What is Critical Illness?

This is an article from a canadian, but still has value for the UK critical illness cover market. The cover is arranged in a similar manner, with the payout being in a lump sum too. Have a read.


What is Critical Illness?
By Ivon T. Hughes

Critical Illness (CI) is a relatively new coverage in Canada that guarantees the payment of a lump sum benefit between $50,000 to $2,000,000 if you are stricken by a critical illness such as cancer or a heart attack. CI provides the financial resources to fill the gap that may be created between health insurance plans and other expenditures you may have or help replace lost income. This type of support can help tremendously in maintaining your quality of life and financial security during the recovery period and help you face your new challenges.

Government health plans and group insurance benefits are limited to basic medical and hospital care in Canada and Disability income coverage pays a monthly income only if you can't work. For Critical Illness insurance, for example, if you suffer a heart attack and are able to return to work, CI still pays.

The maximum coverage amount available varies depending upon the insurance company issuing the plan. Each company exactly defines the critical illnesses they are covering in their policy contracts. Over 20 different illnesses may be covered extending cancer, heart attack and stroke to organ transplants, deafness and more.

You must survive a critical illness for a fixed period of time to receive the coverage amount, usually 30 days. In other words, if you suffered a heart attack, you must live at least that long to receive this payment.

If you suffer a critical illness, you do not receive the coverage amount as a monthly benefit. Instead, payment is made in full, as a lump sum amount. There are no conditions as to how you use the funds. The money unconditionally belongs to you. You are the one who decides how it will be spent.

We can help you secure your financial future by ensuring you have the money to keep your home and lifestyle should you be stricken with a Critical Illnesses covered under this plan. Contact us for more information or run your own quote at our website.

Ivon T. Hughes president of The Hughes Trustco Group has been in business for 30 years. Canadians & Americans can get a FREE Quote TODAY! www.hughestrustco.com

That's all for today.

MB

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I've got Life Insurance - why would I need Critical Illness Cover?

I've got Life Insurance - why would I need Critical Illness Cover?

If you have life insurance then you know that a lump sum of money will be paid to the beneficiaries of your policy should you suddenly pass away. You will probably have this policy for peace of mind to reduce the financial burden you death might put on any dependents you have, and assist them in settling your estate.

Statistically however, you are six times more likely to suffer from a critical illness than die before you reach the age of 65. Advancements in the field of medicine mean that today we are now surviving the illnesses that might have meant an early grave for previous generations. In this situation your life insurance is unlikely to be able to assist you, but an alternative is available; you might consider obtaining critical illness cover.

Critical Illness Insurance will cover you if you are diagnosed with an illness listed on your policy and, as with life insurance, pay out a tax-free lump sum. This can help with any financial difficulties that sudden diagnosis of a serious illness might bring you. If you were to be diagnosed with a serious illness today and were unable to continue working you may face several financial problems at once; you may have a mortgage payments to make, you might run your own business and need to arrange cover or you illness may require additional medical treatment not covered by your standard health insurance policy.

A standard critical illness insurance policy will cover you for the following illnesses:-
· Cancer
· Coronary artery by-pass surgery
· Heart attack
· Kidney failure
· Major organ transplant
· Multiple Sclerosis· Stroke

However, you may also cover additional critical illnesses under your policy, you will need to check with the individual insurance provider as to which other illnesses they may cover.
Do be aware though that there are fairly strict definitions as to what constitutes any one particular critical illness. For example if you were to suffer from Angina, this would not come under the Heart Attack section of your policy, even though it is a serious heart condition. In addition to this you will normally need to survive your critical illness for at least 28 days from diagnosis in order for your policy to pay out. There are further exclusions to your policy too, for example you cannot reasonably refuse medical treatment that leads to the development of a critical illness.

Obtaining critical illness cover is a fairly straightforward process you will need to complete an application form, and probably undertake a medical assessment. Your premium will depend on your health status at the time of application along with your family medical history. If you are a smoker you will definiately pay higer premiums. It does pay to shop around for your cover, some providers will offer additional free coverage for your children or a joint policy may be more cost effective than individual policies.

