Critical Illness Insurance Policies - Cover & Quotes

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Critical Illness Cover - Insuring The Children

When you buy a critical illness policy it's usually because you want to protect you or the family should the worst happen and you are diagnosed with a life threatening disease. But have you ever thought what the impact may be if one of your children was severely ill? Would it make a difference if you had extra funds to deal with the news? Well, if you have critical illness cover the good news is that you may be covered already.

It's not a subject any of us like to dwell upon, but cancer is a fact of modern life.

The good news is that advances in treatment and medication mean that cancer is not the automatic death sentence it once was.

Sometimes an even harder subject to comtemplate is children contracting cancer.

The number of children who survive cancer has doubled over the last 30 years, according to the Cancer Research Campaign. In fact, 7 in 10 now survive the disease compared to 3 in 10 in the 1960s.

Unfortunately, the incidence of childhood cancer has not changed very much over the last 40 years. In 2000 there were around 1,400 new cases diagnosed in Great Britain, with 1/3 of these being leukaemia (source: National Statistics Online).

When buying critical illness cover your priority may not be covering your children, however when you think about the impact that a sick child could have on a parent's personal and professional life, it makes sense to ensure it's included in the policy that you purchase.

The good news is that children's critical illness cover is an additional benefit of almost every policy on the market, and comes at no extra cost.

The claim amount is normally a percentage of the sum assured up to a certain limit (e.g. £15,000) and applies between the ages of 30 days and 18 years. Claims are assessed against a cut-down version of the adult conditions. Also, a claim under children's critical illness will not affect the parent's cover or cause the policy to come to an end.

Whilst heart attack and cancer are the two major causes of adult claims, they are only ranked 5th and 6th for children's claims (depending on the provider).

What could the money be used towards in the event of a claim under the children's cover?

Well, it could be used for:
- medical treatment
- nursing care
- allow parents time off work
- special trip/holiday

In summary, the fact that children's cover is automatically included in critical illness policies is a fantastic add on. In the unfortunate event of a claim, parents and prospective parents will always appreciate the value of this benefit.

The Financial Tips Bottom Line

If you have critical illness cover, take the time to analyse your existing policy to ensure children's cover is included. You should find this in the policy details. If you're unable to find it simply call the provider and they should be able to provide you with the details.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ray Prince is an Independent Financial Planner with Rutherford Wilkinson plc, and helps UK Resident Doctors and Dentists get the best deals on mortgages, protection and investments, as well as helping them achieve their financial objectives. Click here for Financial Advice for UK Doctors and Dentists and to get your free retirement guide, How To Avoid The 7 Most Common Retirement Planning Mistakes. Rutherford Wilkinson plc is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authorit

Critical Illness Cover - Insuring The Children

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Thursday, September 27, 2007

Critical criticism

Critical illness insurance claims are only successful in about 80% of cases. Critical illness insurance is designed to pay out a lump sum if you are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with one of a list of medical conditions specified in the policy documents.

There is a wide variation in the length of the lists, some covering as few as eight illnesses and one a staggering 140, but this is a slightly different version, which pays various sums, according to the severity of the condition. Heart disease and cancer head the list on all the policies. Very few policies will cover illness caused by stress or mental problems. Back problems are rarely covered either.

Whilst some people consider critical illness cover essential and enjoy the peace of mind being insured offers them, it is interesting to note that a great many claims are turned down. It is believed that this figure is 20%. The most common reason for this being non-disclosure of a previous illness. Insurance companies are quite entitled to do this and the first thing that will happen, in the event of a claim, is that the insurance company will ask for your full health records. They will go through these very thoroughly and if they find any proof of failure to tell them about a previous illness or condition, whether or not you consider it to be relevant to the current condition, they can legally refuse to pay out on the claim. The law states, quite clearly, that if a customer has failed to disclose information sought by the insurer, the provider is entitled to scrap the cover.

What this means, in effect, is that if you fail to tell the insurers, at the time of making the application for critical illness cover, of even minor ailments, then the whole policy will not be worth the paper it’s written on.

