Dying is really stressful and expensive
Losing a parent to cancer is sad and distressing enough without the added stress of worrying about money, says Yaling, who lost her mother Christine* in November 2020 after a five-month battle with stomach cancer.
Losing a parent to cancer is sad and distressing enough without the added stress of worrying about money, says Yaling*, who lost her mother Christine in November 2020 after a five-month battle with stomach cancer.
Yaling and her husband, who live in the United States, had to fly home to Sydney in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantining in a hotel for 14 days, to spend time with Christine before she died.
Together with her sister, Yaling then had the difficult task of finalising her mother’s financial affairs.
“I’ve learned so much about the end of life in the past couple of years and it’s really expensive,” Yaling says.
“Everything costs money; medical treatment, palliative care, funerals, headstones, applying for probate, legal fees and real estate-related fees. This is on top of other expenses including travel and accommodation, and lost income.”
“There are literally fees for everything and the average group insurance policy inside superannuation doesn’t come close to covering it.”
Fortunately, Christine had a ClearView life insurance policy, which enabled Yaling and her family to focus on grieving while continuing to care for their elderly father.
More than a year on, Yaling and her family still struggle with the loss of Christine.
“My mother was completely selfless. She was a faithful wife, mother and friend, and even in her career as a nurse, she lived a life in the service of others,” Yaling says.
“She lived a modest life but prioritised her life insurance premiums because she didn’t want to be a burden on anybody, especially not her kids. I’m so glad she did that for us because I know some terrible stories of siblings fighting over who’s going to pay for what, when a parent dies. At such an important time, instead of focusing on what’s truly important, it can get ugly.”
“We never had to worry about any of that.”
That’s not to say that money wasn’t tight at times.
With medical expenses piling up and the cost of inflated airfares to fly back and forth from the States during a global pandemic, plus hotel quarantine, the family investigated the possibility of getting their mother’s death benefit paid out early.
“ClearView was there for us when we needed them and that has made all the difference.”
With a ClearView policy, an accelerated death benefit can be paid in certain circumstances, such as terminal illness or a catastrophic illness. However, Christine had an aggressive form of cancer and passed away relatively quickly.
“Like most people, we had no idea what to do when mum got sick and died. It was such an emotional, exhausting ordeal and I don’t know how people do that while trying to hold down a full-time job and worry about money,” Yaling says.
“ClearView was there for us when we needed them and that has made all the difference.”
In focus: Stomach cancer
Stomach cancer is relatively common in Australia, however diagnosis numbers have been falling in recent years. In 2021, around 2400 people were diagnosed with stomach cancer.
It is usually diagnosed through endoscopy and biopsy of the tissue in the stomach lining. After diagnosis, a CT scan or ultrasound may be used to determine the extent of the cancer.
This type of cancer mostly affects people over 60 and is more common in men than women.
*Not their real name.
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