Alive, but penniless
Last updated: Monday, February 08, 2010 PrintPeople can die financially long before their lives are over.
This was the main message of the keynote address given by Professor Marius Barnard at the ICLAM (International Committee for Insurance Medicine) at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 8 February.
Professor Barnard, former heart surgeon and a member of the team who performed the first heart transplant in 1967, was instrumental in formulating guidelines in the 1970s and 1980 for the relatively new industry of dread-disease insurance.
He stressed that with the advance of modern medicine, the outcomes of diseases have changed dramatically.
Causes of death different now
In 1901, most people were killed by diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. This pattern was largely changed by the advent of inventions such as immunisation, vaccination and penicillin.
The result of this was not only that life expectancy increased dramatically, but also that the causes of death took on a different profile. Now topping the list are diseases such as cancer, heart attacks and other diseases of lifestyle. Accidents are also a much more frequent cause of death than they were 100 years ago.
He did, however, warn that we should not think we have overcome bacteria and viruses: they are staging a very successful comeback.
As the main causes of death have changed, and modern medicine has made great strides, few people die from a first stroke or heart attack these days. Patients now survive, including cancer patients who have a 50% chance of surviving for another five years. In developed countries, the life expectancy has gone from 45 years for men and 49 years for women, to 75 years for men and 80 for women today.
Down, but not out
Strokes these days tend to be disabling, not fatal.
And that's where the problem comes in: life insurance doesn't pay out, because you're still alive.
"These days, people need insurance, not because they die, but because they're going to live", said Barnard. "More than half of stroke patients will be dependent on others for their survival, and that costs money."
And that at a time when you are unable to generate any income, because of your condition. He mentioned that it was a question of 'we can replace your kidney, but your bank balance will have to be completely removed.'
He stressed that the emphasis should not purely be on life insurance, but on providing frail care and dread-disease insurance for oneself, as you need the money while you're still alive. In years gone by breadwinners needed to provide for their families in case they died young. This was still important, but was not the only insurance about which we should be concerned.
(Susan Erasmus, Health24, February 2010)
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Your Comments
So true
My father didn' t need life insurance, he needed the money for care while he was still alive.
Life insurance
I suppose life insurance is a good idea if you have small kids, but not when you' re 75.
What about Zuma?
I am sure he' s going to have small kids when he' s 75?
Alive but no cash
SO which insurance sompany will come up with a product like this first .. I eill be the first to sign up
SA products
In SA, it is often known as disability insurance. We are unable to recommend specific companies or products, but any good broker should be able to give you a rundown of what is available.
Dread disease insurance exists!
Not only is it available, it' s been around for a while. Professor Barnard is quite right in advocating this type of cover, because a lot of the conditions which cause death or disability would cause a claim to be paid out under the dread disease benefit long before this drastic stage. Liberty Life has excellent cover for dread disease, and it covers trauma too. You can claim for multiple unrelated incidents, and payment is on diagnosis, so you can use the funds to help get well.
My mother
When my father got ill, it used up all the savings my parents had. When he died my mom was basically destitute and had to move in with us. She gets an old age pension and about R700 per month from an annuity, which is nothing.
to
Wow Mark! Are you sure the company you mentioned is the only one on the market, and that none of the other major insurers have similar products or even surpassing those of ' the company you mentioned' that only tends to pay out on ' severity based' basis? Slightly narrow minded & suggestive of you isn' t it?
i think what Dr Barnard was alluding to(& previously mentioned) is that YOU, the individual, cannot benefit from life insurance, but illness benefits pay out to you when needed.
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