Cost of being a woman higher regarding medical costs - report

Johannesburg – The cost of being a woman is significantly higher than being a man, especially when considering medical costs.
 
According to a recent report by the World Health Organisation, women face a range of health challenges that include growing risks for chronic non-communicable diseases as they age. The 2015 Claim Statistics Report by Liberty shows that 28.5% of claims paid to women were for cancer, and additional claims were made for cardiovascular, respiratory and musculoskeletal disorders.
 
“The cost of quality healthcare has increased significantly in the recent years and making provision for healthcare insurance is an essential part of your financial planning,” says Dr Philippa Peil, chief medical officer at Liberty.
 
Often stay at home moms don’t realise the impact that being diagnosed with a critical illness could have on their family, especially from a financial perspective. Recruiting someone to assist can relieve the burden, but it comes at a price. One that needs to be paid on top of increased medical bills.

Studies have shown that married people accumulate about four times more savings and assets than single people and that divorced people have 77% less assets than singles. These stats tell us that divorce can clearly take a toll on your finances and that you need to be prepared for this.

When you get married, consult your financial adviser and ensure that both names are on all assets so that in the case of a divorce, you can get at least half of these assets.

Geraldine Macpherson, legal marketing specialist at Liberty, advises that “involve your financial adviser to ensure that the fund is correctly named in the divorce order as well as the percentage of the fund (referred to as pension interest) that you are entitled to. Not wording your divorce order correctly could result in costly delays”.