This appears to be an impossible situation. Minor illnesses, long forgotten, may come back to haunt you. For the Mums’ out there – can you remember the “oddities” of your pregnancy? Your blood pressure may have been raised; you may have suffered the usual morning sickness, backache and what is known as “gestational diabetes”. This is quite common. Most cases don’t even need treatment and clear up, never to return. Years later you may decide to take out some critical illness cover. Do you even remember the pregnancy problems, let alone imagine they could make a difference to an unrelated illness? Yet this failure to disclose could be the reason for an insurer refusing to pay out on a later, unrelated, critical illness.

How many times do you come out of the Doctor’s surgery clutching some pills, unsure of the actual name the doctor gave to the condition for which you’re now being treated? It will be there, on your records, but years later and with the condition long cleared up, who can honestly say that they remember, and record, every minor illness.

In the event of a dispute regarding non-disclosure, if the Financial Ombudsman Service gets involved, they will try to establish whether the consumer told deliberate lies or whether they had omitted details because, for example, the questions on the proposal form were poorly worded.

One way in which the situation could be improved would be by insurers carrying out more detailed investigations prior to issuing cover or if they were to agree not to scour medical records if a claim is made after an agreed and reasonable period.

If you’re considering taking out critical illness insurance, it is obviously very important to read the policy very carefully and make sure you tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Only make the final decision to go ahead when you’re sure you’re totally confident regarding your choice of insurer.

An on-line broker will be able to offer you a choice of policies and lots of advice. There are some special internet discounts, too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Critical illness,critical illness insurance cover Let the safeguard protect your families future with a critical illness or life insurance policy.

Critical criticism

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Critical Illness Insurance Buying Online

by Michael Challiner

You can buy pretty much everything over the Internet these days and this most certainly applies to insurance. But the process of buying something over the telephone or Internet means that you do not have the benefit of having a person in front of you to explain something in depth if you do not understand.
Another thing is that as a growing number of people begin to start buying products online, there are new problems that occur – teething problems shall we say that keep cropping up as more companies start offering services over the Internet for the first time.

With complex insurance policies like Critical Illness Insurance, a type of insurance where sometimes people do not fully understand exactly what they are buying, it is an area that could become a problem.

The Association of British Insurers thinks so anyway, which is why the organisation is improving the standards of the insurance application process via the telephone or the Internet for different types of health and protection policies, including those for critical illnesses.

A spokesman for the ABI, says: “Because the mechanics are slightly different when you are applying for a policy on the internet, you need to look at that process slightly separately and that is what we are doing at the moment. It is a piece of work that is on-going and it will improve the application process for telephone and Internet applications.” The ABI’s spokesperson explain that it is not exactly that there have been problems with people buying medical policies like Critical Illness Insurance over the internet before, but the new standards will simply just recognise that buying a financial product over the internet means that financial companies have to change the way they collection personal information.“

It is more a recognition that we need to translate the new good practise that we have put in place on paper to the online and telephone application process. The methods of collecting the information are subtley different,” the ABI said.

The move to improve standards for buying health insurance policies for things like critical illness on line comes after the ABI this year launched various measures to make the steps to buying health policies simpler for both consumers and financial advisers. The organisation also updated guidance specifically for Critical Illness Insurance, offering guidelines on how to bring more clarity to application forms. The entire overhaul of personal medical insurance guidelines meant improvements to the leaflets offering advice on Critical Illness Insurance, the removal of ‘memory test’ questions like ‘have you been to a doctor in the last five years?’and clear warnings on application forms about the consequences if you do not reveal pre-existing medical conditions. The changes came after speaking with cancer charities and other organisations. It was hoped that the guidance would reduce the likelihood that a claim would be declined for non-disclosure of a pre-existing medical condition.

The ABI’s spokesperson said, “Having put in place what we believe to be higher standards of clarity on the application form, we clearly want to apply those higher standards to all forms of underwriting application.”

