If you’re interested in buying critical illness insurance, it’s imperative that you compare policies and look at several critical illness insurance quotes before you make a decision.
Coverage Options
- Standalone critical illness insurance policy
This will pay out a lump sum in case you develop an illness that is included in your policy. Often, this is purchased along with life insurance. So if you’re diagnosed with a particular life-threatening illness and you have both life and critical illness coverage, then you would still have something to fall back on after receiving a lump sum.
When you get both covers, you’ll have the assurance that you and your dependents will be taken care of if you become seriously ill.
The main advantage of having standalone critical illness coverage is that you’ll pay less for this kind of insurance. On the other hand, you’ll also end up paying more if you choose to get both critical illness and life insurance policies.
- Combined critical illness and life insurance coverage
You’ll be paid a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a critical illness or if you die. You get a one-time payment usually, so if you claim on one then your coverage for the other will end.
Buying a combination of these two means you’ll be paying less than if you pay for each one individually. However, with a combined coverage, you’ll only get a single payout.
- Mortgage protection life insurance policy
When taking out a mortgage, people often consider including life insurance and critical illness insurance. For this kind of coverage, you basically get enough to cover your mortgage in case you’re diagnosed with a severe illness.
This is a great option because it means your mortgage will be paid off in full if you are diagnosed with a critical illness or if you die while you’re still within your loan term. However, it will only pay out for one or the other, which means you will only receive a single payout.
What’s Covered?
All critical illness insurance policies cover cancer, stroke, and heart attack as long as they meet a certain level of severity. Other conditions may be covered but this really depends on the policy you have. So you need to check what’s included in your policy.
There are serious conditions that are often not covered such as:
- Certain cancers (such as non-invasive cancers)
- Some critical injuries
- Pre-existing medical conditions
There are also procedures covered under a critical illness policy – such as a heart valve replacement. Moreover, there are insurance companies that pay partial benefits for less severe conditions like lumpectomy and mastectomy.
Considerations
There are a lot of factors to consider before you choose critical illness insurance. You’ll need to think about how you would replace your lost income if you’re diagnosed with a life-threatening condition. You need to think about how you can pay your mortgage, and how you can make your home more accessible to you in case you have to use a wheelchair. The amount of coverage you need would really depend on your own personal circumstances.