Did you know that in Australia at least 82,000 NEW cases of cancer are diagnosed each year alone? Did you know that 1 in 3 Australian men and 1 in 4 Australian women will suffer from cancer in their lifetime?

In 2009-10 there were approximately 9.4 million hospital admissions Australia wide, that's potentially 43% of Australia's population and only 22% of Australian’s actually have life insurance, 60% of which have not got enough life insurance cover to assist their families for a year should they die. So, imagine if they had a stroke or became critically ill, how would these people cope financially then? Sadly, many don't and because of this, quality of life quickly diminish along with finances.

Trauma or Critical Illness Insurance provides a lump sum payment to the life insured on the diagnosis or occurrence of a list of specific illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, stroke and up to 58 other specific medical conditions. There are no rules and regulations as to how the money is spent, but the lump sum payment generally provides an amount to pay for treatments, medications, rehabilitation, home modifications and can even provide an amount to help pay bills and other every day expenses.

29% of Australians over 25 suffer from high blood pressure, half of whom have high cholesterol. So, it is very much likely that we might see one of our friends, relatives, colleagues or even ourselves suffer from a trauma condition in our lifetime. Trauma insurance claims triple the amount of claims made from other insurances and we all know that critical illnesses are becoming more and more common than ever before, yet trauma insurance is one of the least common life insurance products taken out by Australians because people don’t realise just how common such illnesses are.

Cancer in Australia: an overview, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Statistics, Dec 2008. Australian Hospital Statistics 2009-10, Apr 2011. Channel 9 News Finance: Underinsurance in Australia, Gillian Bullock, Sep 2005. EZ Insurance – Education Centre: Is Trauma Insurance for me? Sydney Morning Herald – Traveler: Pleasure or Pain? Lee Atkinson, Nov 2008.