benefits may be the latest development in the insurance industry. Critical illness covers are being made to contain more and more critical illness conditions these days. Scaled benefits may therefore aim to provide benefits to the critical illness conditions which may be not as serious. As a means to reduce benefits that may be not equal to the risk, insurers may define benefits according to the relative seriousness of a critical illness.

Here are some examples of scaled benefits in connection with coronary heart disease as per Munich Re: Heart attack 100 percent, Heart valve replacement 50 percent, Valvulotomy 10 percent, Valvuloplasty 10 percent, Coronary angioplasty 5 percent, Coronary bypass surgery 60 percent, Surgery to/of the aorta 50 percent. This indicates that the conditions contain a list clearly demonstrating the critical illness conditions and surgeries in percentage of the initial sum insured. The insured may still be eligible for cover depending upon the remainder of the amount insured for other critical illness conditions. However, the insurance company may not award more than 100 percent of benefit.

Furthermore, if we look at the figures, we may understand that only around 5 percent of benefit may be paid for angioplasty. As a result, if heart attack succeeds, logically around 95 percent of benefit from the original amount insured may then be paid. After paying out for the first critical illness condition, the premium that still remains due may then be reduced by the same ratio as the amount insured. Also, the partial benefit may prevent the insured from entirely using the payout due to less serious cases. Consequently in case of a more severe critical illness, the whole payment would have used up thus leaving the insured without cover.

On the other hand, the practice of having a partial critical illness benefit payout may also reduce the premium values. Insurers level the premiums so as to cope with the growing number of heart attack claims, for example. Reducing the premiums may therefore help them to reduce the benefits so that they do not incur any loss. Additionally, insurers may face certain drawbacks as they try to adjust premium rates upon the sum insured. This effect could cause critical illness insurance to adopt the same trend as health insurance. In health insurance, the sums may be already fixed according to the seriousness of a critical illness. Approximate values for medical cares may have also been calculated by health insurance in contrast with critical illness insurance. Thus, it may not be long before we witness critical illness cover being sold as derivatives of health insurance or other related insurance products.

On a whole, scaled benefits may have been a definite advantage in critical illness cover. You may still get further cover if you had already been diagnosed with a minor illness. You could then use the fair share of the total amount insured if a severe critical illness like heart attack struck afterwards. We should remember that critical illness cover, how we see it today had been the result of tireless work in the past.

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Article Source:

ArticleRich.com