Some Points you May Consider Before Going for a Critical Illness Cover

Critical illness insurance policy may vary from one company to another. You may find a critical illness in one policy but may not come across it in another policy. Critical illness policies contain exclusions. Exclusions are things which are not covered by the insurance company.

The ABI has published a representation of the most common exclusions. They can be classified as follows: Aviation, Drug abuse, Failure to follow medical advice, HIV/AIDS, Hazardous sports and pastimes, Living abroad, Self-inflicted injury, War and civil commotion and Criminal acts. Your claim could be rejected should you try to claim for one of these. It therefore remains essential that you read the key features of your critical illness policy before signing an agreement.

Furthermore, as per the ABI, the data in key features leaflet may help you compare different critical illness policies from different companies. The main use of the key features leaflet is that it can show you which critical illnesses are covered and what exclusions the policy carries. One more reason why the key features leaflet is important is that it may tell you whether your premium payment rate may rise and whether you have to let your insurance company know if you change work.

Remember that not all critical illness insurance companies cover the same illnesses and have the same exclusions. Thus, when you compare separate policies look for the core illnesses covered. Most critical illness policies provide this section clearly because these cases could be most likely to happen. Therefore, cover for the core conditions can be more important than cover for the other conditions. To facilitate the task of comparison, the key features leaflet had been put in alphabetical order with each and every critical illness covered listed.

Moreover, a broad range of critical illness policies exist from which you can choose. You may be able to choose critical illness insurance combined with life insurance. This type of policy pays out a tax free lump sum either if you die or suffer from a critical illness. Usually as the payout is made, the policy may cease. That is, it will not continue to provide a critical illness cover if you have already claimed for life insurance.

Additionally, critical illness insurance can also be added to mortgage if you want to protect your mortgage. You may also want to buy a standalone critical illness cover if you already possess some flavours of life insurance. It is important as well that you know for how much time you want the cover. For example, you can easily judge it on the number of years remaining to pay your mortgage if you want a critical illness with mortgage related plan. Otherwise, you could take critical illness cover for no set limit. By doing so, you can keep the cover as long as you need it.

There are perhaps other policies that include critical illness cover for your children. If you have a family, this plan could be worth consideration. Your insurance company could help you sort out what critical illness cover may suit you best as well as clearing any doubts you may have about the policy you have selected.