What is Critical Illness Insurance?
Have you heard of or been advised to take out critical illness cover? Are you asking yourself: ”What is Critical Illness Insurance, what does it cover, and do I need it?” Read on to find out what this kind of policy covers and why it is important to have it.
What is Critical Illness Insurance?
In a nutshell, critical illness cover is designed to protect you, your family and/or your business against the financial consequences of being diagnosed with a critical illness. But what exactly does this mean? Let’s begin by exploring what a critical illness is.
What is a Critical Illness?
A critical illness is generally defined as an illness or condition with the potential to cause permanent changes to your body, your abilities and/or your lifestyle. Illnesses/conditions typically classed as critical include, for example:
- Blindness
- Dementia
- Heart attack
- Kidney/liver failure
- Many types of cancer
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Stroke
Affecting your ability to work and support your family or keep your business running smoothly, these conditions can affect anyone at any given time. Unfortunately, being diagnosed with such a serious condition does not mean life is put on hold – and bills will still need to be paid. Over time, this could lead to significant financial worries on top of having to cope with a serious illness. This is where critical illness insurance comes in.
What does Critical Illness Insurance Do?
Critical illness policies pay out a lump sum in the event of the insured person being diagnosed with any one of a range of conditions listed within the policy.
This pay-out is tax free and can be used to help you through this undoubtedly difficult time by helping you to:
- Pay your mortgage or rent
- Cover living or medical expenses
- Repay loans or
- Cover the cost of adapting your home to help you cope with your illness.
In other words, you can use this lump sum however you choose – there are no restrictions.
The Importance of Critical Illness Cover
Allowing you to insure yourself, your partner and, in some policies, your children against the financial impacts of developing a serious illness, critical illness protection ensures your family’s lifestyle and financial future are secure.
Comparing Policies
It should be noted here that while many of the conditions mentioned above are usually included, this can vary between policies, as can cover amounts and premiums. Making sure you know which conditions will be covered, how much your policy will pay out and how much you will have to pay to obtain the right amount of cover to meet your requirements by carefully comparing policies is therefore of extreme importance.
Expert Help
Having successfully advised families and businesses on critical illness cover for many years, we can help you find the most suitable policy to effectively protect your family and/or business, too. Please get in touch.
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