By TAN SHIOW CHIN

starhealth@thestar.com.my
L
ET us review the numbers.
According to the 2011 National
Health and Morbidity Survey
(NHMS), one in five Malaysians over
the age of 30 have diabetes, and
only half of them are aware of their
condition.
Around one in three Malaysians
aged 18 and above have high blood
pressure, or hypertension, and only
a shockingly low 8% actually have it
under control.
The situation with cholesterol is
just as bad, with 35.1% of Malaysian
adults having high cholesterol lev-
els, or hypercholesterolaemia.
Meanwhile, 15.1% of the popula-
tion aged 18 and above are consid-
ered obese, with body mass indexes
(BMIs) of more than 30.
Put all these numbers together,
and what you have is a perfect
recipe for an epidemic of chronic
diseases in particular, coronary
artery disease, which can result in
heart attacks and stroke.
Coronary artery disease, also
known as heart disease, has been
the top killer in Malaysia for the
past three decades.
So it is not very surprising that
the medical conditions resulting
from it are among those singled
out as critical illnesses by insurance
companies.
In fact, heart attacks and stroke
were two of the four conditions
covered in the very first critical ill-
ness insurance product introduced
by South African heart surgeon Dr
Marius Barnard in 1983.
Then called dread disease insur-
ance, the policy also covered cancer
and coronary artery bypass surgery
(also known as heart bypass sur-
gery).
Since then, the list of critical
illnesses covered by insurers has
expanded tremendously, although
the number and types of conditions
vary from provider to provider.
However, with the exception of
cancer, these policies only cover a
one-time occurrence of the disease,
meaning that if you should be so
unfortunate as to experience a
repeat episode of the same condi-
tion, you will be on your own finan-
cially.
The problem is some critical
illnesses are not one-strike condi-
tions.
For example, if you survive your
first heart attack or stroke, your
chances of experiencing another
heart attack or stroke respectively
are increased, compared to before
the first experience.
That is why Canadian insur-
ance company Manulife decided
to launch the Manulife Cover-Me-
Again plan in Malaysia recently.
During the event in Kuala
Lumpur, Manulife Malaysia chief
executive officer George Chew said:
The core fear of Malaysians today
is that once they have a critical ill-
ness, it can occur again, and they
have no financial capability to cope
with a recurrence.
He later told reporters: Modern
medical technology and treatments
are available (for most diseases),
its whether you have the money to
afford it or not.
As its name implies, the Manulife
Cover-Me-Again plan allows for
a maximum of two claims for the
same medical condition, subject
to certain terms and conditions in
the policy, with the total amount
claimable up to 200% of the total
provided for in the policy.
For example, if a stroke patient
should suffer from another stroke
two years after the first incident,
he can make a second 100% claim
on his policy, provided that a neu-
rologist can provide evidence of a
new infarction (or tissue death) in
the brain and the patients current
condition meets Manulifes critical
illness definition of stroke.
Similarly, for cancer cases, the
second claim can be made if recur-
rence of the cancer is diagnosed
two years after the patient has
been certified by a physician to be
in complete remission from the
first cancer and the case meets
Manulifes critical illness definition
of cancer.
Chief marketing officer Kenny
Thing notes: We have one of the
shortest waiting periods for (recur-
ring) cancer two years, versus five
years in the market.
He adds that the policy also pro-
vides a recovery benefit of cash
vouchers worth RM750 to purchase
medical items to aid in the policy-
holders recovery upon the first
claim, and a recovery allowance
for the first two claims, which is
worth 5% of the amount claimable,
up to RM5,000 per claim.
A total of 10 critical illnesses are
eligible for this double-claim policy.
(See Claimable critical illnesses)
Policy-holders can also claim for
the occurrence of any of another 26
critical illnesses, but only once per
disease and up to a maximum of
200% of the amount claimable.
The evaluation process, says
Thing, will be as consumer-friendly
as possible.
The premium to be paid by
policyholders will be comparable
to current market rates, with Thing
giving an example of a healthy,
non-smoking male having to pay
around RM150 a month for a
RM100,000 policy.
Says Chew: To the best of our
knowledge, we believe this product
will do very well because it fulfils
a need that is not covered (in the
market); it is a product that is the
first of its kind (in Asia).
He adds: Our hope is that our
competitors will copy our product,
because this would mean that it
will become a staple of insurance
products, making it available to
everyone.
Its not just for us, its for the
community.
StarFit4Life, Sunday 23 March 2014 HEALTH
Twice the offer?
critical illness insurance policies are usually limited to one claim per disease, however,
a newly-introduced plan allows its holders to claim twice for certain conditions.
chew... We believe that this product is
the first of its kind in asia. FaIhan
GhanI/The Star
coronary
artery bypass
surgery is one
of the 10
critical
illnesses that
can be claimed
twice under
the new
Manulife
cover-Me-
again policy.
Filepic
Source: Manulife Malaysia
The 10 critical illnesses that can be
claimed up to 200% of the insured
amount for the same condition.
Claimable critical illnesses
Heart attack
Stroke
Cancer
Surgery to aorta
Heart valve surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Other serious coronary artery
disease
Major head trauma
Major organ or bone marrow
transplant
Major burns