Terminal illness, by definition, is an illness that cannot be cured or adequately treated, and the death of the patient is expected. So, it is also called as the end-stage disease.
A terminal illness is often diagnosed for progressive diseases such as cancers and advanced heart failures. That is, a terminal illness indicates that a diagnosed disease will progress until death of near absolute certainty, regardless of treatments.
There is currently no standardized life expectancy if a patient is diagnoses as a terminal patient. Once diagnosed, a rough estimated life expectancy will be given by the physician based on previous case data. The true longevity of a terminal patient may be longer or shorter than the estimated life expectancy.
Terminal patients will have the options for disease management (i.e., caregiving, continued treatment, hospice care, and physician-assisted suicide) after the diagnosis. Decisions regarding management are made by the patient and his/her family, in consideration with the available service recommendations from medical professionals.
Lifestyles of terminal patients after diagnosis vary depending largely on management decisions as well as the nature of the disease. Because they are aware of the oncoming deaths, terminal patients are often experience depression and anxiety associated with the inevitable death, the futures of their loved ones, and also the family financial situations if the patients are primary bread-earners in the family.
A well-planned life insurance can help financially alleviate such struggling. Commonly, life insurance companies will pay portion of the death benefit to the patient on top of what has been paid by the patient's health insurance, as long as a terminal illness that will result in death within 12 months of certification of the illness by a physician.
For your reference, the "Living Life by Design" (an indexed universal life insurance product issued by National Life Group) announces that:
Pay up to 100% of the death benefit, depending on the severity of the terminal illness diagnosed;
Prolong the trigger as "a terminal illness that will result in death within 24 months of certification of the illness by a physician".
With "Living Life by Design", the benefit payment will be a lump sum. There is no waiting period or annual benefit limit, but there is a lifetime limit on the amount of benefits an insured can receive across all Accelerated Benefits Riders (riders for the living benefits provision).
Please refer to the "testimonials" page to know real cases.
[updated on 12/19/2020 at 10:01 am ET]
Comments