Is Cancer a death sentence?
By Stephen Mok, Financial Consultant, IPP Financial Advisers Pte Ltd
Within a short span of 6 months, 2 female relatives of mine had been diagnosed with cancer. Both are in their early sixties. One had cancer of the womb and the other had bone cancer.
The first one was a simple factory worker, staying in a 3-room flat while the second was a multi-millionaire business woman, staying in District 9. Both were expected to live for a few months as they were at the fourth stage of cancer. They did not detect the cancer cells earlier due to ignorance and refused to go for medical checkups.
1) The first relative was warded at Kandang Kerbau Women and Children’s Hospital (a government restructured hospital) and underwent chemotherapy after the doctors confirmed the presence of the cancer cells. She went in and out of the hospital many times for check ups, scans, medication and counseling.
Unfortunately she suffered a stroke after a week of chemotherapy and became bedridden. She could not move the right side of her body. She lost all her hair and her weight fell quickly till she looked like some malnourished refugee in some third world country.
Finally, she passed away 2-weeks ago in her own home with her family beside her as she did not want to die at the hospital. Her husband and 3 children were devastated with her sudden death and gave her a grand Chinese funeral with cost them more than $30,000! They were initially expecting the cost to be around $10,000. Emotions ran high and whatever the funeral directors proposed, they agreed. Cost was not an issue since they wanted the best for her in her after life. A huge paper 3-storey mansion, a paper Mercedes car, a male and female paper servant doll plus billions of dollars worth of Hell paper notes were burnt in one night to give her a comfortable after-life.
2) The second relative (the multi-millionaire) was warded at Gleneagles Hospital 3 days ago, with 4 medical specialists attending to her and giving her the best present day medical science can offer. She shuttled between Gleneagles Hospital and Mt Elizabeth Hospital to seek treatment and advice from the best in the medical field. Money is not a concern at all but death is still expected to take her away very soon.
Death is a respecter of no one, whether rich or poor. As Plato, the philosopher said, “There is no certainty than the certainty of death and there is no certainty than the moment and timing of death” Death is certain but no one knows the moment and timing of death.
Since we know that death is certain, why don’t we plan for it just like the way we plan for a holiday this December? By planning, I mean we should instruct our next of kin, by way of a will, the desires of our hearts after we leave this world. We should not let them squabble, quarrel and even take legal action to enforce what they think was our desire.
As an independent financial planner, not only do I plan for the living benefits of a person, I can also help plan the wealth distribution of a person after death.
If you want a smooth transition and transfer of your financial assets to all your loved ones with minimal delay, you can start by getting a lawyer to draft a will and I can help you arrange how your financial assets can be distributed to the proper beneficiaries.
If you want a no obligation discussion, please contact me for advice.
Sincerely,
Stephen Mok
Financial Consultant
IPP Financial Advisers Pte Ltd
Tel: +65 6309-0128
Fax: +65 6309-0129
Mobile: +65 9001-1082
Email: stephenmok@ippfa.com
Website: www.ippfa.com
Labels: cancer as a death sentence, financial planning
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Are You Adequately Insured?
Are You Adequately Insured?
By Stephen Mok
Financial Consultant
IPP Financial Advisers Pte Ltd
My friend called me today to tell me that one of his friends had a motorcycle accident sometime back. He fell off his motorcycle and injured his head seriously. Fortunately he survived the accident but unfortunately, he lost his memory!!!
Now he is recuperating at a community hospital in Ang Mo Kio (Singapore) as he cannot stay too long at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which is a restructured hospital.As the sole bread winner of his family with two kids, he is now unable to support them.
Who knows how long he will need to stay in the community hospital.
As an independent financial adviser, immediately the issue of insurance payout and the survival of his family sprung into my thoughts....
1) Will his Private Medishield plan pay for all his hospital bills?
2) Will his Life Insurance Critical Illness Policy pay a lump sum of money for his medical related expenses outside the hospital?
3) How long will his company keep him under their payroll?
4) How long will his savings last, now that he is completely unable to work due to his loss of memory.
5) Can his wife get a job as soon as possible? What will happen to her children while she is at work?
6) Who is going to pay the community hospital bills when the family's CPF Medisave funds run dry?
7) Who will pay for the children's school fees, meals in school, school books etc..... will the kids fall into bad influence without proper parental guidance?
I will answer Q1 and Q2, as for the rest of the questions, his poor wife will soon find out.
Q1) It depends on which company he bought the Private Medishield Plan from. Only 2 companies cover the cost of staying in a community hospital as of today. Most cover expenses for stays in restructured and private hospitals only.
Q2) No, his life insurance critical illness plan will not pay a lump sum to him as loss of memory is not a critical illness. Yes, I am afraid when the premiums are not paid the policy will terminate.
So is there an insurance policy that will pay?
Yes, this is called a disability income policy where the insurance company will pay when the person insured cannot do his work after an illness or accident. He will be compensated a portion of his pay. If he should recover partially, but cannot get back his job or a similar paying job due to his disability, he will still get a pro rata payment till an age he had specified when he bought the policy, for example age 50, 55, 60 or 65.
