Do you need critical illness insurance if you are young and healthy?

Adulting and navigating your financial commitments can be a daunting process for many and getting insurance may not be a priority. However, did you know that getting covered with critical illness (CI) insurance while you’re young and healthy could help ensure comprehensive coverage and financial security as you age?

In this article, we discuss why you may want to consider getting CI insurance even though you’re young and healthy.

Younger individuals have critical illness too

While it is true that the incidence of CI is higher as you age, there’s an occurrence of CI among younger people too. Unfortunately, industry trends have shown that more young people are being diagnosed with skin cancer and stroke in recent years. As such, planning early and ensuring comprehensive financial protection for you and your loved ones at an early age is important.

Better insurability

Insurance companies may exclude applicants from certain coverage if they have pre-existing conditions. By waiting to get CI insurance when you’re older, you might also risk developing a medical condition before you get covered. Having a pre-existing health condition may also affect your insurability when you do decide to get insured. Hence, getting covered at a younger age may be advantageous.

Lower premiums for your whole policy term

Purchasing insurance is a form of investment on its own; you invest in a financial blanket in the case of an unfortunate event. As someone who has just started out in the workforce, insurance may not seem like a worthwhile investment at the moment. However, it’s worth noting that premiums tend to be cheaper when you get covered at a younger age. Getting covered early is also more cost efficient for insurance products that offer level premiums (remain the same) as you continue with the coverage even as you age.

Let’s take the scenario of John, who decides to get CI coverage with FWD Critical Illness Plus. A non-smoker, he decides to go for a sum insured of S$200,000 up to age 75 in a fixed policy term. If he decides to get insured at 30 years old, his premiums will cost him S$1,868 annually and it remains the same till he is 75 years old. As he rises through the corporate ranks and increases his income, the amount he spends on insurance remains a smaller percentage of his income. On the other hand, if he decides to get insured at 45 years old, he starts with premiums that will cost him S$4,046 annually.

By getting insured at a younger age, he would secure lower premiums that stay the same as he ages and enjoy cost savings in the long run.

Secure your financial future

As a young person, time is on your side. You may not start out earning much and you take these few years to save up and plan for any life goals that you have. In your journey to achieve this, preparing ahead to ensure that you’re covered for any huge unexpected medical costs is part of your financial planning.  As we know, CI can affect anyone, regardless of age. By starting a CI plan early, you’re setting up a form of financial protection for your future. Receiving a CI payout would also provide you with additional support for any financial responsibilities you have such as paying bills and taking care of loved ones.

Starting with an early critical illness plan

Now that we know why it can be advantageous to get CI coverage when you’re young, an example of a CI plan that young adults can opt for is one that covers early stages of CI and protects you beyond your first claim. This means that you do not need to wait for your CI to develop to its later stages to make a claim. With medical advancements, plan ahead so that you’ll be covered for early detection of any CIs and treatment to ease your recovery.

FWD Critical Illness Plus insurance is a plan that covers you for 37 late-stage CIs and even early and intermediate stages of cancer, heart attack and stroke, the 3 most common illnesses that make up 90% of all CI claims¹ . The plan offers coverage of up to S$300,000 and you remain covered even beyond your first claim².

FWD Critical Illness Plus also offers an optional ICU Benefit that provides a 100% payout of sum assured if the policyholder is admitted to the ICU³ due to whatever illness that you have. This includes new or emerging illnesses too. Getting covered is easy – simply purchase online with no medical examination required. Get a quote for FWD Critical Illness Plus insurance. To check out our exclusive ongoing promotions, visit our FWD website.