© Mike Bromley 2005

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Critical Illness Cover Uncovered by David Miles

This article I found on the www is applicable to the UK and any other countries that provide critical illness cover.

Critical Illness Cover Uncovered by David Miles

It is a sad fact that many of us will know someone who has suffered from a critical illness. Despite medical advances, critical illness is still all too common. Critical illness conditions include such things as cancer, heart attacks, strokes, multiple sclerosis, leukaemia, and total permanent disability.

Being diagnosed with a critical illness doesn't only spell emotional and physical turmoil. It can also mean financial disaster. If you are unable to work due to a critical illness, or if you have to give up work to look after a child with a serious medical condition, you could quickly find yourself struggling to meet your financial commitments such as the mortgage and other regular bills. And all this at a time when you may be having to find additional money to pay for medical treatment or the costs of ongoing medical care.

With little support available from the State - less than £60 per week if qualify for Disability Living Allowance and just over £70 per week if you qualify for long-term Incapacity Benefit - you could soon find yourself in serious financial trouble.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help protect yourself from the financial implications of suffering from a critical illness. Whilst the doctors get on with their job of looking after your health, critical illness insurance can help you avoid worrying about money and leave you free to concentrate on getting better.

Critical illness insurance provides you with a substantial tax-free cash lump sum if you are diagnosed with a serious illness. Different policies cover different ranges of medical conditions, but the one thing they all have in common is that they will pay you your chosen level of benefit as a tax-free lump sum in the event of your being diagnosed with one of the insured conditions.
Providing critical illness cover for a sizeable sum is cheaper than you might imagine, and can make a huge difference to your quality of life in the event of a serious illness. For example, once your claim is paid, you could use the money to clear your mortgage or take a holiday to help aid your recovery.

It is easy to argue that anyone who has a mortgage should definitely take out critical illness protection, but the same can apply to anyone who has regular financial commitments that they would find hard to meet in the event of being unable to work following diagnosis of a serious medical condition. In fact, in many ways, critical illness cover is even more important than life insurance, because in this day and age, advances in medical science mean you are more likely to initially survive a critical illness than you are to die from it.

When you suffer a serious illness it can take a long time to recover. You may have to give up work completely to begin with, and it may be a number of years before you are fit enough to return to full time employment. If your critical illness leaves you with a permanent disability you may have to change career, thus leaving you with a lower salary than prior to your illness.
When deciding what level of critical illness cover to opt for, there are a number of factors to take into account. If you were in a position where you were unable to work for a number of years after your illness, then you might need to live off your critical illness benefit for longer than expected. Therefore, it is sensible to try to cover a sum at least four or five times your current annual salary. Remember to take into consideration your mortgage any other outstanding loans and credit card debts when deciding on a level of cover.

All critical illness policies have what is known as a survival period. This is the length of time after you fall ill before your claim can be processed. This is normally in the region of two to four weeks. Then the insurer will need to gather medical evidence and reports from your doctors to ensure the validity of your critical illness claim. This process can take a few weeks depending on the amount of information required. The insurance companies who provide critical illness cover have specialist medical claims staff who will make every effort to get your benefit paid to you as quickly as possible.

In addition to providing critical illness protection for yourself and your partner, it also makes sense to add on cover for your children if you have any. Unfortunately, serious illness amongst children is more common than you might like to think. Historical claims records show that a substantial number of claims are made on children's critical illness insurance, mostly for leukaemia.

You might assume that if one of your children suffered a critical illness, your household finances would be unaffected. After all, they are not wage earners. However, in reality you may want, or need, to give up your full time employment to look after your child. In addition, their illness may give rise to additional costs for medical treatment or nursing care. Money is the last thing you want to be worrying about if one of your children is taken seriously ill.

A large number of critical illness insurers automatically provide cover for children, so it is worth checking this aspect of the policy when deciding which critical illness provider to opt for.
One of the most important things to be aware of when choosing a critical illness protection plan is the list of illnesses and conditions covered by the policy, as this varies from one insurance provider to another.

