PRUHealth Critical Illness Extended Care III offers comprehensive protection against critical illnesses
- Provides up to 860% coverage against critical illness conditions, including a maximum of 660% cancer coverage while cancer persists
- Family Extra Benefit extended from spouses to children to ensure special protection for loved ones
- Intensive Care Benefit provides coverage against health issues beyond critical illnesses including infectious diseases and injuries
(5 January 2021 – Hong Kong) To address the increasing needs for critical illness protection, especially with the heightened health awareness triggered by COVID-19, Prudential Hong Kong Limited (“Prudential”) has launched an upgraded version of its flagship PRUHealth Critical Illness Extended Care III (“the plan”) to offer timely support to its customers.
Offering comprehensive protection against a range of critical illnesses, the plan is an upgrade over its predecessor PRUHealth Critical Illness Extended Care II. It addresses the evolving health needs of customers in Hong Kong, where cancer, heart disease and stroke as well as pneumonia remain by far the main causes of death[1].
Rising challenges of critical illnesses hit the younger generations
“A total of 34,028 new cancer cases were diagnosed in Hong Kong in 2018, a record high and up by 2.9% from the preceding year. That also means 93 people are diagnosed with cancer each day[2]. On the back of the increasing health risks in the city, the protection offered by our upgraded plan also evolves to meet our customers’ needs,” said Priscilla Ng, Chief Customer and Marketing Officer of Prudential. “It’s important for everyone to receive comprehensive coverage as extended treatments can put pressing stress on a family’s finances.”
From observation, millennials appear to invest more in health and wellness as compared to their older generations, yet there are also alarming figures showing that the number of young cancer patients aged 20-44 has increased by nearly 15% over the past 10 years[3]. Furthermore, statistics suggest that about 70% of women with ovarian cancer may experience one or multiple recurrences[4], and the risk of stroke for those who have experienced it at least once is 15 times higher[5] than those who have never encountered it.
Critical illnesses can strike more than once and cause significant financial impacts. With this new plan, customers who have submitted a critical illness claim once before can make two additional claims for cancer and two claims with a combination of heart attack or stroke, while the plan also allows a total of six additional claims under the Cancer Treatment Extra Benefit. In all, it provides up to 860% coverage against critical illness conditions, including a maximum of 660% cancer coverage while cancer persists.
Amid the current pandemic, although the vast majority recover from COVID-19, medical professionals have observed a pattern suggesting that patients who have suffered from the so-called ‘long-COVID’ – drawn-out post-COVID symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness and respiratory issues – are more susceptible to heart disease, lung conditions and neurological sequelae[6].
“We have seen evidence supporting that post-COVID-19 complications can lead to other critical health conditions, which may be protracted or reoccur after a period of remission,” said Dr. Kathy Chow, Medical Director of Health Assessment Centre of Prudential. “The protection of this new plan is geared against critical illnesses. It can also serve as a safety net to prepare millennials for potential health challenges.”
The upgraded plan also pays a benefit if the customers need to be admitted to an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for health issues beyond critical illnesses for three or more consecutive days, including infectious diseases and injuries due to accidents.
Enhance protection for the loved ones with Family Extra Benefit
The revamped plan features the Family Extra Benefit that provides extended protection to the loved ones, from spouses to children. With any two members of a family covered under the plan, a one-off benefit amounting to an additional 50% of the current sum assured will be paid to the beneficiary if the life assured unfortunately passes away within the first 10 years of the policy.
“In line with our ‘We Do Health’ mission, the plan supports our customers throughout their recovery journey. It covers multiple critical illnesses focused on cancer, heart disease and stroke, because year in, year out, these are the biggest causes of death and major concerns of our customers,” said Priscilla. “We’ve also extended additional benefits from spouses to children as part of our commitment to help bring peace of mind to families”
For more information of PRUHealth Critical Illness Extended Care III, please visit https://pruhk.co/cie3-e
PRUHealth Critical Illness Extended Care III is underwritten by Prudential Hong Kong Limited. This document does not contain the full terms and conditions of this plan and is for reference only. You should read carefully the risk disclosures and key exclusions (if any) contained in the product brochure. For further details and the terms and conditions of this plan, customers can ask Prudential for a sample of the policy document.
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[1] Public Health Information and Statistics of Hong Kong - Leading Cause of all Deaths 2018
[2] Hospital Authority - Overview of Hong Kong Cancer Statistics of 2018 (Oct 2020)
[3] Hospital Authority - Hong Kong Cancer Statistics Overview 2009 and 2018
[4] Research from Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA) published in <Healthline>, a health care online portal (April 2019) https://www.curetoday.com/view/ovarian-cancers-new-identity-a-chronic-disease
[5] Stroke Fund - < Stroke Prevention - Who is at risk?> http://www.strokefund.org/eng/save_part1.php
[6] The Stroke Association, Does coronavirus cause a stroke? A look at the current research (2 December 2020); Centres for Disease Control and Prevention <Long-Term Effects of COVID-19>
About Prudential Hong Kong Limited
Prudential has been serving the people of Hong Kong since 1964. Through Prudential Hong Kong Limited and Prudential General Insurance Hong Kong Limited, we provide a range of financial planning services and products including individual life insurance, investment-linked insurance, retirement solutions, health and medical protection, general insurance and employee benefits.
Prudential plc is an Asia-led portfolio of businesses focused on structural growth markets. The business helps people get the most out of life through life and health insurance, and retirement and asset management solutions. Prudential plc has 20 million customers and is listed on stock exchanges in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.
Prudential plc is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc., a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America or with the Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.
Please visit www.bvwmzp.com for more information.