Critical Illness Insurance

Critical illness insurance, otherwise known as critical illness cover or a dread disease policy, is an insurance product in which the insurer will make a lump sum payment or a monthly payment if you or either of you on a joint policy is diagnosed with one of the specific illnesses listed as part of an insurance policy, such as Heart Attack, Cancer, Stroke and many more.

This type of cover can be taken out on its own, or added to a life cover policy, so you could have a policy paying out on either death or suffering a listed critical illness. As per life cover this can be level cover, decreasing to cover a mortgage or increasing and the monthly payments are normally guaranteed, so will not increase over the chosen term, unless you choose increasing cover.

You are not able to add this cover to Whole of Life insurance.

Most insurers also include children’s critical illness cover into the policy, although the amount paid out would be lower.

The cost of this cover tends to be higher than life cover as there is a much higher chance of suffering a Critical Illness than dying.

Critical Illness cover can be used to provide money to pay off a mortgage, cover bills, adapt the home should this be required or anything else, many people that suffer a Critical Illness will have to give up work either permanently or until they are better and therefore have no income to pay bills, mortgage and everyday living.