The work being carried out by the Association for online applications is still work in progress. And it is still unclear when the new standards will be released. But regardless of the time frame, it is certain that they will definitely be released soon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Life Insurance Professor provides free and amazing articles based on term assurance to all UK residents.

Critical Illness Insurance Buying Online

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Sunday, September 23, 2007

Critical Illness - Can't Do Without One

by Darlene Kaitlin

They say that the biggest wealth you can amass is a good health. Can't argue with the statement, since positive health brings with it better chances of prosperity and fulfilment. But, have you ever taken a moment out of your busy schedule to wonder if you have been taking good care of your health, or at least availing sound treatment in case of health problems? Well, if you haven't done anything about tackling unforeseen critical illness situations yet, then you might consider buying yourself a medical insurance.

Other than ensuring that you enjoy a healthy living, your insurance takes care of some very important issues too. During a situation when you are pinned down rather mercilessly by a critical illness as well as the medical expenses that accompany it, your medical insurance steps in to take care of all the expenses that the treatment incurs. So, it's quite evident that getting yourself one of such policies is quite a good idea as it is a clever precaution.

There is, however a small catch when it comes to filtering out the right medical insurance policy for you. The market is obviously abuzz with a number of companies offering their service, although it is the structure of the policy that should interest you more. Make a detailed online survey if possible, as the effort entails the process of keeping something like the bad effects of a critical illness at bay.

Read the fine line of the insurance policy that promises to rid you of your critical illness woes. Make sure you have studied the script to check what ailments and diseases the policy covers. Compare between the policies set out in front of you and wisely choose the one that benefits you the most.

About the Author
The author is associated with UK's leading healthcare and medical insurance broker, Essential Health Ltd, which provides medical benefits, to its clients in UK and around the world, for Cancer, Medical insurance, Healthcare, Travel insurance, Dental insurance, Financial protection, Life, Term Assurance, Accident Insurance.

Critical Illness - Can't Do Without One

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Friday, September 21, 2007

Why Take a Critical Illness Insurance Policy Cover?

by Darlene Kaitlin

Before we answer the question as to why we need a critical illness insurance policy cover, let's first find out what exactly is critical illness insurance. It is a policy that helps the insured in affording the medical treatment for a life threatening disease.

Medical advancements have achieved great milestones, and today we can proudly say that we have conquered many dreaded diseases by finding out their treatments. But, on the other hand, the cost of getting treated has also increased astronomically. People at times do not survive diseases just because they are unable to bear the cost of the treatment. The critical illness policy comes to the aid of the person when he requires it the most.

Unlike other medical insurance and other policies that pay a person after an unpleasant incident has occurred, the critical illness policy provides financial support to the insured. The best part is that the insured is paid a lump sum on being diagnosed with a serious ailment, so that he is in a position to afford the expensive medical treatment and can successfully recover with the post medical medication and care. The huge medical bills become seemingly easy to tackle, and the insured does not have to dig deep into his savings and other financial resources.

The critical illness policy is very flexible in terms of the payments. The payments are unrestricted, and the insured can put the money to any use. He may use the lump sum amount either fully or partially towards his treatment and subsequent rehabilitation.

The only catch in this policy is that the person covered under the critical illness policy has to survive a 30 day period, called the 'survival period' in order to claim the insurance money. In case the insured does not survive the 30 day period, his beneficiaries will still be entitled to his life insurance policy.

About the Author
The author is associated with UK's leading healthcare and medical insurance broker, Essential Health Ltd, which provides medical benefits, to its clients in UK and around the world, for Cancer, Medical insurance, Critical illness, Travel insurance, Dental insurance, Financial protection, Life, Term Assurance, Accident Insurance.

Why Take a Critical Illness Insurance Policy Cover?

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Critical Illness Cover With Legal & General

by Mike Armstrong

Critical illness insurance was brought into the UK during the mid 1980's. Since then, there have been considerable changes in the insurance market. More and more companies offering critical illness cover started to make their presence felt in the insurance market. Hence, competition was created and as a result, critical illness cover prices started to fall. However, policy price may depend on the amount of cover you may want or the type of critical illness policy you had chosen. So, let's have a look at one of UK's most popular insurance companies, Legal and General.

