Tag: sponsored-lifestyle

Keeping in mind the financial needs of new-age customers, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI) launched ABSLI Assured Savings Plan. It is an endowment policy that offers a life insurance cover as well as savings benefits. Not only does it safeguard your family members from a financial crisis due to an unfortunate event, but it also helps you accumulate lump sum benefits that will help you achieve your life goals like child’s education or retirement and legacy planning.

Speaking about this new insurance product, Kamlesh Rao, MD, and CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, said, “The experience of living through the pandemic and an uncertain economic environment has made individuals more aware and financially cautious. Today’s customer needs adequate life insurance and would like to be covered for specific risks. We understand this requirement and aim to offer solutions which are simple, innovative, and differentiated, catering to a customer’s emerging needs.”

The good news is that ABSLI Assured Savings Plan is flexible and can be personalized to your savings and protection needs. It provides guaranteed benefits on death or maturity, along with the convenience of customizing the plan benefits as per your set goals. The plan offers varied choices such as joint-life protection, multiple premium payment term options, flexible policy term, and rider options, to help design a unique policy for you and your family.

The better news is that in addition to a guaranteed lump sum, this plan makes you eligible to receive accrued loyalty benefits, on the maturity of the policy, which will further boost the total pay-out. You will also be able to enhance your financial safety net by adding multiple protection-oriented riders such as critical illness riders, accidental death riders, etc.

In a nutshell, the key features of ABSLI Assured Savings Plan are:

Guaranteed benefits: To cater to your life goals, worry-free.

Loyalty additions: To boost your maturity corpus, once all due premiums are paid.

Flexibility: To choose premium payment terms, policy terms and sum-assured multiples.

Financial Security: To cover financial risks for your family, in case of death.

Joint Life Protection Option: To cover your spouse in the same policy.

Enhance your Protection: Avail additional risk cover through Riders.

Furthermore, as per FY 2020-21 records, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance’s claim settlement ratio is 98.04%, making it one of the most trustworthy insurance providers. So, if you are looking for an endowment policy with multiple benefits, you need​​ not look beyond the ABSLI Assured Savings Plan.

For more information on the purchase of ABSLI Assured Savings Plan, click here

Cancer policies offer comprehensive coverage that reduces out-of-pocket expenses that you may incur after being diagnosed with the disease. Whether it’s hospital stays, medication, or treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, or hormone therapy, this policy covers it all. Cancer Conversations, brought to you by The Indian Express and Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, is an initiative that aims to spread awareness instead of fear. Therefore, we’ve chosen to shed light on why you should invest in a cancer insurance plan.

Cancer cases are on the rise

According to the data in the National Cancer Registry, the caseload in India has increased from 11.5 lakhs in 2019 to 13.9 lakhs in 2020. This means that there has been a 21 per cent rise in just one year. These numbers are expected to rise. This should give you reason enough to consider a cancer insurance policy before you are diagnosed with it.

Cancer treatments are long-drawn and expensive

A single chemotherapy session can cost anywhere between Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000. And one or two sessions are not enough. The cost of radiation, surgery, and other treatments is just as high. You need to factor in the possibility of taking time off from work during treatment. This means your income will take a hit. Add hospital stays, doctor fees, the possibility of having to travel to another city or country for treatment and the cost of cancer becomes high enough to break your bank. 

General health insurance policies may not be sufficient

Most health insurance policies available in the market have limitations. They usually pay only for hospitalization, and rarely cover the entire cost of the treatment. Furthermore, the policy amount may fall short as most people generally do not choose a policy that’s more than Rs. 5,00,000, while your overall treatment and care can be much higher.

Anyone can get cancer

Cancer is a complex group of diseases with many causes. While you can avoid smoking, alcohol and keep a check on your diet and fitness regime, you cannot control genetics and environmental toxins. Several people who have lived clean healthy lives with no family history of cancer, end up battling the disease. 

You don’t want to deal with financial toxicity

Studies show that the stress caused by financial toxicity is counterproductive to cancer treatment. It has even led people to forgo treatments because they can’t afford it. A comprehensive cancer coverage plan ensures that you don’t have to deal with this stress if you are diagnosed with cancer and gives you one less thing to worry about.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance became the ideal partner for Cancer Conversations because it offers comprehensive cancer insurance options with maximum coverage. It also has an efficient ecosystem that will support patients and their families in a time of need.

Watch #CancerConversations all month long on www.indianexpress.com and all social media platforms. Follow and share the hashtag and do your bit to spread awareness.

Cancer not only impacts health, but it also takes a toll on your finances. The cost varies anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 50,00,000. It depends heavily on the stage and type of cancer, types of treatments, post-treatment care, and duration of hospital stays. Many inflicted by the disease struggle to pay their bills, file for bankruptcy, or stop treatment so that they do not burden their families. The good news however is that you can eliminate the financial burden by planning for it in advance. But before that you need to know about the expenses that you may face. The launch edition of Cancer Conversations, an initiative by The Indian Express and Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, lists down the things to consider so that you can be on top your finances. 

Loss of Income

Chances are that during cancer treatment, you may not have the strength to work as efficiently as you do right now. You may require a long leave of absence from work. Even your caregiver (who in most cases is a family member) may need to take time off. These leaves could very well be unpaid and can affect your treatment expenses as well as your household overheads.

