Critical illness pays out if you get seriously ill

by Francisco Segura

It is a sad fact that even if we live a healthy lifestyle, as we get older we are more prone to sickness; 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. Unfortunately, despite longer lives, we are not generally healthier and insurance providers now routinely offer cover in their policies as there is a reasonably high probability of contracting a serious condition.

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.

Increasingly, the internet is being used to buy insurances online and this is now extending to illnesses that are long term or critical. Unfortunately, being a relatively new facility, there are new problems that occur as more companies start offering services over the Internet for the first time. This is because many insurance providers who offer this type of coverage wish to have the applicant take a medical examination by an independent physician to ensure there is nothing untoward right from the start. A common complaint of insurance companies is that they are often insensitive to the plight of their customers and this is not the attitude you want if you are contacting them about your critical illness insurance policy.

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. Smoking is a potential threat to your life therefore, premiums will increase although having said this, the insurance company will also consider your age, type of work you do, general health, and pastimes before it issues the cover. One of the biggest benefits of critical illness insurance is it will also cover the health and living expenses should a person be diagnosed with a terminal illness. Anyone that cares about their family and what could happen to them in the event of a serious medical condition arising should take out this type of insurance if for no other reason than peace of mind.

About the Author
Francisco Segura operates and manages http://wheelchairschoice.com/wheelchair-tires.html Wheelchair Tires

Why It Pays To Check The Small Print Before Buying Critical Illness Cover

by Chris Johns

When it comes to critical illness insurance, reading the small print in your policy is absolutely crucial. Depending on the company, up to 25% of critical illness claims are rejected and most of these situations come down to the policy holder not understanding the finer points of their policy.

The increasing amounts of negative publicity surrounding cases in which people with critical illnesses are unable to get their insurance company to pay out dissuade many people from getting insurance they might potentially benefit from. However, when you consider that 20% of men and 17% of women will suffer from a critical illness before they reach 65, insurance begins to sound like an attractive option.

Heavily publicised cases of insurance companies refusing to pay for critical illness claims have led to a significant amount of consumer mistrust in this type of insurance. However, it's important to note that in most cases, one of three issues is in play; the policy holder did not disclose important medical information when they applied for the insurance, they did not follow company protocol when getting medical advice, or they simply thought they were covered for a certain illness when they weren't. By becoming intimately familiar with the terms and conditions of your policy, you can reduce the likelihood of any of these issues arising if you need to make a claim.

Full Disclosure is Required

Non-disclosure is the most common reason that insurance companies reject critical illness claims. This can mean failing to disclose information, or providing inaccurate information either deliberately or unknowingly. This may even include information that is not relevant to a critical illness you suffer from in the future, as well as information relating to your family's medical history.

Read the small print and understand what your policy covers before you even commit to a critical illness policy, it's vital that you understand exactly what you are and are not covered for. Regardless of any extenuating circumstances, an insurance company simply will not pay out if you suffer from a critical illness that your policy does not cover. Most standard policies provide cover for a number of conditions, including kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, major organ transplant and coronary bypass surgery. However, if you want cover for additional critical illnesses you'll need to shop around and find a policy that has what you're looking for, and be particularly careful in reading the terms and conditions to make sure it has the cover you need.

Note that critical illnesses as defined by insurance companies are very precise. If your illness does not match your insurance company's definition, they can still reject your claim even if you have met all other criteria of the policy.

Follow Protocol When Seeking Medical Advice

Following your insurance company's protocol when seeking medical advice will reduce the likelihood of them rejecting your claim. For example, if your doctor tells you that you have high cholesterol and gives you advice on dietary and lifestyle changes you must make an effort to reduce it, you must follow your doctor's instructions or risk invalidating any future claim you make. Your company's protocol is crucial information that you should find out before committing to a policy, you need to know how to proceed when seeking medical advice right from the beginning.

About the Author
To discover the cheapest providers of UK critical illness insurance visit http://www.life-saver.co.uk to compare instant quotes from multiple big name insurers at discounted rates.

Choosing Critical Illness Cover Online

by David Thomson

With the advancements in the technology or today more and more people who suffer from a critical illness are now living longer. Critical illness cover can be taken out to protect against the possibility of you falling ill and a policy usually contains a long list of illnesses that are classed as being critical. The cover would pay out not only if you were seriously ill because of one of the illnesses, providing you have waited a certain length of time from contracting the illness, but would also pay if you become disabled as a result.