All providers cover a certain range of core conditions, such as cancer, stroke, heart attack, and multiple sclerosis. Other companies may provide cover for additional conditions such as loss of sight, loss of limb, or benign tumours. Statistics show, however, that the majority of claims are for one of the core conditions, which every insurer has to cover.

Critical illness insurance can be bought with either guaranteed rate premiums or reviewable rate premiums. The former are normally more expensive, but the premiums are guaranteed to remain the same throughout the life of the policy. With reviewable rates, the premiums are not guaranteed and so you may have to pay more or less per month (almost certainly more!) as the years go by.

Critical illness policies stay in force for a fixed period. The period of cover you select is known as the term. A short-term policy might run for perhaps ten years. Or you might want a longer term policy of twenty-five years to coincide with your mortgage. It is important to remember that your cover will end completely as soon as the term is finished.

The other two things which will cause your policy to terminate are if you die or if you make a critical illness claim. Once you have claimed for a serious illness, it can be difficult to get new cover, as you are seen by insurers as a higher risk. Some companies offer a critical illness buy-back option, meaning that if you do claim on your critical illness policy you can still take out cover again with that same insurer. A buy-back facility will increase your monthly premiums, but for the sake of what may only be a few pounds per month, it is well worth considering from the outset.

As you will see from everything we have said here, critical illness policies can differ in price and provide differing levels of cover and benefits. In addition, some policies cover just critical illnesses, whilst others combine critical illness protection with traditional life assurance.
It is therefore important to take expert independent financial advice before deciding which critical illness policy is right for you.
--
Copyright 2004 David Miles. About the Author
David Miles is the editor of <http://www.thecashclinic.com" target="_blank">TheCashClinic.com, a UK personal finance portal.

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Critical Illness Insurance - Critical Or Ridicule?

This is a great article explaining the ins and outs of Criticall Illness Insurance. Rachel also points out that if you are not covered for a specific illness - you don't get paid. This is so crucial with Critical Illness Cover, I really would reccommend that you cover as many illnesses as you can afford. This applies to whether you live in the UK or not.

Critical Illness Insurance - Critical Or Ridicule? by Rachel Lane

Critical illness cover (CIC) is a type of insurance which provides a significant one-off payment if you are diagnosed with a specified life-threatening condition - specified being the important term, because if your illness isn't in the terms and conditions - you won't get the payment. Over the recent years, critical illness cover has gained in popularity due to lower costs and apparent simplicity.

Critical illness insurance can be sold as part of a mortgage package or additionally as a stand-alone policy. Critical illness cover can also be commonly associated with life insurance, with certain CIC policies paying out either on the diagnosis of a particular illness or on death, but not both, whilst other CIC policies pay out in both events.

When you first purchase the critical illness insurance policy, there might be an option for buy-back insurance, this would permit you to buy additional critical illness cover or life insurance, typically at a minimal cost, after you have made a claim on your existing CIC policy. Such an option is often worth considering , as the survival rates from a critical illness are usually very good and it can be extremely difficult to obtain new cover following a critical illness. Buy-back critical illness cover usually protects against the three major critical illnesses: heart attack, stroke and cancer from which you are most likely to recover, but also risk an attack later in life.
Bear in mind that when you take out life critical illness insurance, there is a standard waiting period between diagnosis and possible payout, from six months to a year for certain conditions, such as total permanent disability. However, if the diagnosis is very transparent, it is possible that the insurer would consider waiving the waiting period.

The maximum payout varies from policy to policy, thought it's not unusual to see capped payouts of £500,000 or £1 million, though cover for higher amounts might be available on request. When the policy is sold as part of a mortgage package, the lump sum is designed to pay off the loan on the home, but with other policies, there may be no restrictions on how you use the money. Suggested uses may encompass covering living expenses whilst you are off work, though the money could additionally pay for private medical treatment, carer services, home improvements, career retraining, help for your dependents and even a holiday or break away.

Nearly all critical illness insurance policies cover seven main conditions: cancer, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, coronary artery bypass, multiple sclerosis and major organ transplant. Policy exclusions in critical illness insurance may include Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease if diagnosed after the age of 60. Don't be seduced by long lists of ailments - as other policies may include these but under a broader heading.

