Do I Need Critical Illness Insurance?

by David Thomson

Critical illness insurance is taken out to cover you either for life or for a set period of time against certain critical illnesses, diseases and medical conditions. It differs from life insurance in that life insurance pays out should you die. Critical illness insurance pays if you become physically or mentally impaired through illness or disease.

A policy to cover you for critical illness will pay out a tax free lump sum if you should fall victim to one of the illnesses defined within the policy. All that is needed to make a claim is the diagnosis by your Doctor of one of the illnesses or conditions defined in the policy; there is usually no requirement for you to prove loss of earnings or for you to need any special medical treatment.

Points to consider when thinking of taking out this form of insurance is that the sum and terms are decided at the outset when you take out your policy.

In order for the policy to pay out then you must survive for at least 28 days after the condition or illness has been diagnosed.

Once the set time of the policy has passed and you haven’t been diagnosed as having a serious illness or condition then there is no payout and the policy simply ceases.

Before deciding on whether or not to take out critical illness insurance you should take several factors into consideration. The most important thing to decide is how much money you would need if you were to become critically ill and then decide how long you would need the cover for.

You will also have to take into account the various illnesses that are covered as these can vary from company to company. Another thing to take into account is that different companies have different exclusions within the policies so it is important that you read all the small print.

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.

Statistics That Can Help You More Understand The Rate Of Incidence Of Certain Critical Illness Conditions

by Mike Armstrong

Critical illness insurance may have been designed long ago as a means to cope with the lack of health care systems in some countries. Since then, the development of critical illness cover has been considerable. More and more people may be seeking for critical illness cover as the product may have become widely known across the UK and worldwide. Insurance companies may nowadays provide cover for up to 30 critical illness conditions while others may restrict themselves to only seven. Competition over the insurance market may have pushed insurers towards the addition of many critical illnesses in certain policies. However the occurrence of critical illness still prevails.

Here are some facts and statistics about some critical illnesses during the past few years.

Cancer As per to the Breast Cancer Campaign 2002, it can be said that 1 of every 9 women may contract a critical illness such as breast cancer. Furthermore, in the year 1997, around 38,000 women may have been diagnosed with this life threatening critical illness. Further analysis of the current situation may suggest that this rate could increase every passing year. Fortunately, improving medical techniques and treatments may have made it possible for around 60 percent of women to stay alive 5 years after an intervention for this critical illness.

The Office of National Statistics stated that in the year 2000, about 150,000 people may have passed away due to cancer. More precisely speaking, every 3 and a half minutes one person may die. This may then make of cancer one of the most lethal critical illness in the UK. Also, in the year 2000, the death of around 20,600 men and 13,000 women may have been caused by lung cancer than any other form of cancer.

Deafness According to RNID 2002, a total amount of around 8 million people may be deaf or hard of hearing. This result may show a critical illness in ascent. Out of these, approximately 673,000 people may be severely or profoundly deaf relying on lip-reading and requiring a text phone or video phone to communicate.

Kidney failure As per the UK Renal Registry 1998, at the end of the year 1998, around 31,000 people may have been more likely to suffer from a critical illness such as end-stage renal failure. As a result, about half of the patients could have been treated by transplant surgery while the remaining may have been treated with dialysis.

Multiple Sclerosis According to Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2002, this critical illness may have made around 85,000 patients in the UK. Furthermore, figures may show that each year about 2,500 new cases of multiple sclerosis are diagnosed. Additionally, it may be a saddening fact to find out that multiple sclerosis may be the most common neurological disorder among young adults. This critical illness may prevail among people usually aged between 20 to 40.

The rates at which these critical illnesses occur may be of much concern. You could imagine the possible financial catastrophe people could undergo should critical illness cover not exist. Thanks to critical illness cover payout, some income may be injected so that the person’s family may continue their usual trend of life.



About the Author
Critical illness insurance protects yourself or your family. For more information about critical illness insurance please visit www.unbeatablelifeandcriticalinsurance.co.uk.