According to Legal & General, they had paid around GBP 92,100,000 in critical illness claims. More precisely, since the year 1996, GBP 394,000,000 may have been paid as claims. They said that they also believe that their range of products may be one among the best in the market. Furthermore, Legal & General has now started to cover 35 critical illness conditions, around 12 more than that set by the Association of British Insurers. By looking at this, people may be attracted towards buying a critical illness cover with Legal & General. Generally, people may have the tendency to look for a company which can offer cost effective benefits.

Furthermore, like any other insurance company, Legal & General may payout a tax free lump sum upon diagnosis of one of the 35 critical illnesses during the term of the policy. This one off payment may ease you out of certain financial difficulties by repaying your mortgage for example. Other advantages may follow, that is paying for private medical care, a convalescence holiday, making adaptations to a home or even maintaining individual or family lifestyles.

Legal & General may classify its critical illness plan in two different categories: Mortgage protection and Family protection. Mortgage Protection related critical illness plans had been much popular than critical illness standalone policies. Here are some mortgage protection policies combined with critical illness insurance. Mortgage term assurance + critical illness cover, Mortgage Decreasing Term Assurance + Critical Illness Cover, Mortgage Critical Illness Cover and Mortgage Decreasing Critical Illness Cover. As for the family protection plan, here are some examples of certain policies. Level Term Assurance + Critical Illness Cover, Critical illness cover, Family and Personal Income Plan (FPIP) Term assurance + critical illness cover (monthly benefits) and Family and Personal Income Plan Critical Illness Cover

Additionally, with some policies, critical illness cover for future or existing children might be automatically included. This money could be used to provide healthcare assistance to the ill child whilst healthy children could be given necessary childcare support if needed.

As seen above, Legal & General may be offering you numerous advantages when you buy a critical illness cover or any other type of insurance policy. But there are thousands of insurance companies in the UK from which you can choose from. They might be more cost effective. However, to get the best critical illness cover may depend on how you see the product. Low priced tagged critical illness policies might be attractive but you might end up getting a policy that may not be able to respond to your needs in the future.


About the Author
For more information about life insurance and critical illness insurance please visit www.unbeatablelifeandcriticalinsurance.co.uk.

Critical Illness Cover With Legal & General

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Monday, September 17, 2007

Developments Of Critical Illness Cover Sales In The USA And Canada

by Mike Armstrong


The US market, on a whole had been slow to adapt with critical illness insurance. While in the UK critical illness cover is one among the most famous insurance policies, in the US it may be a completely different thing. On the other hand, most critical illness cover sales in the UK might have come from accelerated policies. In the US, most critical illness cover sales may turn out to be standalone critical illness policies. There may be two reasons to explain this fact. Firstly, the way the product is marketed may not be the same in both US and UK. Secondly, there may be a larger health market in the USA. Hence, a greater amount of time may be involved for critical illness policy to be known by many people.

Moreover, according to research carried out by Lotter Actuarial Partners Inc. worksite marketing may show more potential on a short time basis actually. There may be several opportunities concerning critical illness insurance as both rider and standalone. More precisely, the rider benefits may be aimed at the 'blue collar market' whilst the standalone critical illness policy may be pointed to the 'white collar market' where there may be already life cover. For critical illness cover to make a good success in the US market, a big company might need to develop a new design for this product. There had been certain indications that critical illness sales may accelerate. While the timescale is still unknown, the product is predicted to succeed in the US market.

Furthermore, critical illness insurance can be considered as a recent insurance policy in Canada as it was firstly introduced in the year 1993. According to Munich Re, 2000, the adoption of critical illness cover in the Canadian market had been a relatively slow one. The insurance industry had expected a more rapid growth of critical illness insurance. Gradually, more and more companies had started to step into the market, with approximately 20 to count nowadays. This number is expected to increase during the coming years. On the other side, banks may be also starting to make their presence felt in the insurance market as they had started to offer critical illness cover on mortgages and loans.

