Medical insurance vs critical illness insurance

Are you insured against critical illnesses? We always hear of medical insurance and critical illness insurance, but what are the key differences between these insurance plans?

Medical insurance is the insurance plan you need to cover your hospital admission and outpatient treatment bills. Depending on the plan chosen, it is usually renewable and has a fixed Annual Limit which you can claim from within a year, and the amount resets every year.

Critical illness insurance is an insurance plan that offers a lump sum payout if you are diagnosed with one of the covered critical illness conditions. You can use the payout to cover your ongoing treatment and post-treatment that are not covered under the medical insurance and also cover yours and your family’s daily living expenses while you focus on your recovery. More importantly, a critical illness plan cannot be used for hospital admission purposes.

The importance of critical illness insurance

Nowadays, more people are being diagnosed with critical illnesses than ever before. According to statistics, 1 in 10 Malaysians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Heart diseases were the number one cause of death in Malaysia in 2020, while in 2019, stroke was the third-highest cause of death.

It would be best to be prepared for such a potentially expensive treatment if diagnosed with a life-threatening critical illness through critical illness insurance, which eases the financial burden of dealing with a critical illness condition.

Let’s not gloss over the treatment costs of these illnesses. Having a heart-related disease can cost you anywhere from RM30,000 to RM70,000. Even kidney failure treatment can cost more than RM30,000. It is undeniable that medical treatment has become more expensive.

Having critical illness insurance can help you manage the cost of treatment and recovery when you are facing medical emergencies or life-threatening illnesses. It can also provide a monetary safety net if you are unable to work or earn a living.

A guide to sign up for Critical Illness insurance            

Sum Insured – A Critical Illness Sum Insured is the amount you will receive if you suffer from a critical illness. Our recommendation is to choose a high Sum Insured amount of at least RM120,000. When you get diagnosed, a substantial payout can help cover living expenses and medications.

For example, our online critical illness plan, eCritical Early Care, comes with coverage of up to RM250,000 for as low as RM16/month!  You can choose your coverage based on your affordability.

Critical illnesses included – Before selecting a critical illness plan, it is important to review the list of critical illnesses covered. It is essential to cover the most common ones, such as heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's, and cancer.

Taking eCritical Early Care as an example, the plan covers 50 types of critical illnesses conditions under both Early and Advanced stages. 50% of your Sum Insured will be paid in the case of a covered Early-stage diagnosis, and 100% of your Sum Insured will be paid in the case of an Advanced-stage diagnosis. You can purchase online with us by answering a few simple questions with NO medical checkup! What’s more, you can enjoy 5% off if you pay annually!

Medical coverage and critical illness coverage complement each other and do not overlap in terms of benefits or claims. Both are equally important to ensure you are able to recover with the best treatment without compromising living expenses for you and your family and aid with your medical expenses.

At Generali, we offer both medical and critical illness protection in our eCombo package from as low as RM56.35* a month. Explore them here:

*Price based on male, age 18, non-smoker with Sum Insured RM250,000 (eCritical Early Care) and annual limit RM150,000 (eMedic Plus – with RM1,000 Deductible).

Sources:

Pantai Hospitals. (2021). Malaysia is seeing a surge in cancer cases.

FMT Authors. (2021, November 16). Heart disease remains the top killer in Malaysia.

Tan, K. S., & Venketasubramanian, N. (2022). Stroke Burden in Malaysia.

CodeBlue. (21 March 2023). Reducing The Burden Of Kidney Disease And Dialysis In Malaysia — Prof Lim Soo Kun.

Ringgitplus. (11 January 2019). How Much Do The Most Common Critical Illnesses In Malaysia Cost?

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