Planning for Critical Illness: An Intelligent Move

by Francisco Segura

Most of us enjoy our health, often this is taken for granted but we cannot guarantee this will be the situation for the rest of our lives; fortunately, the benefits of critical illness insurance are being experienced by many people who have seen this make a big difference just when they needed it. Providing financial peace of mind for your family by taking out protection for a mere few dollars each week, does not seem as important to most of us as having that luxury cup of coffee every day during lunch. Insurance providers, acting on the statistical information they receive from research institutes now offer this type of protection to every one of their customers.

These studies make for somber reading when you consider around one in five men will contract one of these conditions before they reach retirement age. This figure reduces, but only slightly, for women with around 15 percent having a severe health condition before retirement. Lack of knowledge or belief in the chances of contracting an illness like this might be the main reason why so few adults take out critical illness insurance protection, according to insurance companies. Those that take out critical illness cover normally do so to help pay their mortgage repayments if they are no longer able, but this type of plan can now be added directly to mortgage repayments.

Since the advent of the Internet as a marketing and sales tool, insurance companies have promoted their products online and in recent years there has been an increase in online insurance applications. For obvious reasons there will be certain things that require physical evidence so these plans are not always smooth sailing to organize. The main reason for this is the requirement by insurance providers to have the applicant take a medical examination before they issue cover. Claimants also need to know that if they do make contact to their critical illness insurance provider that they will be listened to with a sympathetic ear.

Smokers are unfortunately treated as higher risk applicants; this includes anyone who has smoked within the previous year, and as a consequence they are placed in a high risk category. Insurance companies place smoking at the top of their list but other areas of your life can affect how much you pay for your premium like your age, physical health, activities you may participate in and the type of work you do. The benefits of critical illness insurance should not be underestimated as you may require surgery for a serious, life threatening condition; cannot work owing to it or are diagnosed with a terminal illness. For people that have families, there shouldn't even be a discussion about whether this type of plan should be arranged, should there?

About the Author
Francisco Segura manages http://wheelchairschoice.com/wheelchair-rental.html Wheelchair Rental