As per Munich Re, 2000, more than 40 percent of critical illness policies in force could have been purchased in the year 1999. In the year 2000, there may have been around 15,000 critical illness policies in force. In the year 1998 there may have been around 8,500 policies which may have amounted in premiums summing up to Canadian dollar 8 million to 9 million. As a matter of fact, the sales related to critical illness insurance made in the year 1998 could have been twice as that made between 1993 to 1997. The trend is expected to continue as more and more companies are getting into the insurance market with the aim of providing critical illness cover. Thus, its importance may be growing rapidly in the Canadian market. Probably the most supportive reasons why people may have chosen critical illness cover can be due to its ageing population and expensive healthcare costs.

Critical illness insurance had been adopted quicker in Canada than in the US. Though critical illness insurance may be considered new in Canada, its sales may have been greater than in the US. This may however depend on how the product had been marketed.


About the Author
For more information about life insurance and critical illness insurance please visit www.unbeatablelifeandcriticalinsurance.co.uk.

Developments Of Critical Illness Cover Sales In The USA And Canada

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Sunday, September 16, 2007

Critical Illness Insurance. How critical can you get?

by Michael Challiner

A new critical illness policy from the Prudential covers illnesses that others don’t even consider. In theory it sounds good, but check the extent of the cover and ask yourself if it’s right for you.

There’s a new critical illness policy on the market which attempts to go some way with regard to sorting out the perplexity regarding exactly what is, and is not, covered when it comes to claiming on the policy. Traditional critical illness policies tend to cover up to 35 listed medical conditions. Policyholders could become seriously ill with a condition that doesn’t fall into the scope of the policy and find that their illness is not covered, whilst others may be diagnosed with a listed illness with a lower “grading” which is relatively easily treated, for which they get a full payout. Because of this inequality, the Financial Services Authority is uneasy with regard to insurers failing to fully understand that cover is restricted to certain specific illnesses.
This new product is marketed by the Prudential, under the name of the Flexible Protection Plan, and is unusual in that it claims to cover an amazing 140 medical conditions. However, cover is based on the severity of the condition which could possibly cause some uncertainty regarding the grading of these illnesses. This is how the plan works: Listed in the policy are practically all serious illnesses and the payout when one these is diagnosed will be graded according to the severity of the condition. The Prudential says that by tying payments to the degree of seriousness of the illness means that more payments can be offered to people with debilitating illnesses, who may otherwise get nothing at all. An example of this is that should you lose the sight of one eye; the Prudential policy will pay 25% of the sum assured. Normally, critical illness policies would only pay out when total blindness occurs. In all, 140 severe conditions are covered.

A spokesman for one of the specialist financial advisers welcomed the range of the policy, but voiced some concern regarding the implementation of these severity-based payments, saying that it would be open to argument as to what level of severity some illnesses would be graded as. It was felt that it would not be advisable to enter into this type of policy unless you had a very clear understanding of exactly how it would work. We quote “It will be up to the consumer to decide whether a guarantee of getting a smaller payment is better than possibly getting nothing.

”The cost of this new policy is approximately twice as much as conventional critical illness cover.

If your main concern regarding insurance cover should you become critically ill would be the financial outcome, it might be better to consider life insurance. Particularly, if you have a family to support, you may need something that is going to guarantee their lifestyle in the worst case scenario and with the addition of some income protection cover, which would meet outgoings in the event of you becoming unable to work due to illness. This type of cover, unlike the critical illness policy, protects you against common conditions, which result in you being unable to carry out your work.

The best course of action would be to contact a broker and check out the alternatives. The internet’s a good place to start and there are some good internet discount’s available, along with plenty of advice. A good broker will be able to compare the products available and come up with the right insurance product for you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Life Assurance Agent provides great articles based around life assurance.

Critical Illness Insurance. How critical can you get?

