Critical Illness Insurance is insurance coverage that pays out when the policyholder meets the specific definition of a critical illness. These illnesses may include heart attack, cancer, and stroke as well as a number of other diseases.
If you are diagnosed with one of these illnesses during the term of the policy then your insurance provider will be required to pay out a lump sum figure.
There are a number of illnesses that are included in these polices besides heart attack, stroke, and cancer. The list of critical illnesses that are covered will vary greatly depending on the insurance company that you are using. This is another reason why it’s good to speak to an experienced life insurance specialist who will know more about the industry.
The ABI has put together a list of extensive definitions used to model critical illnesses so that everyone is clear in this matter. These 23 definitions are what have been included in the Statement of Best Practice for Critical Illness Cover.
Illnesses that are included in this document include loss of speech, paralysis of limbs, a major organ transplant, traumatic head injury, and things like coronary artery by-pass. Some of the illnesses will have specific requirements like “burns to the body”, which “must cover at least 20% of your body’s surface.” One of the other examples is HIV infection. To be considered you need to have caught HIV from a blood transfusion or a physical attack while living in the United Kingdom.
By using the life insurance provider’s Key Features document you can review specific sections of your policy. This will help you compare the polices of a number of different life insurance companies and allow you to find the best deal on the illnesses that you want covered.
Many people in the United Kingdom decide to purchase Critical Cover for their children because it will pay out a portion of the sum assured if the child becomes ill. The only difference with these policies is that it may only payout to a certain amount and then it is capped.
Some critical illness cover policies will include a waiver of premium that covers the payments if the policy owner falls ill and is not able to work. Usually this is an additional premium to your regular policy.
Being prepared and informed when buying any life insurance policy is important and especially critical cover. Its good to know about all of the possible exclusions that might be involved for things like dangerous pastimes and sports, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, criminal acts, self injury, and even things like living abroad. The idea is that living abroad may be dangerous to your health.
Many insurance companies will use similar specifications and will have their own exclusions so make sure you know what you’re getting into. One of the exclusions that are very commonplace is non-disclosure of medical information, as it might affect your critical cover policy. If you lie to the insurance broker and they find out later you or your family may get nothing and the insurance company usually takes these matters very seriously. It is always better to just tell the truth.
In many cases you can package your critical illness policies with other products that will give you a full protection plan that suits your requirements. These products include your basic life insurance policy as well as Permanent Health Insurance (usually called Income Protection).
Looking to find out about the conditions of critical illness cover, then visit www.criticalillnesscover.org.uk to find the best advice on the illness covered.
Tags: critical illness insurance, Finance, Life Cover, Life Insurance, Money