Alexander Forbes
LIFE
Wealth
Whole Life Dread Disease Benefit
The Whole Life Dread Disease
Benefit: the essentials
The Whole Life Dread Disease Benefit will provide a lump
sum payment if you are diagnosed with one of the listed
critical illnesses such as cancer, a heart attack or a stroke.
It helps cover the costs associated with the condition along
with your recovery and any lifestyle adjustments, by paying
out a lump sum amount on diagnosis.
This brochure focuses on the particular benefits of the
Whole Life Dread Disease Benefit.
Dread diseases: the hard facts
Dread disease is a commonly used term to describe
severe or critical illness. Heart attacks, cancer, strokes and
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts (CABG) are the four “core”
diseases which make up between 70% to 90% of all dread
disease claims. *
* ASISA standards disclosure for critical illness products.
The threat of cancer is real. South Africa ranks 50th in the
world in terms of prevalence per 100 000 people at
202 cases per 100 000. Denmark is the worst at
326.1 per 100 000.* But that does not mean cancer is not
on the rise.
Coronary heart disease is also a major killer – both in
the world in general and in South Africa in particular.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it’s the
world’s biggest killer, followed by strokes – the
two amounting to nearly 22% of all deaths. And figures
from the Heart Foundation of
South Africa estimate that every ten minutes someone in
South Africa has a heart attack – nearly 50 000 incidents
a year.
*World Cancer Research Fund: www.wcrf.org.
+Heart Disease in South Africa: report on South African Heart Foundation
Website, www.heartfoundation.co.za, dated July 2007.
What is the Whole Life Dread Disease
Benefit and why would you need it?
The Professional Wealth Whole Life Dread Disease Benefit
is a benefit that pays out a lump sum (up to 100% of the
insured amount) if you are diagnosed with a condition from
a specific list of serious illnesses.
In addition, Alexander Forbes Whole Life Dread Disease
Benefit insures you against a specified range of serious
illnesses for life – as its name implies. As such, it covers
you for conditions such as cancer, heart disease and
stroke throughout your retirement.
Consequently the conditions the Professional Wealth
Whole Life Dread Disease Benefit covers range from the
most common and serious of health conditions – cancer,
coronary heart disease, strokes and actual heart attacks
– through a comprehensive list of 40 conditions. This
includes a particularly helpful ‘catch-all’ benefit called the
‘Guardian Benefit’.
The conditions we cover: for your comprehensive peace of mind
1) Cancer
21) Crohn’s Disease
2) Cardiac Surgery and Procedures
22) Ulcerative Colitis
3) Heart Attack and Myocardial Infarction
23) Chronic Pancreatitis
4) Stroke
24) Cerebral Malaria
5) Guillain-Barré Syndrome
25) Bacterial Meningitis
6) Motor Neurone Disease
26) Disabling Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
7) Parkinson’s Disease
27) Fulminant Hepatitis
8) Alzheimer’s Disease and Advanced Dementia
28) Loss of Sight
9) Benign Brain Tumour
29) Major Organ Transplant
10) Coma
30) Major Burns
11) Aplastic Anaemia
31) Poliomyelitis
12) Chronic Liver Failure
32) Terminal Illness
13) Chronic Respiratory Failure
33) Loss of Limbs
14) Paralysis (Paraplegia, Hemiplegia or Quadriplegia)
34) Rheumatoid Arthritis
15) Renal Failure
35) Trauma
16) Multiple Sclerosis
36) Accidental HIV
17) Muscular Dystrophy
37) Connective Tissue Disease
18) Encephalitis
38) Loss of Speech
19) Loss of Hearing
39) Major Head Injury
20) Aorta Surgery
40) ‘Guardian’ Benefit.
The Guardian Benefit: extra cover for
unlisted conditions at no extra cost
Medicine changes all the time – diseases that were once
considered tragically terminal become chronic conditions
that are entirely and easily treatable. HIV is a prime
example. But some conditions also appear or reappear
from nowhere – TB, particularly here in South Africa, is
one, along with certain strains of malaria. Even certain
types of influenza can be very severe, leaving lasting
effects.
Because life is unpredictable, Alexander Forbes has
an additional benefit as part of the Whole Life Dread
Disease benefit that covers some of those extra bases.
Consequently, if you are assessed as suffering from a
serious physical condition this is considered to be equal in
severity to a listed condition, that would qualify for a
100% pay-out and the Guardian Benefit would cover you.
What happens when you need to
make a claim?
Alexander Forbes Life’s experienced Professional Wealth
claims team will ensure that 100% of all valid claims are
met. We understand that a claim is the most important test
of any insurance company and we take the payment of all
our claims seriously.
A key element of this will be your dedicated personal
consultant, who will be able to access your policy
immediately and act swiftly to process your claim. We will
then medically evaluate your dread disease claim in order
to establish the severity of your condition – and therefore
at what level you qualify for the benefit. The Professional
Wealth Whole Life Dread Disease Benefit is then paid
out in line with the nature and severity of the particular
condition: pay-outs range from 10% to 100% but the vast
majority of the conditions are payable at the 100% Benefit
level.