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Friday, September 14, 2007

Critical Illness: Medical Insurance Holds The Key

by Darlene Kaitlin

One of the major problems of modern day life is the continuously rising prices of commodities. Today, a stage has come when one can rarely think of buying any product without carefully going through the prices. Needless to say that people today are forced to strictly live within their budget. Any sudden expense can throw the entire household out of gear. Situation becomes really tight if such an expense that cannot be overlooked suddenly raises its head. And if the expense is such that it cannot be overlooked, then the situation really becomes desperate. Illness is one such reason that can be clubbed in this category. the more critical the illness, the more precarious the situation.

What makes the whole situation really heart rendering is the fact that one can find himself in such a scenario that one might not have enough money to get oneself treated. It is here that medical insurance steps in and helps people in this most trying of all times by taking care of all the expenses that one might incur on the treatment, with the concerned individual not required to pay a single penny. Needless to say that this type of help is nothing less than godsend, the worth of which increases manifold if one is grappling with a critical illness, for the expenses invariably are more in such cases.

It is the help that the insurance companies render at the time of critical illness that makes them so popular amongst masses. However, to gain maximum from medical insurance, one must lay great emphasis on the contract and check whether the policy comes to life as soon as it is signed and what all the illnesses are that one is protected from. Also, one must never give any wrong information to insurance companies, for it might lead to unnecessary hassles.

If these precautions are taken, then there can be no denying the fact that medical insurance will prove to be of immense use at the time of such emergencies like critical illness

About the Author
The author is associated with UK's leading healthcare and medical insurance broker, Essential Health Ltd, which provides medical benefits, to its clients in UK and around the world, for Cancer, Medical insurance, Critical illness insurance, Travel insurance, Dental insurance, Financial protection, Life, Term Assurance, Accident Insurance, Healthcare.

Critical Illness: Medical Insurance Holds The Key

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Thursday, September 13, 2007

Critical Illness Insurance Do you really need it? Or is it a waste of time? (II)

The truth is that behind every story of rejection there’s a harrowing story of illness, distress and sorrow - and potential copy for the journalist. But that in itself, is not evidence that the insurance company is guilty of devious behaviour.

Yes insurance companies do make mistakes, but more often than not the claim was invalid from the outset. There are two main causes. Firstly, the policyholder is claiming for an illness that is not one of the critical illnesses scheduled in the policy documentation. Regrettable, but it’s a fact that if the illness is not listed it isn’t insured and the policy won’t pay out.

The moral is to closely compare the illnesses covered by competing insurance companies and buy the one with the most extensive coverage of illnesses. If you don’t, sods law will prevail …….

The second major reason for refusal is a failure to disclose all relevant matters on the original application form. For example, if the applicant fails to disclose in response to the insurance company’s questions that his father a died of a heart attack aged 50 or that he is having medical tests for headaches, then the insurance company will wrongly assess the risks it is being invited to insure. Had the insurance company known this extra information they might have increased the premium, or asked the applicant to go for a medical examination, or waited for the outcome of tests, or even refused to provide cover. By failing to disclose, the applicant has effectively obtained cover on false pretences or at least on inaccurate information.

Thereby lies the second moral. Always provide the truth and the full truth on your application form. Anything remotely relevant to your medical condition must be disclosed.

All this points to the need for professional insurance advice. Critical Illness policies do vary and it can take an experienced eye to evaluate the best policy for your circumstances and pocket. This doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on the discounted premiums available online - but do thoroughly talk it through with one of their telephone based advisers and do make sure you read the schedule of claimable illnesses when it arrives in the post.

Then sit back knowing you’ve taken another important step to protect your family’s finances. Lets all hope that you’re one of the majority who are happy never to claim.

It’s now time to concentrate on enjoying life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Challiner has 15 years experience in financial services marketing at senior level. Michael now works as the editor of Express Life Insurance

Critical Illness Insurance Do you really need it? Or is it a waste of time? (II)

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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Critical Illness Insurance Do you really need it? Or is it a waste of time? (I)

by Michael Challiner

There is a 1 in 5 chance that a man will suffer a long-term critical illness before his normal retirement age. So why isn’t critical illness insurance more popular? This article investigates the reasons and reinforces the importance of this form of insurance.

