Trauma Insurance – what is it and do I need it?
People are quite often confused by the term Trauma Insurance or Critical Illness, so we find the easiest way to explain it is by sharing a client’s personal claim story which will in turn allow you to feel the emotion and see how the proceeds from this cover often become a necessity should a traumatic event happen.
We’ve changed the names of the people in this story for privacy reasons however we believe you will find this example of their claim relatable as this is something that can happen to anyone of us at any time.
John and Julie have been clients of ours for the past seven years and in this time we have met and reviewed their circumstances numerous times. We will look to explain the terms of events of this claim by outlining a timeline of events as they happen from start to present as it will help to show how fast things can move.
Day one: Julie felt a lump in her right breast through a self examination
Day two: Julie went to the doctor however he could not feel anything himself therefore she was sent for a mammogram and blood tests, the mammogram showed a mass and a biopsy was done.
Day three: Julie had a meeting with a specialist surgeon and also an ecologist as a mass proved to be cancerous.
Day four: Julie Wood was admitted to a private hospital where a full mastectomy of her right breast was done and also parts of the lymphatic system were taken as the cancer had spread there as well.
Now as you can see from the time that Julie felt the lump to the time that the operation was done to remove her right breast was quite quick as time was of the essence knowing that there were cancerous tumours in the breast.
We had a phone call from John explaining the events above. He had questions as to whether the insurance cover they had in place for both their lives would payout due to this traumatic event. We reassured John that they both had trauma Insurance and Income Protection as part of their insurance portfolio, and that we would start the claim process immediately for him.
We arranged a meeting with John to sign all of the claim forms from the insurance company and we put a plan in place to help him gather the necessary reports from the doctors – ie the surgeon, the oncologist, and the pathology reports.
This is a very stressful time, so we our aim is to guide you through the process and help take any unnecessary stress off your plate – allowing you to focus on your loved ones. This is not a service we charge for – this is all part of our service to our clients.
By having trauma insurance in place, Julie was able to provide the necessary lump sum payment, allowing her to have a doctor perform the surgery immediately, rather than having to wait through the public system for an appointment to become available.
Although John and Julie have top private hospital cover through their medical fund, for surgery such as this to be done in a private hospital, with the best possible doctors performing surgery, there was still a gap of some $50,000 to be paid to ensure that the surgery was done immediately.
Through their trauma insurance policy, John and Julie received a full lump sum payment for the amount they were insured for – which was more than enough to pay for this gap of $50,000. Julie is also receiving a monthly income through her Income protection policy, which will continue to pay her until she is well enough to return to work.
To recap – there were just four days between feeling a lump in her breast and having the breast removed!!!! Can you possibly imagine the emotional stress and journey that these people were in? And to throw in the mix the financial gap ($50,000) required to cover the private hospital costs for the operation. Financial stress and pressure at such an emotionally draining time.
For John and Julie to know that they had Insurance in place that covered not only for the short-term bills, but also leave them with extra money in the bank for security, and an ongoing income through her Income Protection policy for the foreseeable future, helped them immeasurably. Whilst Julie now will undergo 12 months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy to fight off this horrible disease – what a comfort this must be.
We believe that when you take away any financial burden from people during this emotional and traumatic time this helps to relieve the stress from the environment and allows the patient to concentrate on fighting the disease, concentrate on getting better, and allows their spouse to be able to support their partner and other family members – without the worry about where to find the money to pay bills such as the mortgage, school fees, and other endless bills that still need to be paid. Trauma Insurance is there to provide peace of mind, eliminating financial stress, and allowing the patient and family to concentrate on the patient’s recovery.
Insurance is something that is intangible and something that we can’t touch, it’s something that we hope we never need to rely on, and it’s something that none of us really want to pay for. However it is something that we really all do need in the event we are struck down with a debilitating illness or injury.
Events such as death, cancer, heart attack, stroke or any type of personal injury or sickness are non-discriminative and can happen to anyone – it doesn’t matter who you are, or how much money you earn – these events can happen to anyone, at any time.
If you wish to hear more about these products and have a review of your current personal situation please contact the office to arrange an appointment with us today – we’re more than happy to sit down with you to ensure that you and your families future is protected and financially secure.
