Lifebroker Believes that Cancer Insurance Is Worth Thinking About

Lifebroker is Australia's leading specialist life insurance broker by helping people find the best cover that's right for them and there's no denying the impact cancer is having on the modern world. You would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't had at least one family member, neighbour, or friend suffer from the disease.

We simply have to look at Australia's Cancer Council website to see how much it affects and will continue to play a part in our lives.

An estimated 114,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Australia in 2010.

1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85.

Cancer is a leading cause of death in Australia – more than 43,000 people are estimated to have died from cancer in 2010.

For all the frightening facts about cancer, we do live in a world full of modern technology. Hundreds of millions of dollars is spent each year on cancer research, trying to find a cure. We have effective treatment, which people years ago could only dream about.

We are fortunate enough in Australia to have access to a good public health system. While we can have treatment for cancer that is taken care of by our public health system, we need to look at the situation realistically. If 50% of Australians suffer from cancer, a large portion of those will either pass away from the disease or need to take time off from work to recover.

Taking out life insurance is taking a big step towards ensuring protection for your family, when you are no longer around. It's not a nice thought to consider, but a necessary one. While we as Australians lean towards the attitude that it won't happen to us, it may very well.

You can also consider trauma insurance, or critical illness insurance as it's sometimes known. Taking out a trauma policy will ensure a lump sum payment if you are diagnosed with a critical illness such as cancer. And apparently a lot of us who do fall ill to cancer, will survive the illness.

- More than 60% of cancer patients will survive more than five years after diagnosis.
- The survival rate for many common cancers has increased by 30 per cent in the past two decades.

For those who survive, there are costs involved. You may need to extend your house, to include room for someone to care for you. You may need money to cover you and your family, while you have taken time off work to recover. You may recover and want to go on the holiday you have always dreamed of to assist in recovery. You may have doctors bills. You might have to move house. Maybe you'll need a car to get to the doctors regularly.

There are standard trauma insurance policies you can apply for. A trauma insurance policy will cover 30 – 40 illnesses, cancer included. You could also take out a critical illness policy, targeted specifically at cancer suffers. This is especially convenient for people who may have suffered a serious illness previously, such as a heart attack, who would not be eligible for a standard trauma insurance policy. They would however, be able to take out the trauma policy, created for those who wish to protect themselves against cancer.

There are numerous ways that insurance can cover cancer and help with treatment costs, loss of income and in the unfortunate case of passing away, the families left behind are also covered. Considering the statistics associated with cancer it is worth thinking about cancer insurance.

Lifebroker is Australia's leading specialist online life insurance broker, helping you to find the best insurance coverage from Australia's leading life insurance companies. Compare 14 life insurance providers, choose your level of insurance coverage, and find out more about personal life, trauma, disablement and income protection insurance.