It is important to note prior to taking out a policy, that there may be certain exclusions in the insurance contract which may prevent payout due to life choices and circumstances. According to the Association of British Insurers, the most common exclusions include:
* Aviation * Criminal acts * Drug abuse * Failure to follow medical advice * Hazardous sports and pastimes * HIV/AIDS * Living abroad * Self-inflicted injury * War and civil commotion
The consumer organisation estimates that two thirds of the population suffer from a critical illness at some point in their lives. However, whilst the principle of critical illness insurance might be relevant, it is always worth ensuring your policy meets your exact needs, so if the worst happens, you're not caught out by the small print. It's important to shop around for quotes and different policies. Comparison sites such as moneynet and moneysupermarket will allow you to do this.

Rachel lives with her high horse in the Scottish mountains, near Edinburgh. Rachel writes for the personal finance blog Cashzilla: http://www.cashzilla.co.uk

Well thats it for today. As always shop around when you are looking for cover.

MB

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Critical Illness Cover – What, Why and Where.

What Is Critical Illness Cover ?

Way back when, in 1694 to be precise, the first notion of insuring a persons health was put forward by by Hugh the Elder Chamberlen. Health Insurance developed through the centuries, but essentially it was insuring a persons health against a disablilty. That is, covering the costs of medical treatment for a person severly injured. As we have moved on into the modern world along with the development of many other insurances we now have critical illness cover, a form of insurance that is designed to pay a lump sum when the policy holder is diagnosed with a specific illness.

The list of illness you can obtain cover for is varied, and of course if you develop an illness that you are not covered for then your insurance won't pay out. Some of the conditions you can get cover for are the following.

Alzheimer's disease

Bacterial Meningitis

Blindness
Cancer

Coma

Coronary artery bypass surgery

Deafness

Heart attack

Kidney failure

Loss of limbs

Major organ failure requiring transplant

Multiple Sclerosis

Occupational HIV

Paralysis

Parkinson's disease

Severe burns

Stroke

There are many more condition that can be covered, upon negotiation with your insurance company.

Why might I want Critical Illness Cover?

It is a fact of life that people get seriously ill. And if you do what are the consequences?

If you have a partner and/or a family what does the loss of your income mean?

Do you still have outstanding payments to be made on your mortgage?

Do you run your own business?

Does the illness you have developed require specialist treatment, perhaps not covered by other health plans you might have?

At the end of the day your Critical Illness Cover is there to provide a lump sum to help you through the potential financial difficulties arising from a serious illness.

Where can I get Cover?

S with all types of insurance there are a multitude of providers. Some of the larger insurance companies that deal with all types of cover will undoubtedly be able to give you a quote for cover. But also do not rule out some more of the more specialist insurance providers. The main thing is to check out the full details of your policy, if your family has a history of a particular illness you must make sure your policy covers this, but also do bear in mind that you have to fully disclose your family health history and your insurance premium will reflect this.

Mike Bromley

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Could critical illness cover in the UK be changing.

Here is an excerpt from a recent article in the Scotsman. But how are things going to change?



Critical illness policies are prepped for surgery

Willie Ewen

MAKING a claim on critical illness insurance cover might not be so straightforward in future, if new insurance industry proposals are implemented.

Cancer, along with heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease surgery and multiple sclerosis have consistently accounted for more than 90 per cent of all claims since critical illness cover was first introduced in the UK back in 1986.

Last month, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) waved the flag of consultation and views are now being sought from consumer groups, the Financial Services Authority, the Financial Ombudsman, financial advisers and medical experts.

To read more click here http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1937282005

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Critical Illness Cover - General Knowledge

its good to start with a bit of general knowlege on this topic, because this issue is such a hot issue in the UK

General Knowledge - Critical Illness Insurance
By Tyler D King

Critical illness can happen to anyone, and often does. If you are diagnosed with a critical illness, recovery should be your first concern. Having Critical Illness Insurance will allow you to focus on your health, because it can take the stress of worry about money away. Insurance will pay for a large sum of your medical treatments for a critical illness, and many companies have as many as 30 illnesses insured, including cancer, heart attack, stroke and multiple sclerosis. Most insurance companies will allow you to use the money provided for your critical illness any way that you need.

