Critical Illness Insurance Policies - Cover & Quotes

Saturday, January 12, 2008

The Growing Popularity And Importance Of Critical Illness Cover

by Victoria Selman

Critical illness cover is one of the most popular and fastest growing insurance products available in the UK. This is shown by the fact that there was a 31% increase in the number of critical illness insurance policies sold between 2001 and 2003.

This article discusses what critical illness cover is and how it could help you.

What is Critical Illness Cover

Critical illness insurance pays out a tax free lump sum to policy holders if they are diagnosed with a serious illness which is covered by their critical illness plan. Examples of serious illnesses covered by critical illness insurance policies include; strokes, heart attacks and cancer.

Policyholders can use this money in any way that they wish such as for medical care or to cover living costs that they cannot otherwise meet owing to loss of income.

Who Should Consider Critical Illness Cover

Most people do not like to contemplate the fact that they might become seriously ill and assume that it will not happen to them. However, statistics demonstrate how widespread serious illness is and that we should face the fact that we might suffer from it at some point.

For example, 100,000 people in the UK have strokes each year and almost 8,000 of them are under 55 years old. Of these, a third die within twelve months and another third, over spend the rest of their lives disabled.

Furthermore, in the UK, 300,000 people have heart attacks each year and 80% of sufferers aged between 45 and 65 survive. Whilst over 30,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually many of whom survive for a number of years but continue to need medical treatment.

Benefits of Critical Illness Cover

Given that so many people who are diagnosed with serious illnesses go on to survive but need ongoing medical treatment and often cannot continue working, critical illness insurance can provide a very welcome financial safety net.

About the Author:
Critical Illness Insurance Information site: http://www.critical-illness-insurance-uk.org.uk

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The Growing Popularity And Importance Of Critical Illness Cover

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Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Have You Thought About Critical Illness Life Insurance?

Submitted By: David Thomson

While no one likes to think about death or illness and, it does happen and if you were diagnosed with a critical illness it would put severe stress not only on yourself but also your loved ones.

With the advancements of technology today more and more people who are diagnosed with a critical illness do recover and go on to lead a normal life. However, it is during the recovery time that you could need help and peace of mind that you wouldn’t have to struggle financially. A lump sum payout could help to pay medical expenses or day to day living expenses whilst you recovered and this would come in the form critical illness insurance.

Critical life insurance will pay out a lump sum of money if you should be diagnosed with one of the specific critical illnesses outlined in a policy. The sum of money and the term that the policy is taken out is determined at the time of purchasing the policy and if you should suffer from one of the critical illnesses defined on the policy then that sum of money would be paid out providing that you survived for 28 days after you were diagnosed with the illness.

The actual conditions defined as critical illness will vary from policy to policy but they usually all include such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, major organ transplant and multiple sclerosis. There are many others but these are usually the core illnesses so always check with a particular policy under the terms and conditions.

If after the term ends on the policy and you haven’t been diagnosed with a critical illness then the policy simply expires there is no cash payout. A critical illness life insurance policy can bring great peace of mind to you and your loved ones and get you through a stressful period of time but you have to be careful when choosing your policy. The easiest way to get the best deal on a critical life insurance policy is to go to a specialist provider and let them secure the cheapest deal for you.

About the Author:
David Thomson is Chief Executive of BestDealInsurance an independent specialist broker dedicated to providing their clients with the best deal on their life insurance, critical illness cover and home and motor insurance.

Have You Thought About Critical Illness Life Insurance?

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Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Understanding Critical Illness Cover

by David Thomson

One of the many forms of insurance that you can take out to give you financial peace of mind in the event that something should happen to you is critical life insurance. This type of cover will pay out a lump sum should you be diagnosed with one of the illnesses outlined within the policy.

Critical illness insurance will pay out if you are diagnosed as having a pre-determined critical illness, there are a range of around serious illnesses which are now included in a policy such as this, but of course this will vary from company to company and the policy which is on offer, so you should always ensure you understand what your particular policy covers.

However the majority of policies do cover certain conditions which are classed as core or foundation conditions and these include cancer, heart attack, kidney failure, a major organ transplant, coronary heart by pass, multiple sclerosis and a stroke. However not all illnesses are covered and in fact recently, new rulings have been set out by the Association of British Insurers regarding which conditions can be claimed on.

Due to this it is imperative that you understand conditions which are excluded from critical insurance policies. For example, conditions such as non-evasive skin cancer and prostrate cancer which isn't considered to be advanced is excluded from within a policy. Of course these are just a few examples and there are many more.

Even conditions such as heart attack has to be clearly outlined, for example there has to be evidence that there are pains in the area of the chest, along with changes to an E.C.G scan for example. If the heart problem is thought to be caused by angina then in some cases this is also excluded from the policy.

Critical illness insurance benefits everyone, those who are married and have dependant children as well as those who are single. Critical illness cover can be used to pay off the mortgage or for private medical treatment which can be more beneficial than having life cover which will only pay out if you die.

Critical insurance cover can be taken out from between the ages of 17 and 70 and can be taken out for a pre-determined amount of time, such as to go alongside the term of your mortgage. From taking out the cover there will normally be a period of time in which you cannot make a claim, for the majority of policies this is usually a period of 3 months.

Choosing the right type of critical insurance can be a problem as currently there are over 200 different versions of critical insurance cover, so understanding the type of cover you need is essential. Understanding the level of cover is also essential as some policies seem to cover just about anything, when in fact there are a lot of hidden exclusions, while a high price is charged for the product.

About the Author:
David Thomson is Chief Executive of BestDealInsurance an independent specialist broker dedicated to providing their clients with the best deal on their life insurance, critical illness cover and home and motor insurance.

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Understanding Critical Illness Cover

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