The U.S. business group of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF, TSX:SLF)
today released “Well-Placed Fears: Workers’ Perceptions of Critical
Illness,” a white paper based on responses from over 4,000 U.S. workers
about the potential costs of a critical illness.
The report found that many workers feared the financial impact of
a critical illness even more than dying from one. Such concerns
may be driven by a rise in out-of-pocket health care costs, as
employer-sponsored health plans require workers to shoulder an
ever-rising share of medical costs.
To highlight this trend, Sun Life Financial included in its report
estimates of per-person out-of-pocket medical costs for individuals
covered by health insurance who experience a critical illness, including
cancer ($6,740), stroke ($17,680), and heart attack ($14,234). Sun
Life’s per-person out-of-pocket cost estimates for critical illness are
based on claims data from over 300,000 of the firm’s Stop-Loss insurance
claims.
“Our findings suggest that benefits brokers and HR decision makers might
especially want to consider offering critical illness and cancer
insurance if their employee base contains a significant group of women,
workers age 40 to 50, or singles,” said Bob Klein, Senior Vice President
of Sun Life’s Voluntary and Multiline divisions. “Further, our research
shows that workers in the transportation, utility, business/professional
services, and manufacturing industries also seem particularly concerned
with the financial impact of a critical illness.”
According to the Sun Life critical illness white paper:
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Half of all workers, especially women and younger workers, cite cancer
as their most dreaded critical illness.
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Most workers age 40 to 50 fear the financial impact of a critical
illness more than they fear death, especially single workers, single
women, and single parents.
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Of workers age 22 to 39, most single parents and single women earning
under $50,000 fear the financial impact of a critical illness more
than they fear death.
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Most workers in the transportation, utility, business/professional
services, and manufacturing industries fear the financial impact of a
critical illness more than they fear death.
Other key findings:
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Over one-third (36%) of workers believe they have critical
illness coverage, when industry estimates suggest that under 5% of the
U.S. workforce actually have critical illness insurance
coverage.
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Two-thirds (66%) of workers who personally experienced a critical
illness had to make financial sacrifices to meet uncovered medical or
non-medical costs, despite owning health insurance.
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Over one third (37%) of workers who survived a critical illness found
themselves out of work for four months or longer.
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Tapping emergency funds or dipping into long-term savings were the
most common financial sacrifices made by workers who experienced a
critical illness.
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12% of workers who experienced a critical illness declared bankruptcy
and 11% lost their homes.
"Sun Life’s research on critical illness underscores that even if you
have robust health insurance coverage, a significant health condition
such as cancer, heart attack, or stroke can divert a significant chunk
of money from your savings, or in some cases, cost you your home,” added
Klein. “Based on these findings, we think many workers will want to
explore ways to increase their financial security in case they
experience a critical illness.”
For the full report, click: http://bit.ly/CIWPPR
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services
organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth
accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate
customers. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today
have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United
States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan,
Indonesia, India, China, and Bermuda. In the United States and
elsewhere, insurance products are offered by members of the Sun Life
Financial group that are insurance companies. Sun Life Financial Inc.,
the holding company for the Sun Life Financial group of companies, is a
public company. It is not an insurance company and does not offer
insurance products for sale in the United States or elsewhere, and does
not guarantee the obligations of its insurance company subsidiaries. In
the United States, Sun Life Financial provides a range of products and
services to employers and their employees, including group and voluntary
life, disability, dental and stop-loss insurance products. These
products are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada in all
states except New York. In New York, these products are issued by Sun
Life Insurance and Annuity Company of New York. Product offerings may
not be available in all states and may vary depending on state laws and
regulations. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE), and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker
symbol SLF. For more information, visit www.sunlife.com/us.
Copyright Business Wire 2013