Women Warned to Take out Insurance

October 16 - With the number of women developing breast cancer increasing in South Africa, insurance groups are warning women to take out the necessary insurance to cover them against loss of income, health costs and other expenses if they should develop the disease.

The social makeup of South Africa's society means that many women are financially independent and have no second income to fall back on should they become ill.

This highlights the absolute essential need to protect that income so that medical bills can be paid, as well as everyday expenses such as household costs and childcare.

"On the whole women, even well educated women, are notoriously poor purchasers of insurance - whether that is for life policies including dread disease, health or even in terms of investments and retirements annuities," said Dr. Dominique Sttott, a business development executive at PPS Insurance.

So what type of policies should South African women arm themselves with?

Dr. Stott pointed out some of the more popular products on the market, including dread disease insurance.

"The advantage of a dread disease benefit is to help lessen the impact on the overall lifestyle changes of the policyholder and family members," he said. "Women in particular must be urged to review their financial planning and buy adequate dread disease cover in case of just such an eventuality.

Dr. Stott said that dread disease cover is not considered as a replacement for medical aid, but he said it could prove to be imperative in cases such as cosmetic procedures after operations, psychological treatment and other areas that medical aid does not cover.

"It must be remembered that even though a policyholder may also have a disability benefit, there is no guarantee that this will pay out," he said. "The degree of illness many not be regarded as significant enough to qualify for this type of benefit."