What you may need to consider if thinking about critical illness insurance?
There is a lot of information to digest when thinking about critical illness insurance, and you may need somebody with you to actually take some of the information in also. You can do your research before you take out such cover, however some of the terminology may not make it clear and easy to understand.
There is no harm in taking out a policy direct with the provider however a protection specialist can discuss many of the areas that you may need clarification on. It is important to be honest with who ever it is you may be dealing with as do not feel you are being a burden if you ask more than one question. It is common that when taking out any insurance plan or anything that could change your life you want to understand fully therefore as a protection specialist who sell a number of policies they will be happy to answer any queries you may have.
It is important to fully understand what illnesses it is you could possibly make a claim on in the future. For a lot of people when considering critical illness insurance they tend to have a fairly good idea of what they want, however for those who have just come across such insurance there is a huge amount of literature which can guide you as well as your financial adviser. You should though be thorough and know exactly what illnesses will be covered depending on which contract you take. There is nothing to say that you cannot look at three or four policies on the market to then determine which list of critical illnesses suits you, for example it may be more beneficial to take out some contracts over others depending on whether you are male or female. It is also worth identifying those who pay partial payments as this may provide you with that bit extra cover.
This will also lead onto you understanding what level the illness needs to be to then payout a claim. As with any critical illness insurance there will be a severity level of which has to be met for a claim to then be paid out. This will be decided upon by the claims department, however one example is unfortunately there is a large number of people who suffer from a type of cancer every year, and with the advances in medication more and more people are making a full recovery. Therefore a claim would be paid out on the severity of the particular cancer suffered.
As there are also a number of additional benefits that can be added, you should also ask if the critical illness insurance you are looking to take out covers any extra’s more than the standard contract. Benefits can be added onto to the plan, but this would normally come at an extra cost and most critical illness insurances are quite comprehensive but you wish to add TPD (total and permanent disability) or waiver of premium.
It may also be that you thought you wanted critical illness insurance which provides a lump sum to the insured if suffered a critical illness, however you have wanted a protection plan that provides you with a monthly benefit if you could not then work. This would therefore be different to a critical illness contract and you would need income protection, so your financial adviser could talk you through the different policies to ensure you were getting the right plan.
Also by reading the key features of a plan which you are contemplating it will describe the ins and outs of the plan, therefore highlighting any limitations or exclusions the insurance plan may stipulate when the cover is started. You should be aware however that the price given to you at onset is not necessarily the price you will pay when the terms are offered as through the underwriting process the insurer may want to increase the price due to perhaps any disclosures made on the application.
