Protective covers such as terminal illness and life insurance cover are crucial to handling costs that can protect many South Africans from the unexpected costs of being diagnosed with a terminal illness. But how prepared are you to face the costs of a terminal illness?

What is terminal illness?

Being diagnosed with a terminal illness means that the person is suffering from a life-threatening disease that sees little to no survival rate. Once a person has been diagnosed with a terminal illness it usually means that they have 6 - 12 months to live. At this point, there is very little that can be done in terms of treatment except slowing the process or easing the person's suffering. Terminal illnesses are quite tricky, with medical aids usually not being able to cover the full expenses that come with being diagnosed, leaving you to foot a hefty bill.

The hefty bill of palliative care in South Africa

You likely know of someone with a terminal illness, are currently taking care of someone or know of someone who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Most claims from life insurance policies that offer cover for terminal illness come from cancer claims (60%) to help take care of the cost of being diagnosed with cancer.

The costs of cancer treatments can vary starting from R17,000 - R500,000 for immunotherapy drugs. This excludes the costs that come with making adjustments to a home to make it patient friendly, transport costs, and in-house care in the form of a nurse. Without having a safety net in place to shoulder the costs, most families can find themselves at the mercy of making bad financial decisions to take care of a loved one that could leave them in the red.

How can you protect yourself financially?

Taking the first steps to find a cover that will protect you can help you when you need it the most. You have the option of choosing between disability cover, critical illness cover and life cover that can give you room to prepare for the costs that come with an illness that can prevent you from earning an income. It's crucial to check the feature that comes with each one to see what will be suitable for you. 

MiWayLife offers a life insurance policy that can protect you against the costs of being diagnosed with a critical illness. Having life insurance in place will cover you for both illnesses and still leave you with money left over to take care of your loved ones should you pass on.

Once a person has been diagnosed by a medical professional as having a terminal illness – meaning you have 6-12 months left to live, they have the option of choosing to have 50% or 100% of their policy paid out.

But it is important to keep in mind that should you choose to have 100% of the claim paid out and you survive, you will have to take out a new policy and start again.