Life happens. Accidents happen. You or a family member is diagnosed with a long-term, debilitating illness, like cancer. You are unable to work, or you may have to be your child’s full-time caregiver for a period of time. Medical bills, household bills, and basic living expenses pile up. And debt happens.

In a 2015 survey by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 26% of the respondents claimed that medical bills put a severe strain on their income, and more than 40% of those people say they spent all or more of their savings on large medical bills.

These numbers included people with major medical insurance. However, the combination of high deductibles, co-insurance payments, reaching lifetime limits, or just running out of insurance can put people in a position of having to dig into savings (if they have them) or turn to credit cards to pay for everything from health care-related costs to simple, everyday expenditures.

You might not think it can happen to you. But consider the following:

• According to the American Cancer Society, about 1 out of 3 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
• The CDC says someone has a stroke every 40 seconds.
• About 6.8 million people are treated for broken bones each year.

So, what are your options to make sure you’re prepared?

First, start putting aside enough money to cover the deductible from your employer-provided or market health insurance.

Second, take a look at the various supplemental health insurance policies sold by private insurers, like SGIC. Some supplemental health insurance offers specific coverages, such as critical illnesses, accidental death and dismemberment, and accident emergencies. Limited indemnity medical plans are fairly inexpensive and are perfect for helping manage those additional expenses that can crop up after a serious illness or injury. Usually, benefits are paid directly to the insured, so you can use the money however you need, whether it’s to help pay the portion of the doctor’s bill your regular insurance didn’t cover or to put toward last month’s electric bill. It’s entirely up to you.

Supplemental health insurance plans can give you and your family peace of mind knowing that when life and accidents happen, debt doesn’t have to. If you would like to learn more about how SGIC can assist you with supplemental health insurance, please call us today at (888) 912-4767 for more information.