For example, if you decide you want to pay for hospital fees yourself, you can use your insurance money to avoid drawing money out of personal savings, help to pay off debt, allows your partner to take time off work to look after you or any other way you choose. There are different levels of critical illness insurance, and the one you decide on depends on how much you can afford. Having basic coverage will usually cover five or six conditions, while comprehensive coverage will cover all of the illnesses the insurance company has to offer. Comprehensive coverage will cost more, but a good company should provide about 80% coverage, even for basic insurance.

Costs of insurance will also depend on your age, health and other lifestyle factors. The necessity of having critical illness insurance is often higher than people might think. Statistics show that a person is more likely to contract a critical illness than they are to die before the age of 75. A critical illness can drastically change your lifestyle because you may not be in a condition to work as you had before experiencing the illness. Insurance can help you financially during treatment as well as after recovery to help you maintain a good quality of life. Many companies will also financially help out your family in case of your own death.

life insurance resources

Tyler D King

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Critical illness insurance and life insurance cover

Critical Illness Cover is a handy thing to have. If you become very ill it can give you peace of mind. Here is an article explaining more

Critical illness insurance and life insurance cover for better and for worse. by Rachel Lane

There are three main types of insurance cover you can buy to protect yourself and your family: life insurance, private medical insurance and critical illness insurance. If you want your financial health to be completely bionic then you could choose all three types of insurance, but if your family finances are more restricted, it might be better to insure yourself with critical illness insurance and life insurance. Critical illness insurance should not be confused with private medical insurance or even income protection insurance and it's important that you do a full evaluation of your needs before you pursue the different insurance options.

The purpose of critical illness cover (CIC) is to fill a gap that is left by traditional life insurance policies, which will only provide a pay-out on the death of the policy holder. CIC provides a tax free lump sum following the diagnosis of one of a number of life-threatening illnesses or certain types of surgery. The sorts of situations usually covered include the diagnosis of cancer, a stroke, a heart attack, the loss of a limb and many other serious disabilities.

Critical illness insurance policies are typically sold to cover mortgage repayments and are often sold alongside a life insurance package to ensure the borrower can repay the loan in all circumstances. It is worth noting that if a combined life insurance and critical illness cover package is taken out, then it would not be unusual for an insurer to pay out for only one of the events. Therefore if the policy holder suffers a critical illness and then dies at a later date, there will only be one pay-out - for the initial illness. It is essential whenever you take out a policy that you make sure it covers all of your needs and those of your family. Don't estimate how much cover you may actually need. You will additionally need to consider the period for which you want critical illness cover, such as a set number of years to cover the mortgage or no fixed period at all, so you can maintain the policy as long as you need it.

The critical illness insurance market has come under increasing pressure in recent years, as the number of claims has soared, survival rates increased and medical science has made it far easier to detect serious conditions much earlier. These factors have prompted some serious questions about the viability of critical illness cover, particularly guaranteed products.

For the majority of people, the most important benefit of critical illness insurance is to protect their mortgage and most mortgage protection policies allow you to include life insurance and critical illness cover. If you already have life insurance in place, you can buy an additional, separate critical illness insurance policy.

Resources:

http://www.abi.org.uk/ The Association of British Insurers

http://www.moneynet.co.uk/insurance/index.shtml Consumer Insurance Comparison Research

http://www.moneynet.co.uk/home-car-travel-insurance-guide/index.shtml Insurance Guide

About Rachel:

Rachel writes for the personal finance blog Cashzilla - personalfinanosaurus - licensed to roar.

Rachel spends her not-so-free time researching and writing personal finance articles, but she gets through it with Smarties and Fruit Pastilles.

To read more about Rachel and Cashzilla visit http://www.cashzilla.co.uk

That''s all for today.

MB

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