Details of which I will not elaborate unless you request from me.
Most of us are busy trying to build up our bank accounts before we retire. Do you have Plan-B, just in case you are stopped from achieving your goals by an illness or a serious accident?
Most Singaporeans already have at least two insurance polices but most have less than $100,000 of insurance coverage. Just ask yourself, how long will your insurance payouts last? One year, two years? Is your family's lifestyle going to be compromised because you failed to plan?
So, are you adequately insured?
If you want a no obligation review, please contact me.
Stephen Mok
Financial Consultant
IPP Financial Advisers Pte Ltd
Tel: +65 6309-0128
Fax: +65 6309-0129
Mobile: +65 9001-1082
Email: stephenmok@ippfa.com
Website: http://www.ippfa.com/
____________________________________________________________________
By Stephen Mok
Financial Consultant
IPP Financial Advisers Pte Ltd
My friend called me today to tell me that one of his friends had a motorcycle accident sometime back. He fell off his motorcycle and injured his head seriously. Fortunately he survived the accident but unfortunately, he lost his memory!!!
Now he is recuperating at a community hospital in Ang Mo Kio (Singapore) as he cannot stay too long at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which is a restructured hospital.As the sole bread winner of his family with two kids, he is now unable to support them.
Who knows how long he will need to stay in the community hospital.
As an independent financial adviser, immediately the issue of insurance payout and the survival of his family sprung into my thoughts....
1) Will his Private Medishield plan pay for all his hospital bills?
2) Will his Life Insurance Critical Illness Policy pay a lump sum of money for his medical related expenses outside the hospital?
3) How long will his company keep him under their payroll?
4) How long will his savings last, now that he is completely unable to work due to his loss of memory.
5) Can his wife get a job as soon as possible? What will happen to her children while she is at work?
6) Who is going to pay the community hospital bills when the family's CPF Medisave funds run dry?
7) Who will pay for the children's school fees, meals in school, school books etc..... will the kids fall into bad influence without proper parental guidance?
I will answer Q1 and Q2, as for the rest of the questions, his poor wife will soon find out.
Q1) It depends on which company he bought the Private Medishield Plan from. Only 2 companies cover the cost of staying in a community hospital as of today. Most cover expenses for stays in restructured and private hospitals only.
Q2) No, his life insurance critical illness plan will not pay a lump sum to him as loss of memory is not a critical illness. Yes, I am afraid when the premiums are not paid the policy will terminate.
So is there an insurance policy that will pay?
Yes, this is called a disability income policy where the insurance company will pay when the person insured cannot do his work after an illness or accident. He will be compensated a portion of his pay. If he should recover partially, but cannot get back his job or a similar paying job due to his disability, he will still get a pro rata payment till an age he had specified when he bought the policy, for example age 50, 55, 60 or 65.
Details of which I will not elaborate unless you request from me.
Most of us are busy trying to build up our bank accounts before we retire. Do you have Plan-B, just in case you are stopped from achieving your goals by an illness or a serious accident?
Most Singaporeans already have at least two insurance polices but most have less than $100,000 of insurance coverage. Just ask yourself, how long will your insurance payouts last? One year, two years? Is your family's lifestyle going to be compromised because you failed to plan?
So, are you adequately insured?
If you want a no obligation review, please contact me.
Stephen Mok
Financial Consultant
IPP Financial Advisers Pte Ltd
Tel: +65 6309-0128
Fax: +65 6309-0129
Mobile: +65 9001-1082
Email: stephenmok@ippfa.com
Website: http://www.ippfa.com/
____________________________________________________________________
IPP Financial Planning Pte Ltd
The IPP (Investment Protection Planning) Financial Services Organization in South East Asia is an advisory and consulting Organization providing comprehensive life insurance, investment and financial planning services to individuals clients and companies.
Planning for financial success
All of us desire to be financially secure and successful and yet we know that there is no secret path or short-cut. To be successful in our financial and investment decisions we need quality information, sound judgement, good timing and hard discipline.
In this uncertain global economic environment and complex financial market place, obtaining quality information and making timely financialdecisions can be difficult and time consuming. We need to work with professional advisors and specialists to plan for financial security and success.
Through the proven process and systems of comprehensive financial planning, IPP can help you :
Identify financial needs
Define goals
Develop plans and strategies
Implement financial decisions
Measure performance to produce reliable results
And the person who can help you achieve that is an IPP Financial planning Practitioner.
Planning for financial success
All of us desire to be financially secure and successful and yet we know that there is no secret path or short-cut. To be successful in our financial and investment decisions we need quality information, sound judgement, good timing and hard discipline.
In this uncertain global economic environment and complex financial market place, obtaining quality information and making timely financialdecisions can be difficult and time consuming. We need to work with professional advisors and specialists to plan for financial security and success.
Through the proven process and systems of comprehensive financial planning, IPP can help you :
Identify financial needs
Define goals
Develop plans and strategies
Implement financial decisions
Measure performance to produce reliable results
And the person who can help you achieve that is an IPP Financial planning Practitioner.
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