4th September 2026 - 4 min read
Surviving a serious illness does not mean the financial impact ends when treatment does. For some patients, the costs can continue through lost income, rehabilitation, medication and caregiving, while getting back to work may take months or even years.
Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd CEO Giulio Slavich said the financial consequences of critical illness are often underestimated because the focus tends to be on treatment and hospital bills.
Patients and their families can also face costs such as caregiving, transport and home modifications, while dealing with a drop in household income.
For working-age patients, an illness can also make it difficult to return to their previous jobs or continue progressing in their careers.
Allianz Life Insurance data showed that cancer-related critical illness claims have risen 29% since 2022. Stroke claims rose 95% over the same period, while heart disease claims increased 22%.
The claims included an 18-year-old student diagnosed with blood cancer, a 21-year-old student with soft tissue cancer and a 25-year-old salesperson with brain cancer. There were also cases involving a 30-year-old graphic designer with kidney disease and a 37-year-old banker with lung cancer.
The impact does not stop with the person who falls ill. When someone needs long-term care, other family members may have to take time off work or take on additional responsibilities at home. That can leave a household dealing with higher expenses at the same time that its income is under pressure.
The problem can become even harder to manage when an illness is diagnosed at a later stage.
National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) MD Prof Dr Muralitharan Munisamy said 65.1% of cancers in Malaysia were diagnosed at Stage III or Stage IV, based on data presented at the forum.
Treatment costs can vary significantly depending on when cancer is detected. Muralitharan estimated that some cancers treated at Stage 0 or Stage I in the private sector could cost around RM50,000 to RM60,000. At Stage IV, the cost could reach RM800,000 to RM1.2 million.
Some survivors continue to need medication, rehabilitation or maintenance therapies. Others may experience pain, cognitive changes or other complications that make it difficult to return to their previous jobs.
Muralitharan pointed to the case of a 33-year-old patient who could potentially live for another four or five decades with the right treatment. For younger survivors like this, the question is whether they can get back to work and rebuild their lives afterwards.
Muralitharan recalled that some of the lung cancer support groups he started about a decade ago would close within two months because most of the patients had died.
One of his current support groups has been running for seven years, with more than 80% of its patients still alive. Many of them were diagnosed at Stage IV. That is good news, but it also means more people are living for years with the effects of an illness and the financial adjustments that come with it.
Slavich said one in five Malaysians faces financial hardship from medical expenses, while six in 10 would struggle to raise RM1,000 in an emergency. Allianz Life Insurance also estimates the average lifetime cost of cancer treatment in Malaysia at between RM800,000 and RM1.2 million, while medical inflation has reached 15% for two consecutive years.
Critical illness protection can play a different role from medical insurance. Medical insurance is generally used for treatment and hospitalisation, while a critical illness payout can provide cash to deal with other expenses when an illness affects your ability to work or manage your usual commitments.
Allianz Life Insurance’s HealthCover Prime provides financial support at different stages of a critical illness. The plan also comes with additional benefits that can provide support during recovery.
Getting back to work and adjusting to life after treatment can also depend on support from family, employers and the wider community. For someone who has spent months or years dealing with an illness, recovering financially can take much longer than recovering from the treatment itself.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for the latest money tips and updates.
Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.
Comments (0)