A policy would usually take into account around 30 illnesses which could include cancer, heart attack, suffering a stroke and kidney failure or transplant. Of course you have to check out the terms and conditions of the policy before taking it on as they do differ. There are also many exclusions which have to be checked and these can apply to the various illnesses. For example while in the majority of cases critical illness cover would payout if you were diagnosed with cancer, not all forms of cancer would be covered. Skin cancers are usually exempt from the cover as is prostrate cancer unless it is advanced. There are also exclusions for such as a heart attack and different policies will have different exclusions in them. Therefore you should never skip over the small print however tempting it might be.

When you are looking into choosing critical illness online you are able to take out a policy for any number of years. As long as you pay the premiums each month then the policy can continue running. There is always a period in which you cannot claim when taking on the cover and this would normally be around three months. While the advancement in technology means that you can live longer when being diagnosed with a critical illness it also means that insurance companies are putting up the cost of the insurance and as more advancements are made, premiums will continue to rise.

There are many factors that you have to take into account when choosing critical illness and when you look around you will find that there are many different policies offered by insurance companies. Never just take the first policy you find without looking into what is covered and is not, while you might get the cover cheap it would probably not cover many illnesses.

One thing to look for when deciding which critical illness cover to go for is whether or not the premiums will be fixed. If they are not fixed then you can expect the insurance company to raise them perhaps every other year. This could mean that what once was affordable cover now becomes a burden. A large number of policies will also provide cover for any children you have as standard. Sometimes the company will include children in the policy as standard while other providers could ask for a small premium. If you allow a broker to search around on your behalf for premiums then you can compare these easily for the best cover. All insurance found this way should come with what are called the key facts and these will tell you important information about what the policy entails.

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.

Factors Affecting Critical Illness Insurance

by Glen Parkin

Have you ever thought about how sensible your health is? Many people do not get the time to think about it whereas others do. Surveys tell that someone is more apt to falling critically ill than to die before the age of 65. That is why critical illness insurance has been brought forward to put light to this issue. Critical illness insurance is a type of insurance which protects you in the event that you fall severely ill. Critical illness insurances classify the following illnesses as critical illness: cancer, heart disease, strokes and multiple sclerosis. So let us get an appropriate know-how of what critical illness insurance really is.

Critical illness insurance is an effective cover policy which awards you a tax free lump sum when you fall critically ill. There are various factors affecting critical illness insurance. The moment you are suffering from a critical illness, the financial problems at home could be avoided. The cash could be used to even pay your mortgage instalments or educational fees. The money could also be used to cover medical charges for your own treatment or even pay for a vehicle you’ve just bought. With critical illness insurance at least you have the peace of mind that your family is looked after.

Similar to life insurance or income protection insurance, a premium has to be paid for critical illness insurance. The low cost of critical illness insurance makes it relatively popular. You can also decide if the critical illness insurance policy can be included with your life insurance policy. You can also prefer to take a critical illness policy tailored in your own way. That is, you can choose how long the policy will last and how much cover you need. Let’s say if you have 10 years remaining to complete your mortgage payment, then you could choose a critical illness cover for this amount of time. With such advantage anyone who is not yet a critical illness insurance policy holder should consider to have one. Remember that critical illness insurance’s low cost vary from company to company.

Because many people claim for illnesses that are not classified, a solution has been designed for them. Many critical illness insurance companies cover only for 35 main illnesses. But gradually, policies are being unveiled that cover up to 140 cases. The premium payments will normally be higher. So will be the benefits. Critical illness insurance has showed that it cared for people by revealing this new policy. It would not be fair if you contributed so much and at the crucial moment you find out that you are not eligible for a claim.

In the recent years, there has been considerable improvement in the medical sector. Diseases are being able to be detected much before they strike. Claim demands have considerably decreased and survival rates increased. Thus critical illness insurance companies can be concerned.

Why not put some money apart for a critical illness insurance policy. This could be a long time investment, fruitful enough to ensure the protection of you and your family.

About the Author
For more information feel free to visit http://www.unbeatablelifeandcriticalinsurance.co.uk