Critical Illness Cover Insurance

Critical illness cover pays a one off lump sum, if you are diagnosed with a qualifying critical illness covered during the term of the policy.

The types and range of critical illnesses covered vary from company to company, so we recommend you read the insurance companies key facts document before you apply for your critical illness policy.

We will search the whole of the UK critical illness insurance market on your behalf to find you the most appropriate deal. You maynot have time to do this so let us help. There are many policies available in the UK market and this can be confusing. Let our experts guide you through the features of the various types of critical illness cover.

What is Critical Illness Cover ?

Critical illness cover is one of the fastest growing insurance products available with over 1 million policies sold in the UK in 2002. The product was developed as modern medicine enabled people to survive conditions such as cancer or strokes, but not sufficiently for them to return to work.

What are the chances of it happening to me?
Most people imagine that a serious illness is something that only happens to other people. However, the real figures show a very different picture. A woman aged 20-40, has the following chance of suffering a critical illness before age 65:

• Cancer 1 in 7
• Heart attack 1 in 17
• Stroke 1 in 27
• Any of these 1 in 5

A man aged 20-40 has the following chance of suffering a critical illness before age 65:

• Cancer 1 in 11
• Heart attack 1 in 7
• Stroke 1 in 26
• Any of these 1 in 4

Critical Illness Cover - An aid to recovery

A critical illness cover plan pays out a tax-free lump sum in the event that you suffer a critical illness such as cancer, a heart attack, multiple sclerosis, or a stroke. Each policy provider will specify exactly the range of illnesses that its policy will cover - so check carefully what you will be covered for. Some recent statistics showed:

• Two fifths of diagnosed cancer sufferers aged 35-54 will survive for at least three years.
• 80 per cent of men and women aged 45-65 will survive a heart attack, and over 50 per cent of people who have a heart attack are still alive ten years later.
• Stroke is the largest cause of severe disability, with 350,000 people affected at any one time. Nearly 70% of stroke victims survive for at least 12 months.

 

Most home buyers purchase life assurance when they arrange a mortgage, but only a minority obtain another form of financial protection that they are five times more likely to need before they reach retirement.

Critical illness cover pays a tax-free lump sum on diagnosis of any one of a list of serious illnesses – including cancer and heart attacks. Claims statistics suggest you are five times more likely to suffer from one of these than you are to die before you reach 65.

The good news is that medical advances mean more people than ever are surviving conditions that might have killed earlier generations. For example, more than 90pc of men diagnosed with testicular cancer are still alive five years later, while more than 80pc of women diagnosed with breast cancer have the same survival rate, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Critical illness cover can provide cash to allow people to pursue a less stressful lifestyle while they recover from illness, or use it for any other purpose. But half of women in Britain have no life assurance, critical illness cover or income protection and a quarter rely on their partner's policies instead, according to a survey by Axa.

The details of Critical Illness InsuranceCover

Most providers allow people to take out Critical Illness cover between the ages of 17 and 70. It can be for a specified number of years - as long as your mortgage, for example - or for life. Or you can just take out a policy and keep it going for as long as you choose. When you buy a critical illness policy there will normally be a waiting period - typically three months - before you can make a claim.

If you want to take out critical illness cover, you should do it as soon as possible. The rise in claims and the cost of advances in medical technology have led many insurers to cut back on the conditions they cover, or to impose restrictions on what counts as a critical illness, while many have raised premiums by up to 50%. Premiums are expected to continue to rise as medical technology develops.

Once you take out a critical illness insurance policy, it is not usually worth making any changes to it and you have to be very careful when switching critical illness policies. But if you do, it is crucial you never cancel an existing policy until a new one is in place

Critical Illness Cover is the perfect type of policy to take out if you wish to cover yourself should your income stop due to you becoming too ill to work. Mortgage repayments are usually the biggest monthly expenditure for most people and covering yourself with a critical illness policy can help to alleviate any potential financial problems.

If you suffer from a critical illness, or become permanently and totally disabled, you may not be able to carry on working, either in the short or long term. If you are employed then you may work for a generous employer who will pay you if you are sick, but how long this pay will last for, will be down to the firm. If you are self-employed and you become ill it is highly likely that your income will just stop.

Short Term State Incapacity Benefit only pays out at £57.65 each week ( figures correct as of 2009), for a single person, and there is no help towards mortgage payments for the first 9 months if your mortgage completed after 1st October 1995. After 9 months, if your mortgage lender has not repossessed your home, the State will contribute towards the interest on your mortgage but only based upon a standard interest rate, and only then on the first £100,000 of a mortgage.

The vast majority of people may not be able to cope on this level of payout and the stress caused may actually affect the healing process, something that you would not want on top of the illness itself.

Joint Life Critical Illness cover benefits are usually paid once, in full, and then the policy would end. It is possible to have a policy with life cover that continues after a critical illness claim has been made.

 

IMPORTANT: Be honest about your medical history

It is vitally important that you are honest and give the insurer the most complete information you can when applying for health related insurance.

If you need to claim - i.e the time you actually want the insurance to work - the insurer will trawl through your medical history for details that you neglected to tell them when you applied. If they find such information, they could refuse your claim.

It might make your insurance more expensive, but in the long run it could the difference between getting a pay out or nothing.

 

WHAT WILL CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE COVER?

In the event that you are diagnosed with a critical illness such as cancer the policy will usually pay out a lump sum that is tax free which you can use to aid with any adaptations needed or simply to pay the bills. Critical illness insurance cover should not be confused with private medical insurance which one can use to pay the costs of medical treatment by a private doctor or specialist. Similarly this form of insurance is different to income protection insurance which will pay you a monthly amount once you have been declared unfit for work for an agreed period of time.

Different policies will offer cover for different illnesses and it is important you are choosing a policy that gives you the level of protection you want. All critical illness insurance policies cover ‘core' illnesses, these are cancer, stroke and heart attack. Taking the time now to choose the right policy will ensure you are not left in a vulnerable situation at the most inconvenient time possible.

 

page tags cover critical illness,critical illness,critical illness and life cover,critical illness cover,critical illness insurance,critical illness insurance cover,critical illness insurance uk,critical illness life insurance,critical illness mortgage insurance,critical illness protection,critical illness quote,illness critical,insurance critical illness,life and critical illness cover,life and critical illness insurance,life critical illness,life insurance and critical illness,life insurance critical illness cover