Critical Illness Cover

What Is Critical Illness Cover?

Critical Illness Cover is a type of insurance policy that pays out a tax free lump sum if you are diagnosed with, or undergo treatment for, a critical illness that meets the definition under the policy.

It is designed to help support you and your family financially while you deal with your diagnosis and treatment. It therefore enables you to focus on your recovery without worrying about how you are going to pay the bills.

How Does It Work?

Critical Illness Cover is not the same as life insurance. In other words, the lump sum is designed to help you cover the cost of treatment and to pay the bills and it generally won’t pay out if you pass away.

Cover will be based on how long you want the policy to last i.e. the term and the premiums you want to pay.

Most people take out Critical Illness Cover whilst they have big demands on their finances, for example, whilst they have a mortgage or whilst the children are financially dependent on them.

Critical Illness Cover is therefore crucial for those people who:

Depend heavily on their salary to support themselves and their family.
Don’t have enough savings to live on if they were to become ill.
Don’t have an employee benefit package that caters for them if they need a long period off work.

How Much Cover Do I Need?

In terms of the amount of cover, it is important to take into account:

Regular outgoings such as utility bills and food shopping.
An amount to ensure that you can provide financially for your family for a period of time.

Most people combine Critical Illness Cover with life cover although it is important to bear in mind that most policies will only pay out once; either on the diagnosis of a critical illness or on death.

What is Covered?

Most providers will cover critical illnesses such as:

Alzheimer’s disease.
Heart attack.
Stroke.
Some types of cancer.

Different providers will cover a range of different conditions and it is important to check what is actually covered and what is not.

Some providers will provide cover for children, often at no additional cost.

Application and Disclosure

It is always important to declare any pre-existing conditions at the application stage and to be honest and truthful throughout the application process otherwise there is the risk that the insurance company will turn down any claim.

Contact Us

To discuss Critical Illness Cover or any other policies designed to protect you and your family, please do contact us using the button below.