You may need critical illness cover if others depend on you.
Critical Illness pays out if you're diagnosed with an insured condition, supporting you and your loved ones if you can’t earn a living through treatment and recovery.
How would your family cope if you were diagnosed with cancer, or another serious condition which stops you from being able to work. Critical illness cover could provide financial support for your loved ones when it matters the most.
Popular critical illness cover options
Standalone
If you’re diagnosed with an illness that your policy covers you’ll receive a one-off lump sum. This payment can be used to lighten the financial burden if you’re unable to work.
Joint
You can take out a joint critical illness policy to cover yourself and your partner. With most joint policies however, you’ll only be able to make a single claim.
Combined
It’s common for critical illness to be packaged up as part of a life insurance policy. Often cheaper, there’s only one pay-out, either on diagnosis of a listed condition or death of the policy holder.
A few things to know about critical illness cover
- A critical illness pay-out can be used to keep on top of debts or cover medical expenses
- Pre-existing and hereditary conditions are generally not covered by critical illness policies
- If you stop paying, cover ceases and you won't receive a pay-out if you become ill
- Answer questions accurately, otherwise your policy might not pay out when needed
Your common critical illness cover questions, answered
What’s the difference between critical illness and life insurance?
Simply put, a life insurance policy will only pay-out when you die, or in some cases if you receive a terminal diagnosis. A critical illness policy pays-out if you are diagnosed with a covered condition.
What conditions are covered by a critical illness policy?
The exact list of conditions will vary between providers, however most policies will cover: Heart attacks, strokes, certain cancers, neurological diseases, respiratory diseases, eyesight and hearing damage as well as permanent disability.
This is not a comprehensive list and it’s important to check the list of conditions with your chosen provider before taking out a policy.
Can I add my children to a critical illness policy?
Yes, in most cases you can add cover for children to an existing policy. There’s generally no additional cost to do this, however the pay-out will tend to be much lower.
How many critical illnesses can I claim for?
The illnesses covered and the required severity to claim are different between insurers, however generally a critical illness policy will only pay-out once.
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