GREAT NEWS! There’s now a one in five chance of you winning the lottery before you retire.

Getting excited? Think it’s just a matter of time before you win? Think again, it’s not going to happen - but it got you thinking!

Now think of the same odds but this time about bad news. There is a 1 in 5 chance for men and a 1 in 6 chance for women that a long-term critical illness will prevent them from working. Sorry - this time it’s true.

Insurance cannot change those odds but it can alleviate the potential financial wreckage caused by being unable to work through long-term illness and still having a family and home to support.

Convention declares that every good family man should have life insurance. It’s easily understood, it’s accepted and your next door neighbour has it too. But what about it’s close cousin critical illness insurance? You’ll have to walk several streets to find someone who has it. Given the odds, why? After all it pays out a tax-free lump sum immediately an insured critical illness is diagnosed.

The usual reason given is its expense. Yes it is more expensive than life insurance but after all it’s providing cover for a greater risk. You’re much more likely to experience a critical illness than die before your normal retirement age. Indeed, the average age for a claim is 47. So clearly there is much more to the public’s resistance.

Not understanding the risks or “head in the sand syndrome” are certainly major factors. After all alzheimer's disease, bacterial meningitis, brain tumours and leukaemia plus the long list of other illnesses typically covered by critical illness insurance, are not matters we care to think of nor know much about.

Could there be another reason? Well there have been repeated newspaper articles about people who claim on their critical illness policy only to have it turned down on an apparent technicality – the inference being that the insurance company cannot be trusted. Indeed, Standard Life freely admits that it turns down around 20 % of critical illness claims.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Challiner has 15 years experience in financial services marketing at senior level. Michael now works as the editor of Express Life Insurance

to be continued

Critical Illness Insurance Do you really need it? Or is it a waste of time? (I)

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Monday, September 10, 2007

Critical Illness Cover - A Wider Scope

by Michael Challiner


Critical illness insurance offers cover for certain specified conditions such as cancer, heart problems, kidney failure, loss of limbs, etc., The cover is quite simple and straightforward, in that if you are diagnosed with one of the severe illnesses listed in your policy a payment is made. On average 35 conditions would be considered as falling into this category with most companies. There is just one company, Virgin, who vary the cover by offering severity-based payments when cancer is diagnosed. Obviously with an illness such as cancer, there are various degrees of severity and with increasing success rates in the treatment of this disease; this seems a fair way of dealing with the situation.

The Financial Services Authority are not certain that people realize the limitations on the number of severe medical conditions covered by their policies and that they could be in for a nasty awakening if they assume that every serious illness will be covered.

With this in mind, the Prudential have brought out a policy which lists 140 severe conditions, which will be covered by their plan. Rather than the "black and white" decision made on diagnosis, this promises a grading of the payout according to the severity of the condition. A spokesman for the Prudential says the policy, named the Prudential's Flexible Protection Plan, will mean that more payments will be made to insurers with debilitating illnesses, whose illnesses would otherwise be outside the scope of the insurance and who would then get nothing at all.

An improvement then on "black and white", but could this leave a "grey" area instead? Apart from knowing that they are, in fact, likely to be paid out, the decision could be left open to argument regarding the grading of the level of severity of the condition: therefore consumers could be worried and confused about the final amount agreed. What insurers would grade as relatively minor may appear very different to someone newly diagnosed with a condition. It could be a case of accepting the fact that a smaller payment is better than nothing at all, but it could also be that the payment doesn't match expectations. It would be advisable to make sure that you thoroughly understand the full implications and terms of the policy before considering taking cover.

Conventional critical illness cover, for a typical 30 year old family man, who doesn't smoke would be around £24 per month, whereas it could more than double with this new plan.

It may be that critical illness cover is not the product for you. For financial security for your family, in the event of your death, life insurance would be the most important planning tool. To cover outgoings if you are incapable to working, income protection insurance could be useful. This offers cover for common ailments too, and not just the critical ones.

