In this Financial Informer, we look at the benefits dreaded disease cover, how you can remain healthy, as well as the tradition of new years resolutions and their beginnings, we also offer up ten of our own financial resolutions.

Dr. Dread

Fear of the unknown has been with us since time immemorial. Team building specialist David Roppo says, “You can’t rise from the ashes if you refuse to walk through the fire”. That may be so but surviving a dread disease makes that walk difficult without financial support. None of us like to consider the consequences of a severe illness however a lack of planning will make the journey a difficult one.

It is estimated that one in five people will suffer from a serious illness at some stage in their life, and one in eight will contract cancer before the age of 65. Deciding on whether or not to take out dread disease cover is a difficult decision for many as it can be costly. Understanding how this cover works and what to consider when assessing the need for this cover in your insurance portfolio is vital.

The basics

Critical illness also referred to as dread disease cover or severe illness cover is offered by most long-term insurance companies, and provides financial protection in the event that you are diagnosed with a debilitating illness, whether terminal or not. It takes the form of a tax-free, lump-sum payment on the diagnosis of a listed illness and must be made by a registered medical professional. With advances in medical science, we know that humans are living longer but sometimes with severe, sometimes terminal, illnesses. This makes dread disease cover more relevant than ever before. Statistics show that you are far more likely to contract a dread disease than die prematurely or become disabled, so dread disease cover is worth contemplating as part of your overall risk portfolio.

What does it cover?

Most dread disease policies cover cancer, stroke, heart attacks, and coronary bypass graft surgery, which are regarded as the Big 4 when it comes to dread disease, although cancer remains the leading cause of dread disease claims. However, it is advisable that you do your research into each insurer and determines exactly what conditions are covered and to what extent they are covered. As a rule of thumb, dread disease policies provide cover for conditions such as kidney failure, major organ transplants, chronic liver failure, loss of sight, rheumatoid arthritis, and respiratory failure. Get a complete list of the conditions covered with a clear explanation of how the disease is covered.

Here’s hoping…

The tradition of making resolutions at the beginning of each New Year is thought to date back more than two thousand years, to Roman times when their two-headed god Janus, after whom January is named, was placed at the head of their calendar.

Janus, appropriately the Roman god of beginnings, was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. On the eve of a New Year, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new. The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year’s Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune (they didn’t have the expense of the Christmas season back then). Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common New Year’s gifts.

The New Year has not always begun on 1 January, and it doesn’t begin on that date everywhere today. The Romans traditionally observed the New Year on 25 March, but various emperors continually tampered with their calendar so that the calendar soon became out of synch with the sun. In order to set the calendar right, Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has become known as the Julian calendar, with 1 January as the first day of the New Year.

Today New Year begins on 1 January for cultures that use the Gregorian calendar. Although the date for NewYear’s Day is not the same in every culture, it is always a time for celebration and to make resolutions for the coming year. The beginning of a New Year is also the ideal time to review your financial affairs and get them in order, and so to help you, here are ten financial new years resolutions for 2022:

Resolution #1: Draw up (and stick to) a Budget

Resolution #2: Be organised

Resolution #3: Build up a savings fund

Resolution #4: Pay off your credit cards

Resolution #5: Review your will

Resolution #6: Review your life cover

Resolution #7: Get your tax affairs in order

Resolution #8: Plan your retirement

Resolution #9: Check and improve your credit rating

Resolution #10: Keep your non-financial New Year’s resolutions

How to keep your New Year’s resolution

So how can you keep your resolutions this year? Buttimer recommends the following:

• Seek support from others. Ask your friends and family to cheer you on. Let them know your goals and what you would like to accomplish.

• Create a reward system for yourself. Set short-term goals and reward yourself for meeting them.

• Have compassion for yourself. No one is perfect. Instead of beating yourself up, take a deep breath and keep trying.