You can make multiple claims on your Whole Life Dread
Disease Benefit, as the benefit will reinstate after each
claim, allowing for further unrelated claims under different
categories (Stand-alone benefit only). Multiple claims for
the same condition are allowed, where they are severitybased conditions such as cancer and the diagnosis may
become more severe over time, up to a maximum of
100% per benefit category.
How the benefit is paid out:
accelerated and stand-alone benefits
These two benefit structures are available under the Whole
Life Dread Disease Benefit.
The difference between the two is that the accelerated
benefits are taken as part of your Life Benefit, and claiming
from one of the Accelerated Benefits will reduce your Life
Benefit by the amount claimed. Your coverage under the
Whole Life Dread Disease Benefit, along with any other
accelerated benefits on your policy, may also reduce as a
result of the claim.
The stand-alone benefits are taken in addition to your Life
Benefit. Claiming on one of these benefits does not affect
your Life Benefit or any of the other accelerated or standalone benefits you may have.
Our Guaranteed Insurability option:
allowing you to increase your benefits
without any further medicals.
As your circumstances change, so too does your need
for cover. We realise this and so include guaranteed
insurability into the Whole Life Dread Disease Benefit
policy at no additional cost. This means that, during the
first ten years of your policy, you can buy additional cover
within three months of the occurrence of a significant life
event, such as a marriage, the birth of a child or applying
for or increasing your mortgage bond. This additional
cover comes without any additional need for medical
assessments and you can increase the sum insured by up
to 100%, to a maximum of R4 000 000.
Professional Wealth: a range of
benefits to ensure your family’s
financial security
The right protection is fundamental to building your family’s
financial security. Professional Wealth from Alexander
Forbes Life offers a carefully considered range of benefits
that can be tailored to your particular needs – whether that
may be a new family or a new business. Our product range
falls under the Professional Wealth brand and includes the
following options.
• Life Benefit
A lump sum payment on your death or diagnosis of a
terminal illness.
• Capital Disability Benefit
A lump sum payment in the event of total and
permanent disablement.
• Severe Illness and Impairment Benefit
A lump sum payment on the diagnosis of a critical
illness or an impairment.
• Comprehensive Income Disability Benefit
A monthly income payment in the event of temporary
or permanent disablement.
• Business Overheads Expense Benefit
A monthly income payment, for up to 24 months, to
cover your essential business operating expenses while
you are temporarily disabled.
How much are the premiums?
Your premiums are age rated and are based on an
individual rating system that incorporates medical testing
to make sure you pay the most appropriate premium. This
ensures that your premiums are as affordable as possible
and that you are paying the best premium possible for the
cover you require.
Melanie’s story
In October 2009, Melanie Macaulay was referred to a specialist by
her GP who was worried about her increasingly serious headaches
and dizziness. As her condition worsened, an MRI scan was booked.
Sadly, everyone’s worst fears were realised just before New Year
2010: Melanie had a brain tumour and, after a second scan was
taken, it appeared to be growing.
At 31, working for a firm of accountants, she was the primary
breadwinner in the household. And she was the mother of Gemma,
4, and Michael, 18 months. An operation was immediately
scheduled. Although traumatic for all concerned, it was a success
and the immediate pressure on her brain was relieved.
Through all of this, Melanie was extremely lucky that she had both
a comprehensive medical aid and dread disease benefits. This
allowed her to receive a full 100% pay-out from her dread disease
benefit in addition to her medical aid coverage.
In addition, she had been wise enough to take out Income Disability
cover as well, so Alexander Forbes not only paid her a significant
lump sum on diagnosis of her brain tumour, they also paid her a
monthly sum as well, for the considerable time she could not work.
More than anything else, it allowed her husband Paul to focus on
their young family and find a full-time nanny – the pay-out more
than covered their needs. And to date, miraculously, Melanie’s
two six-monthly scans since the operation have shown no return
of the tumour. Although her balance isn’t what it was, her head for
figures most certainly is. Back at work three days a week, she has
her life back in ways she never thought she would.
What next?
For more information on the Professional Wealth Whole Life Dread
Disease Benefit, please contact your Financial Adviser, who will
prepare your financial needs analysis for you. Once you have
evaluated and agreed on your unique financial needs, your financial
adviser will prepare a quote for you. If you are happy with our
quote, you will then need to fill in the necessary application form
and complete the required medical assessments.
Alternatively, you are welcome to contact our Call Centre on
(011) 269-1616 or email us at profwealth@aforbes.co.za.
Contact details
Physical address:
Alexander Forbes Place
61 Katherine Street
Sandown
Postal address:
PO Box 787240
Sandton
2146
South Africa
Telephone No:
(011) 269-1616
Fax No:
(011) 263-2545
(011) 263-1683
Email:
profwealth@aforbes.co.za
Disclaimer
Alexander Forbes Life Limited is an Authorised Financial Services Provider in terms of the FAIS Act. This is a high level marketing brochure and any legal, technical
or product information contained in this document is subject to change and is not to be construed as advice by Alexander Forbes Life Limited. This document is a
marketing overview of the features of the specific benefit. If there are any discrepancies between this document and our contractual policy wording, the latter will
prevail. Any recommendations made must take into consideration your individual needs and circumstances.
Designed by Alexander Forbes Financial Services Communications 4448. Photos from: www.istockphoto.com