Critical illness insurance

Summary

Before you think about taking out critical illness insurance, ask yourself the following questions: * whether you already have some illness insurance combined with another insurance policy like a life insurance policy, or with your mortgage which covers you for serious illness * what benefits your employer pays out if you can’t work because of ill-health or disability * whether you have savings you can use instead of insurance. Check out all the different types of illness insurance to see which one would suit you best. For example, income protection insurance usually includes a greater range of illnesses and conditions than critical illness insurance and may cover you for a longer period time if you can’t work. However, it will probably cost you more than critical illness insurance. For more information about income protection insurance, see Income protection insurance. The costs (or premiums) of critical Illness insurance can be quite high and you may never need to use it. You won’t get any money back if you never make a claim. For more information about this, see Illness insurance. Critical illness insurance policies don’t cover every type of illness. And with the illnesses they.

Key information

• whether you already have some illness insurance combined with another insurance policy like a life insurance policy, or with your mortgage which covers you for serious illness
• what benefits your employer pays out if you can’t work because of ill-health or disability
• whether you have savings you can use instead of insurance.
• an independent financial adviser, who can look at all the policies on offer and choose the one best suited to you. You may have to pay for this advice
• directly from an insurance company.
• age - the older you are when you take out the policy, the more you are likely to pay, as your risk of getting ill increases
• sex - men make slightly more claims than women, so may pay more
• health - if you're in good health you will pay less to insure yourself
• job - if you do a risky job, you will pay more for cover
• hobbies and lifestyle - if you take part in dangerous hobbies, or you smoke, for example, you will pay more for cover
• Before you think about taking out critical illness insurance, ask yourself the following questions:
• whether you already have some illness insurance combined with another insurance policy like a life insurance policy, or with your mortgage which covers you for serious illness

Practical guidance

• Source: Critical illness insurance

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