Critical illness cover is insurance that pays out money in case of serious medical conditions or injuries, like certain stages and types of cancer, stroke, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, as well as permanent disability resulting from injury or illness. Each policy will specify what illnesses are included on the list – it is vital to read carefully all the details of the policy. Some lenders can consider paying out smaller amount from the policy in case of less severe illnesses or conditions. Sometimes also the lower amount is paid if one of children of the insured person is diagnosed with one of specified in the policy critical illness.
Critical illness cover pays out money only once. After that the policy ends. It does not pay the lump sum in case of death, like the life insurance. The insurance only applies to conditions that the insured person was not aware of in the moment of buying the cover. It is applicable for future reference.
Premiums of the critical illness cover tend to be quite high. Bear in mind that you might never use this insurance – surely no one can predict if he will be diagnosed with some serious medical condition. If you have enough savings or cover for serious illnesses is already included in your employee benefits scheme, you don’t need to get additionally serious illness insurance. Also, in cases when your partner is well-endowed, and you are sure that he or she will be able to provide for your family long-term in case of your serious medical condition. If you don’t have any savings and you don’t have benefits employee package, getting a serious illness cover might be a good idea. Consider this also in cases, when there was history of severe illnesses in your family and you might be in the group of risk.
The amount of monthly payments in this type of insurance depends on various factors. The insurer will look at your age, current state of your health, your family’s medical history, your job – if it is a risky one, as well as some life habits like whether you smoke or have smoked, do you engage in any dangerous hobbies etc. The amount of cover you would like to take out also matters. Additionally, men are a bit more likely to make claim so typically are charged more for premiums.
Remember to provide the insurer with all the details about your health and lifestyle, as well as your family medical history. Any information you hide, might make it difficult to receive claim. Take into the account that most of policies require very serious stage of the medical condition before paying out a claim.
