Do your customers really appreciate the hidden costs of cancer?
My son was rushed to hospital one night and the next morning had his appendix removed. He was able to come home the next day. My experiences during this whistle-stop 2-night tour of A&E and the Children’s ward brought home a few messages that you might find useful with clients:
- There were a lot of kids on the ward, of all ages and for many reasons, some long-term.
- When the word ‘oncology’ rings out it sends a shiver down your spine.
- Trying to juggle being at the hospital and around for the other two kids at home is difficult – because even with a child in hospital, life goes on.
So, what can we learn from this experience?
- It does happen, Mr Client, even to your children.What if it’s cancer? In 2017, Aviva paid over £3.8m in children’s CIC claims, the average payment being over £18,000(1).
- 36 hours was hard enough to juggle. What if it had been 36 weeks?
- It gets expensive very quickly. In those 36 hours we spent over £30 on car parking and almost £20 on food. Do the maths on 36 weeks!
All of our providers recognise the huge potential cost of a child suffering a serious or critical illness. That’s why they all include, free of charge within their CIC plans, a children’s Critical Illness Benefit that will pay up to £25,000 on valid Children’s CIC claims.
How much does it really cost? Macmillan’s ‘Cancer’s Hidden Price Tag’(2) research report reveals the sheer scale of the financial burden faced by people living with cancer. On average:
- Four out of five cancer patients lose £570 a month
- One in three lose £860 a month in earnings because they are unable to work or have to cut down their hours
- Six in seven see their monthly expenses increase by £270 a month
The hidden costs of cancer are calculated as the loss of income and the additional costs experienced as a result of a person’s diagnosis.
My experience and Aviva’s claims statistics from 2017 shows that this does happen. And with costs like those in the Macmillan report, a £25,000 lump sum will never relieve the emotional stress, but it will take away a lot of the financial strain.
Have the conversation with your clients. Do a proper job!
Learn why you are the right choice for protection needs, not aggregator sites.
For protection queries contact Steve Berry, Protection Manager at Steve.berry@primis.co.uk.
Sources:
1: Internal Aviva data 2017
2: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/_images/Cancers-Hidden-Price-Tag-report-England_tcm9-270862.pdf
