CRITICAL ILLNESS
COVER
Helps give you financial breathing space to cope with the consequences of a critical illness.
Why is it a good idea?
A critical illness could change your life forever
Illness is a fact of life. Some illnesses only keep us off work for a few days but others can be serious. Rehabilitation can mean a lengthy time not earning, plus you might need costly care. And that’s on top of your usual outgoings – mortgage or rent, food and bills.
That’s why critical illness cover is worth considering. It pays out if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness covered or total permanent disability (if this is included in your cover), giving you valuable cash to help cope during a very traumatic and uncertain time.
How does it work?
If you’re diagnosed with one of the critical illness covered we pay out
Our critical illness covers offer cover for a comprehensive range of serious, life-changing conditions, including the 3 most common – cancer, heart attack, and stroke.
Together with your Financial Adviser, you decide which cover is right for you how long you want your policy to last and the amount of cover you need – that’s the amount we pay out if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness or become totally permanently disabled.
The amount you pay depends on your age and health when you apply. It’s worth remembering that usually, the younger you are the lower your premiums will be.
Which critical illness cover do I choose?
There’s a choice of 2. Here’s a few examples how they compare:
ESSENTIALS
Our standard range, delivering quality cover at a more affordable price.
PROTECTION
Our signature range, delivering enhanced cover and quality features.
When they pay out
Both Critical Illness Essentials and Critical Illness Protection pay out when a policyholder is diagnosed with a critical illness but there are other differences in when they’ll pay out:
Conditions covered
Critical Illness Essentials covers you for 35 full payout conditions and 4 cancer-focused additional payout conditions, which pay up to 30% of your cover amount or £30,000, whichever is lower.
Critical Illness Protection covers you for 55 full payout conditions and 23 additional payout conditions which pay 50% of your cover amount or £50,000 whichever is lower.
Premium Waiver
Single or dual life?
Protection for you and your partner
These days its common for families to depend on both parents equally – whether you both work to meet the monthly commitments, or just one of you earns while the other carries out all the essential household tasks that keep the family going.
The truth is critical illnesses are indiscriminate. If one strikes a breadwinner the family will lose valuable income, and if one strikes a stay-at-home parent the family may need to pay for help, at additional cost, to cope with the upheaval to day-to-day life.
That’s why, if you have a partner – whether they work or not – it pays to consider our dual life approach. It pays out if either partner is diagnosed with a critical illness, providing the money to help make the most difficult of situations easier for all involved. Unlike normal joint cover, if one of you has to claim your partner will still have cover in place and won’t have to try and replace it when they’re older.
What type of cover do you need?
There’s a choice of 4:
Level Cover
With Level Cover, you choose the amount of cover you want and the length of time you want to be covered. The amount is fixed, and you can also choose whether to receive a lump sum or a regular monthly payment.
Decreasing Cover
Decreasing Cover is designed to cover mortgages and other long-term borrowing. So, as the outstanding borrowing goes down, so does the cover. Because of this, the premiums tend to be lower, and it also only pays out a one-off lump sum.
Increasing Cover
They say what goes up must come down. But what about the cost of living? That only ever goes in one direction. So, to keep up with rising prices, the amount of cover you get with Increasing Cover rises in line with inflation. Unlike Level Cover, the premium increases each year.
Family Income Benefit
Rather than paying out a lump sum if you die, Family Income Benefit gives your loved ones a regular payout for the rest of the policy’s lifetime. So, if you take out a 25-year policy and die 5 years into it, your family will receive regular income for the remaining 20 years. If you were to die 15 years into the policy, it will pay out for the remaining 10 years. But remember, once the policy ends, the cover and the payouts will stop.
Family Income Benefit is only available if you choose our Critical Illness Protection.
Which cover is right for me?
Our advice, is get advice.
To discuss whether Critical Illness Essentials or Critical Illness Protection is right for you, please talk to an independent Financial Adviser. Typically, many don’t charge for their advice, and they will help you find the right combination of products for your needs and budget.
Policy terms and conditions
For more details, view our policy terms and conditions and key facts.
To find out exactly what suits your needs best, speak to a Financial Adviser.
