Hey ,

Zest here! I hope September has been treating you well!

I wanted to share a story with you today.

Other than being able to help with your car insurance needs, I also help clients with broader financial planning and protection.

Over the years as a financial advisor, I’ve seen all kinds of insurance claims. One of the most notable car insurance claims I handled involved replacing an entire car—but that’s a story for another day!

As I was reviewing some of the claims I’ve processed over the years, one stood out. It was my first-ever critical illness claim related to cancer.

Julie (not her real name) is an Indonesian Chinese woman who’s a Singapore PR. One afternoon, she called me, sounding concerned about some chest pain she was experiencing whenever she breathed. Sensing that something was seriously wrong, I advised her to go straight to a private hospital.

A few hours later, I received a call from her—she needed surgery immediately. The doctors suspected a tumor on her thymus gland (you can see where the thymus gland is located in the image below).

Everything moved so quickly that I barely had time to process the news: one of my long-term clients had cancer. Her surgery and hospitalisation bill amounted to over $60,000!

Thankfully, the tumor was removed along with her thymus gland, and the cancer cells hadn’t spread. Despite the relief, it was a life-changing moment for Julie. But what truly saved her financially was the decision she made six months before her diagnosis—she had gotten herself covered under a critical illness policy.

Her multipay critical illness plan from Aviva paid out $240,000, which was 3x her coverage due to the severity of the cancer. This amount helped Julie take a long break from work while she recovered. In fact, it was enough to sustain her for five years without an income.

Julie had just gotten married at the time, and I can only imagine how much stress she and her spouse would have faced if she hadn’t been covered. The timing of her policy was crucial—just six months before the claim.

Why am I sharing this with you?

With recent changes and increasing limitations in our Integrated Shield Plans, particularly concerning cancer drug list coverage, having an adequate payout from critical illness insurance is more important than ever.

I came across a Reddit post that echoed similar concerns:

Key points raised in the post:

1. Non-standard cancer drugs or drugs prescribed for other cancer types often lead to high out-of-pocket payments.
2. If the first-line treatment is ineffective, alternative treatments may come with high costs.
3. While current coverage includes riders, many still require significant out-of-pocket co-payments with no cap.
4. The post recommends getting both rider and lump sum critical illness insurance to cover the risk of non-standard drug costs and reduce out-of-pocket expenses.

If you haven’t reviewed your critical illness coverage recently, now is a great time to ensure you're adequately protected.

Would you like a complimentary review of your insurance policies?

Simply reply to this email, and we’ll set up a time that works for you!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Zest Chia

Executive Wealth Consultant | Associate Estate Planning Practitioner |

Licensed General Insurance Advisory

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