Bangkok--4 Oct--Spark Communications
Thais underestimate the true cost of healthcare annual AIA survey of attitudes to risk and insurance protection reveals
Over half of people surveyed in Thailand either cannot, or have no idea if they could, survive the financial consequences of contracting and surviving a critical illness such as cancer or a serious heart attack, an annual American International Assurance (AIA) ‘Life Matters’ Index has revealed.
The “Life Matters’ Index is an annual regional survey, now in its third year, that assesses attitude towards protection and personal risk and measures people’s level of preparedness in the event of health problems and accidents. The independent study covers Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand and has been conducted by market research firm TNS. Data is collected via interview from a representative sample of n=1000 per market.
The AIA ‘Life Matters’ Index showed that some 59 percent of those Thais questioned believed they could not finance, or simply did not know what the financial costs would be to fund the medical costs for ongoing treatment of a serious illness over a ten year period.
Surprisingly, some 41 percent of those Thais surveyed did believe they would have sufficient funds to sustain the loss of income and medical costs, proving them the most optimistic in region, of the markets surveyed. The survey also showed that on average, Thais believed that around Baht 351,429 would be required to finance the overall living and medical costs of surviving and treating a critical illness.
In fact, medical expenses for critical illnesses such as cancer are higher than the amount perceived by most Thais. For example, breast cancer treatment could cost about 803,000 baht over a three month period after being diagnosed. This amount does not include ballpark costs of an ongoing three-month treatment and daily expenses. The patient could also lose income during the on-going treatment. In a case like this, a patient earning 30,000 baht a month would need to be insured for 3 times their personal income per year to cover a critical illness like breast cancer.
“The AIA ‘Life Matters’ survey findings clearly show that, despite their apparent optimism, the hard reality is that consumers in Thailand are clearly seriously under-protected from the financial implications of medical risk,” said Mr. Thomas James White, AIA Thailand’s Executive Vice President and General Manager.
“A substantial proportion of those surveyed, (22 percent), simply do not know if they would have sufficient finances to survive the consequences of a potentially critical illness, both in terms of loss of income and potential long term medical costs. Alarmingly, the proportion of those who believe they can manage are actually severely underestimating the potential costs.”
Indeed, only 33 percent of those surveyed in Thailand were currently covered by accident and disability insurance and just 9 percent had any form of critical-illness cover. The Index also reveals that just 11 percent of those surveyed had any form of income protection cover.
“With medical advances, serious illness and accidents are more ‘survivable’ than ever before,” explained Mr. White. “For example, many incidents of cancer are now 80-90 percent survivable, yet recurrence rates can be high — potentially leading to treatments over 10 to 20 years.”
“People are still unaware of the financial impact on individuals and their families of the potentially high costs of expensive medical treatment for serious illness or accidents and the potential longer-term implications of respite after-care. The loss of income alone can be financially devastating. Without any form of income protection the Index also shows that some 28 percent of those surveyed would run out of funds within 12 months. ”
“The survey clearly exposes the alarming perception gap and that great many people face substantial financial risks as a consequence of inadequate medical and income insurance protection,” he said.
“Further education is critical for the Thai market. AIA is currently working hard on educating and advocating the need for sound financial planning and protection based around income protection and critical illness as core components to securing a firm financial future. As part of this program earlier this year we launched the AIA ‘FinancialHealth’ Check in Thailand.
This is a new process that assists customers to identify their financial goals in the areas of Family Income Protection; Education Financial Planning; Retirement Planning and of course, crucially, Accident and Health planning. Through the ‘Financial Health’ Check we help establish priorities and assess available options to achieve financial goals, whatever stage in life the customer is facing, to provide a sound foundation to build a secure financial future.”
About AIA
AIA has been operating in Thailand for more than 67 years. As of December 2005, the company has total assets of 299 Billion Baht and insurance reserves of 219 Billion Baht. Apart from ordinary life insurance, AIA offers accidental & health insurance, group insurance, credit life, payroll life, housing loans, and provident funds.
AIA is Southeast Asia’s largest life insurer, with branch offices, subsidiaries and affiliated companies located in countries and jurisdictions including Australia, Brunei, China, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. AIA markets a full line of life insurance products through a multi-channel distribution system, whose core franchise is an extensive agency force. AIA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), the world’s leading international insurance and financial services organization.
For more information, please contact:
PR contactName: Pannawat Khlongnakrob or Kalayapas Kulwongthanaroj
Tel: 0-2653-2717-9 Email: [email protected] , [email protected]
AIA contactName: Prechada Pansing
Tel: 0-2638-7923 Email: [email protected]
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