Why do I need critical illness cover?

1 in 5 men suffer a critical illness before their normal retirement age. 1 in 6 women suffer a critical illness before their normal retirement age.

STEP 1 of 2
Type of cover
Life Insurance       Mortgage Life Insurance
 
Cover Level (£)

Number of years
Do you want:  
Critical illness cover
Family income benefit
 

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What could Critical Illness cover be used for?
Anything you want. Medical expenses, repaying the mortgage, making your home easier to live in, school fees, general living expenses, but to name a few.
Are future children included on a Critical Illness policy?
All natural, step and legally adopted children are insured under a Critical Illness policy so long as they are aged between 1 and 18 years (although some companies only consider children from aged 3).
What information do you need to provide to apply for a Critical Illness policy?
The Application form will ask questions regarding your height, weight, age, sex, current state of health, occupation, hobbies etc.
What happens if your condition improves after making a claim on your Critical Illness policy?
Once the insurance company has paid you the money is yours to spend how you like. The policy is terminated and your insurer has no interest on how you live your life or indeed whether your condition improves or is healed.
What if you develop another critical illness or have a reoccurrence of a Critical Illness ?
After a successful claim the insured sum will be paid to you and that ends the policy. There can be no further claims.
Critical Illness is far more common than many of us think. The average age for a critical illness claimant is 47 (Source: Munich Reinsurance Co 2000).

You may think that “it won’t happen to me” and we genuinely hope that it won’t, but please consider the following facts: -

  • 35% of men and 46% of women who have cancer survive at least 5 years
  • 78% of stroke sufferers survive more than a year.
  • 1 in 5 men and 1 in 6 women suffer a critical illness before their usual retirement age.
  • In 1999: in the UK 40,989 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, which is 136 for every 100,000 women
  • 23,456 men were detected with lung cancer in the UK. This represents 83 cases per 100,000 men. 1,990 men were newly diagnosed with testicular cancer. This is a rate of 7 cases per 100,000 men.
  • In 2000: there were 112,066 of all types of cancer diagnosed for women and 111,543 for men. At total of 223,609 new cases of cancer diagnosed.
    (Source: Cancer Research UK)

Are these risks you would want to ignore?

Of course, it may not happen to you, but isn’t it better to know that you have the financial resources in place just in case? Critical Illness Insurance can provide that peace of mind.

Critical illness insurance pays you a tax-free sum of money if you are diagnosed as having a serious, chronic or terminal illness which is listed on the policy, or if you require a specific type of operation which is listed on the policy or if you suffer from any condition or have an accident that totally and permanently prevents you from working.

Frequently Asked Questions related to the above topic.
Click below if you wish to read them: -