Medical expenses

This includes doctors’ fees, diagnostic tests, time spent in hospitals, and other medical services like oxygen and blood transfusion, as well as medicines. The doctors’ fees will depend on their experience and expertise. The cost of diagnostics varies as per the type of tests and the frequency with which you need to do them. Hospital costs in India depend on whether you choose a public or private hospital—the latter being twice as expensive or more. Apart from this, consider the cost of medication that will be used to treat you as well as prescribed to you to alleviate certain side effects. You should also factor in the cost of surgeries, prosthetics, and reconstruction.

Non-medical expenses

Take into consideration that you and your caregiver may need to travel for treatment, either outside the country or to another city. So apart from medical costs, you will need to think about transport and stay. You may also need to hire an extra hand if you’re a parent or have old parents depending on you. During treatment, you may not have the strength to take care of them. These expenses also include other supportive therapies like palliative care and pain management, mental health support, physical therapy, and nutrition therapy.

What you should do

Instead of living from paycheck to paycheck, it would be wise to plan your finances as early as possible. Reaching out to a financial planner and investing in a health insurance policy, specially crafted for cancer, can go a long way. For instance, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance offers comprehensive options with maximum coverage. It also has an efficient ecosystem that supports patients and their families.

Watch #CancerConversations all month long on www.indianexpress.com and all social media platforms. Follow and share the hashtag and do your bit to spread awareness.

Due to the uncertain nature of cancer, the relationship between a patient and caregiver (who is usually a family member) develops a new dynamic that has its own set of ups and downs. This episode in Cancer Conversations—a video series brought to you by The Indian Express and Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance—pairs a survivor with someone else’s caregiver, allowing them to share their sides of the story. All so that we can spread awareness instead of fear.

While the pair answered questions like “what annoyed you most” and “did you keep secrets from each other”, we realized that effective communication goes a long way in the cancer journey. That’s why we decided to share tips on how cancer warriors and their caregivers can communicate efficiently.

COMMUNICATION TIPS FOR CANCER CAREGIVERS

• Understand the patient’s emotions: Dealing with the shock of the diagnosis, embarrassment, and feeling like a burden are emotions commonly felt by cancer patients. Being empathetic towards these emotions will help you comprehend what your patient is struggling to express.

• Just Listen: Cancer patients are bombarded with free advice. Sometimes all they need is for someone to listen.

• Be comfortable with silence: Allow your patient to introspect without interruption. This will allow them to collect their thoughts and express them better.

• Harness the power of a loving touch: It can communicate emotions more than words can.

• Maintain a sense of normality: Talk about topics other than cancer and health. Encourage (not force) participation in fun activities. This allows the patient to take a positive approach.

COMMUNICATION TIPS FOR CANCER PATIENTS

• Be open about how you feel: Whether it’s helplessness or physical discomfort, share what you are going through. This will help your caregiver to provide the best care possible.

• Remember that you are not a burden: Even though illness can make you feel like that, know that your caregiver feels otherwise. Don’t let that emotion hold you back from seeking help.

• Involve your caregiver in decision-making: Collective decisions about treatment and care are always better. Including your caregiver during decision-making helps you get a better perspective.

• Take a break from cancer: Every now and then, participate in activities and conversations beyond cancer. It reminds both you and your caregiver that there is a world beyond the disease, which both of you are very much a part of.

Watch the video series all month long on www.indianexpress.com and all social media platforms. Follow and share #CancerConversations to do your bit with spreading awareness about cancer.

1. Cancer Conversations gives a never-seen-before perspective to cancer awareness

Cancer is a sensitive subject that makes us anxious. Due to this anxiety, most people avoid discussing it or educating themselves about it. This defeats the purpose of cancer awareness campaigns and leaves people unprepared in case they need to deal with the disease. Cancer Conversations attempts to change that with a video series that has an all-new narrative. As survivors and caregivers shed light on rare insights, Cancer Conversations also generates hope.

2. Cancer Conversations gets survivors to agree and disagree with each other

As five survivors discuss topics like using the cancer card and the impact of cancer on their sex life and personalities, Cancer Conversations captures them agreeing and disagreeing with each other, sharing personal anecdotes, and giving viewers a new way to look at the disease, all in a manner that’s heart-warming yet enlightening.

3. Cancer Conversations gets survivors and caregivers to share their sides

Since cancer also impacts family members of a patient, who usually play the role of caregivers, the video series pairs a survivor with someone else’s caregiver. As the pair answer questions like “what annoyed you most” and “did you keep secrets from the other”, we see a unique relationship dynamic that usually develops between patients and caregivers.

4. Cancer Conversations brings the financial burden of the disease to light

Through the series, caregivers and survivors speak about the expenses they’ve incurred over the disease to bring out the fact that cancer treatment can be extremely expensive. While Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance offers comprehensive cancer coverage options, it also has an efficient ecosystem that supports patients and their families. This made them the perfect partner for this initiative. From how survivors managed their expenses to what you can do to prepare for them—discover it all on Cancer Conversations.

5. Cancer Conversations was launched to mark National Cancer Awareness Day on November 7, 2021

National Cancer Awareness Day highlights the importance of increasing awareness about cancer for the general public, making it the perfect day to launch the Cancer Conversations. Unscripted, candid and real, Cancer Conversations is a three-part video series conceptualized and created by The Indian Express Brand Studio—the content creation arm of the Indian Express Group.

Follow #CancerConversations this month on www.indianexpress.com and across our social media platforms.