Femina by APA – A Great Insurance Cover for Women

Health insurance is one of the things you must consider in your budget planning. Health is becoming one of the biggest expenses in our lives if the pleas for contributions towards medical appeals are anything to go by. Only 12 per cent of Kenyans have insurance, with 10% being under public insurance NHIF and 2% under private insurance. This translates to about 480,000 Kenyans who have insurance covers out of the country’s over 40 million people population.

If we’re being honest, most people are under insurance because they are employed and it is a benefit of their employment. The rest of the population would have to take initiative to get health insurance, which doesn’t seem to be a priority even though healthcare is incredibly expensive. Majority of us are literally one sickness away from being financially destroyed and so it’s surprising that we do not have a higher uptake of health insurance.

Globally, cancer causes more deaths than HIV, TB and Malaria combined, with 70% of the global cancer burden is in low and middle-income countries like Kenya. Cancer is one of the biggest killers of women in Kenya, with 27,000 dying from breast cancer alone every year.  The statistics from WHO are that there will be 20 million new cancer cases by 2020 with majority of those coming from the developing world.

As cancer cases are on the rise, the average age for cancers that were considered for the older population is dropping. More younger women are being diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer. This means that we have no choice but be in charge of our healthcare around cancer. 30% of cancers are curable if detected early and 30% of cancers are treatable with prolonged survival if detected early.

Health insurance covers do cover cancer but after 1 to 2 years, which means that if you receive a cancer diagnosis during this time you are uncovered. There is also the unfortunate reality that cancer treatment will probably go over the limit of most health insurance – although a number of insurance providers have a limit within the inpatient limit for cancer treatment. That being said, any additional financial resources as far as cancer is concerned are welcome.

Femina by APA is a cover that has is cash benefit payable once a policy holder is diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer. The plan will pay cash on diagnosis and does not require any checkup before signing up. APA Insurance will even deliver a cheque at your hospital bed if necessary.

There are 2 options – Ksh 500,000 and Ksh 250,000 whose rates depend on age. For Ksh 250,000, the rates are Ksh 1,000 for 20-29; Ksh 1550 for 30-39 and Ksh 2000 for 40+. For Ksh 5000,000, the rates are Ksh 1,950 for 20-29; Ksh 3000 for 30-39 and Ksh 3950 for 40+.