For advice and help on the type of insurances available, the easiest course of action is to find an internet broker, who'll be able to answer your questions and come up with a range of quotes with a minimum of trouble to you and ensure that you arrange the insurance cover which is right for you and your family.


About the Author
Life insurance office great articles based on life insurance all online.

Critical Illness Cover - A Wider Scope

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Critical Illness Insurance

by Daniela Pedersen

Critical Illness Insurance is a health related condition such as heart attack, stroke, or invasive cancer where you have a good chance of surviving.

If you are diagnosed with a critical illness, you could be faced with: Loss of income. Medical expenses. Home Alterations. Personal Living Expenses.

Critical Illness insurance is designed to provide coverage upon first occurrence and diagnosis of a covered critical illness. This insurance can help you focus on recovery with peace of mind instead of worrying about how to make ends meet or draining savings set aside for later years. It provides a living benefit.

100% of the Benefit Amount is payable for: Heart Attack Stroke Invasive Cancer Major Organ Transplant End-Stage Renal Failure Advanced Alzheimer's Disease Blindness Deafness Paralysis Major Burns Accidental Loss of Speech

25% of the Benefit Amount is payable for: Cancer In Situ Coronary Bypass Surgery 10% of the Benefit Amount is payable for: Angioplasty

Benefits: Coverage for a Lifetime. Return of Premium Upon Death Feature. No waiting Period on Most Covered Conditions. Multiple Payment Benefit Feature.

Your Critical illness insurance coverage can be worth more than just the face amount of your policy - up to 3 times the initial benefit amount!

About the Author
Article Author is highly specialized insurance agent for different kind of insurances described to: www.selectquotes.net

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Critical Illness Insurance

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With Critical Illness Life Insurance Your Family Will Not Suffer

by David G. Petten

Being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness scares the bejesus out of the layperson, but you need to in order to prepare for the unexpected by purchasing critical illness life insurance. Without the protection of critical illness life insurance in place, you and the rest of your family may suffer major financial devastation should you become critically ill, losing the ability to work

Critical illness life insurance pays you a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a severe medical problem in contrast with disability insurance which covers lost monthly income and anticipates the possibility of your eventual return in some capacity to the work force, Rules and stipulations vary, but as a rule of thumb as long as you survive the illness for a pre-determined designated time period, of usually between 14 to 30 days, the policy will pay out a one-time full benefit amount.

There are three forms of critical illness life insurance: a mortgage life insurance policy with a critical illness rider; a combined policy of mortgage and critical illness life insurance; and a stand alone critical illness life insurance policy. Requesting information and critical illness quotes for various insurance providers will provide you with the opportunity to compare insurance rates and choose the policy type and coverage which best suits your individual needs.

Critical illness life insurance is for everyone and is not just limited to home owners or employed individuals. If your spouse falls sick and you have to take time away from work, critical illness coverage would eliminate the added burden of looming bills and pesky creditors.

The expense of health insurance could become astronomical, especially if coverage is denied or cancelled. Critical illness insurance is routinely confused with health insurance, people have become bankrupt trying to pay medical bills that were not covered by their health insurance provider. The majority of health insurance policies feature limited benefits, ceilings and caps on the yearly payouts and/or maximum life amount. Purchasing critical illness life protection will guarantee your ability to meet all of life's "surprise" financial obligations.

So, how much coverage will you need? Well, that all depends on the situation. But when approximating how much critical illness life insurance is necessary:

* How much are your monthly expenses? * How much is your total monthly mortgage? * What other insurance policies do you have?

Also take a look at how the terminally ill by each adult member of the household would affect the overall financial future of the family. Take into consideration the changes that would occur, lost wages, medical bills, out of pocket expenses (gas, parking, co-payments, prescriptions, supplies, long-term care expenses, etc.) and increased child's/adult daycare.

Protect yourself and your family by purchasing critical illness life insurance for every adult household family member. The possibility of becoming terminally ill is very real and so is the potential devastation to your family without adequate critical illness insurance protection.


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With Critical Illness Life Insurance Your Family Will Not Suffer

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