AXA launches Health Exentials

MANILA, Philippines - Life insurer AXA Philippines has launched a health insurance product aimed at providing adequate coverage for critical illnesses.

Health Exentials is a simple, all-in-one health and protection plan, for an affordable price of as low as P59 a day.

Policy holders can get P5.5 million worth of comprehensive benefits, which include critical conditions benefit, total and permanent disability benefit, daily hospitalization income benefit, a one-time surgical benefit, and a maturity cash benefit.

Health Exentials premiums can be as low as only P1,140 a month or  P39 per day. It also has higher medical benefits of up to P10 million, as well as a special Advanced Health Fund that starts at age 70, which can be used for various medicines and treatments most common at that age.

AXA Philippines president and CEO Rien Hermans said with health trends in the Philippines and in most countries today, the risk of developing critical illness is now higher.

“People should be protecting themselves from the financial impact of being diagnosed with a critical illness,” he added.

Data from the Department of Health (DOH) show non-communicable diseases or the so-called lifestyle diseases such as heart attack or heart failure, stroke, and cancer are the top three leading causes of death.

At least one Filipino suffers from stroke every nine minutes; for those who survive, they risk a 75 percent possibility of becoming permanently disabled.

Even with a public awareness campaign to prevent these diseases by proper diet and exercises, this is still not enough to prepare Filipinos from the financial impact they may encounter in having these lifestyle diseases.

The cost of heart by-pass surgery, chemotherapy or brain surgery ranges from half a million to a million pesos, an amount most regular health plans cannot cover.

AXA Philippines is a joint venture between Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) and AXA of France, one of the largest life insurance and financial company in Europe.