Financial wellness coach Kenny Meiring says there are a number of dread diseases products on the market. Prices, benefits and conditions can vary vastly. (Photo: Pexels) Critical illness cover or dread disease insurance is lump sum cover that pays out on the diagnosis of a severe ailment such as cancer or heart disease. It is a risk-benefit that has only been available since the 1980s, but has grown in relevance as people are living much longer than in the past. Yet the uptake has been less prominent. Up to the end of the 1970s, the biggest threat to a family’s financial well-being was the death of a breadwinner. If someone had a heart attack or got cancer, they typically died. It is for...
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Critical illness insurance is a policy closely related to life insurance but dealing specifically with life threatening, life -limiting or other serious illnesses. Under this cover you can expect to receive a tax-free ‘lump sum’ if you are diagnosed with one of the illnesses specifically covered by your insurance policy. This cover can be tailored to pay off your mortgage, debts, or pay for alterations to your home such as wheelchair access should you need it. Critical Illness cover is frequently offered as a 'bolt on' to a life assurance policy as an additional benefit but it can also be a standalone plan. Critical Illness cover will pay out if you suffer from one of the specified medical...
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Critical Illness Insurance: For the needs you cannot anticipate A critical illness is something that not only attacks your health but also your wealth. Ram is a forty-seven-year-old married man. He has two children, a job with stable income and a retirement fund in place. He was recently diagnosed with cancer and this diagnosis has taken a huge emotional toll on him and his family. However, Ram is a wise man. A few years back, unaware of what the future held for him, he had opted for a critical illness insurance policy which was in addition to his health insurance policy. The lump-sum payment from the policy has helped him meet his treatment expenses and also partially supplement his...
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Critical illness insurance is designed to provide you with financial protection in the event that you are diagnosed during the term of the policy. If you are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with a critical illness, your insurer will pay out a tax-free lump sum directly to you, to cover the cost of treatment and any loss of earnings. Life insurance only pays out to your beneficiaries in the event of your death. What are your chances of contracting a critical illness? Most people imagine that a serious illness is something that only happens to other people. However, the real figures show a very different picture. A woman aged 20 - 40 has the following chance of suffering a critical illness...
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Critical Illness Insurance Basics Critical illness is more common than you think. Cancer, multiple sclerosis, the need for an organ transplant, a stroke – these strike when least expected and can devastate, not just your health, but also your family’s finances. But with critical illness insurance, you can have the funds you need to pay for treatments, as well as for any other expenses you might deem necessary. What is Critical Illness Cover? Critical Illness insurance will pay a specified lump sum upon the diagnosis of a serious illness that is covered in the policy. The purpose of the cover is to provide the Insured with funds that he can use to spend for his treatment and...
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IS CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE RIGHT FOR ME? You are probably familiar with critical illness cover as something that is taken out by individuals but you may not have been aware that sometimes companies take out such policies on the life of another. This is quite often called key man insurance and the general principles as to why it is taken out are the same in that a lump sum will become payable should the said individual be diagnosed with a specified critical illness following a defined survival period of time. Group critical illness is often provide to larger organisations and insurance companies tend to need there to be at least 50 members of staff but this allows them to make pricing...
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Don’t let a life-changing moment disrupt your home and work life and put a strain on your family’s finances What would life be like if you were diagnosed with a serious illness? Things could change very suddenly. You’d get your family together and tell them what was going on. Before long, you’d start spending time in hospital for treatment. You may also need to take some time off. It’s hard to know what the financial impact of all this would be for you and the people who depend on you. A critical illness can affect anyone at any age and can turn your life upside down. In the event of being unable to work due to a critical illness, having a financial cushion in place would alleviate some of...
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Critical Illness cover: the critical facts for protecting you and your family It is important to understand the different types of protection available to you and your family, should your circumstances suddenly change; if you were to become seriously ill and could not earn a living, would this pose a financial burden on those closest to you? This is not a nice question to consider, however a vital one if you believe your loved ones might struggle to pay the mortgage or meet the day-to-day costs of living and running a household if you were seriously ill. In this case, critical illness insurance is a ‘no brainer’, providing a lifeline if you develop a serious medical condition. The facts are...
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What is Critical Illness Cover? Critical Illness Cover provides a cash lump sump of money to you upon the diagnosis of a specified serious medical condition, as defined by the insurance provider's list of claimable illnesses for your policy. Primarily this cover can remove the stress of financial concerns at a time when you and your loved ones should be focusing upon you. Diagnosis of a Critical Illness can be emotionally and physically exhausting and the last thing that you want is financial stress on top of everything else. You need to be able to put all of your energy into dealing with your medical prognosis and focus upon adjusting to your new lifestyle requirements. A Critical Illness...
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For this reason, some advisers and clients have shied away from the cover, but most respondents to this guide suggest that while it may be expensive, critical illness cover (CIC) is worth paying for. Chris Atkinson, head of innovation for Zurich UK Life, comments: "Is CIC worth it? In my opinion, it is worth every single penny. "While CI may cost as much as a reasonable satellite TV monthly package, the true value witnessed when a claim is made is unparalleled against the pain of watching another series of X-Factor. "Customers benefit from peace of mind, knowing that should they become seriously ill, they can focus on their recovery without having the extra stresses of financial worries,...
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