Critical Illness Insurance
If you are a holder of a life insurance policy, your loved ones will be provided for, should you die. However, financial support for your family can end just as abruptly, if you are struck down by an illness that ends your working life. Considering that this happens to 1 in 4 men, and 1 in 5 women, before retirement age, then critical illness insurance is a worthwhile addition to every balanced financial plan.
Critical illness insurance provides a single payout in the event that you are hit by an illness that renders you unable to work. While all policies are different regarding the full list of conditions that they cover, the conditions generally accepted include cancer, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, major transplant or heart bypass surgery, and multiple sclerosis. By shopping around you can find cover for other conditions including Alzheimer’s Disease, brain tumour, blindness, deafness, loss or paralysis of limbs, breast cancer, and Parkinson’s Disease.
Many people take life and critical illness insurance at the same time, so that their future and the future of their family is covered for all eventualities.
Critical illness policies often cover your children as well as you, paying out if your child is affected by one of the above conditions.
Terms and conditions of a Critical Illness Policy
The terms and conditions of every critical illness policy will vary, and it is worthwhile clarifying them with your financial adviser before you buy. For example, the great ‘invisible’ ailments of back pain and stress are seldom covered, as they are very common but difficult to measure. Many illnesses, including strokes, are accepted only when they leave permanent symptoms, and heart attacks must have been of a certain, measurable severity. Claims are excluded when they arise from drug or alcohol abuse, self-inflicted injury, or criminal acts.
‘Non-Disclosure’ can void your critical illness policy
The application form for critical illness cover asks detailed questions about your past and current health and lifestyle choices. It is essential to be open and accurate in the information you provide, and to double check where there is any doubt. Questions may also be included about the health history of your parents, especially with regard to cancer and heart disease. Applicants are often unaware of minor ailments suffered by their parents, for the simple reason that they were not discussed in the family home. They can therefore quite inadvertently omit details which, later, turn up in their parents’ health records. Any incomplete information on a critical illness application is known as non-disclosure, and can jeopardise your claim. The insurance company can maintain that, had it known the full details, your premiums would have been higher.
At Principle First our independent insurance experts have access to a wide range of critical illness providers, drawn from the whole market. We can assist you in locating the policy that is right for you.
