Manulife Philippines has launched its newest product HealthFlex, an innovative and accessible life and health insurance solution, and the first and only one in the market that provides customers the flexibility to select the right critical illness protection for them and enhance the scope of their coverage by adding benefits of their choice. Manulife HealthFlex also covers customers from age 0-70, adding more protection options to ensure family well-being.

Many Filipinos have recognized the increased importance of staying healthy, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Manulife’s recent study “Understanding Filipino Sentiments Toward Health and Critical Illness,” 77% of Filipinos have expressed their intent to buy insurance in the next 18 months, signaling increased awareness about health and critical illness, and the desire to be financially prepared for them.

In fact, 80% of Filipinos surveyed by Manulife believe that the cost of critical illness treatments exceeds their financial capacity, and 52% feel they are not financially ready in case a family member falls ill. That’s why most Filipinos pay out-of-pocket or use personal funds (54%), some depend on government and contributory health financing (34%), while the rest use their private health plans.

“HealthFlex addresses the key findings gathered from our recent study regarding Filipinos’ sentiments toward health and critical illness, which revealed that while they are now more interested in prioritizing their health, financial readiness continues to be a challenge,” said Richard Bates, President and CEO, Manulife Philippines. “With HealthFlex, we hope to make it easier and more affordable for Filipinos to manage their financial concerns around these critical illnesses, so they can focus on taking care of themselves and their loved ones, improving their overall health and well-being.”

Embracing healthier habits and financial preparedness

For Manulife Philippines, it is important for Filipinos to protect themselves through prevention and preparedness.

With a healthier lifestyle, like moving more, making better food choices, cutting out unhealthy habits and sleeping well, they can prevent critical illness in the future.

With the proper financial protection, Filipinos will not need to worry about running out of funds or becoming a burden to their loved ones if they acquire a critical illness.

Flexible and affordable financial protection in the event of critical illness

Manulife’s study also revealed that most Filipinos feel financially unprepared to cover healthcare expenses in the event of critical illness, believing that the cost of treatment is more than they can afford. HealthFlex is thus designed to enable Filipinos to choose the best critical illness plan with life insurance to meet their needs, and to make health protection accessible to more Filipinos.

Customers can choose which types of illness they would like to be covered by the plan’s advanced critical illness benefit, with four options to choose from: (1) cancer only; (2) cancer, heart attack, and stroke, which are perceived to be Filipinos’ top three critical illnesses; (3) cancer plus other elderly and critical illnesses; or (4) the top three illnesses, plus other elderly and critical illnesses.

“Manulife developed HealthFlex to cover critical illnesses that we found are top-of-mind for Filipinos. In addition to their high occurrence in the population, these critical illnesses are also among the most expensive to treat,” added Bates.  “We hope that HealthFlex’s innovative features offer customers greater flexibility in both the cost and scope of their insurance coverage, giving them security and financial peace of mind where it matters.”

Customers availing HealthFlex may also receive guaranteed death or maturity benefits, and long life bonus in the form of dividends. Premiums will also be waived if the insured is diagnosed with a covered early stage or advanced critical illness.

On top of its core benefits, HealthFlex also gives customers a way to enhance the coverage of their plans through these add-ons: (1) early stage critical illness benefit that gives 25% of the coverage amount; (2) recovery benefit, which provides a monthly allowance if insured is diagnosed with a covered advanced critical illness; (3) second advanced critical illness benefit, which provides an additional coverage, if the insured is diagnosed with a second critical illness, following the first claim; (4) child critical illness benefit, covering specific child illnesses; and (5) male or female cancer benefit, which gives additional benefits equal to 25% of face amount when insured is diagnosed with any of the specified illnesses that are common among males or females.

HealthFlex is payable in 5 years, 10 years, or up to age 60. A 30-year-old male can obtain Php300,000 HealthFlex coverage for as low as Php10,372 yearly premiums[1].

Customers interested in HealthFlex can visit Manulife Philippines website at http://manulife.pub/health_flex, and a financial adviser will reach out to you.