LIFE AND CRITICAL
ILLNESS COVER
Pays out if you die or become critically ill, so you have the cover you need should the worst happen.
Why is it a good idea?
The best of both worlds
Dying might be our biggest fear, but critical illness is our biggest risk. So, it pays to protect yourself against both illness and death as either could have a big impact on your family’s financial security.
That’s why combined life and critical illness cover is popular.
It pays out once. It pays out if you’re diagnosed with either a critical illness covered or total permanent disability (if this is included in your cover), or a terminal illness where you’re expected to live less than 12 months, or if you die.
How does it work?
A single payout if you die or you’re diagnosed with one of the critical illness covered
Our combined life and critical illness covers give you or your loved ones a financial payout if you die or have a critical illness while your policy is in force.
It covers you for a range of serious, life-changing conditions, including the 3 most common – cancer, heart attack, and stroke It also covers you if you become terminally ill or totally permanently disabled.
Together with your Financial Adviser, you decide how long you want your policy to last, and the amount of cover you need – that’s the amount we pay out.
Your monthly premiums are determined by your age and health when you apply, but it’s worth remembering that usually the younger you are, the lower they’ll be.
What products are available?
There’s a choice of 2. Here’s a few examples of 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 Combined Life and Critical Illness Essentials and Combined Life and Critical Illness Protection pay out when a policyholder dies or is diagnosed with a critical illness but there are other differences in when they’ll pay out:
Conditions covered
Combined Life and Critical Illness Essentials covers you for 35 full payout conditions and 4 cancer-focused additional payouts, which which pay up to 30% of your cover amount or £30,000, whichever is lower.
Combined Life and 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
Combined Life and Critical Illness Essentials includes Premium Waiver as standard if you apply before age 65. We’ll waive your premiums if you’re too ill to work after 26 weeks.
Combined Life and Critical Illness Protection includes Premium Waiver as standard. We’ll waive your premiums after 4 weeks if you’re too ill to work. We’ll also waive premiums for up to 6 months for maternity or paternity leave or if you involuntarily lose your job.
Total permanent disability
Combined Life and Critical Illness Essentials doesn’t include total permanent disability, instead, depending on your age when you apply, you can choose to add this on to your cover when you apply and remove it at any time.
Combined Life and Critical Illness Protection includes total permanent disability as standard.
Children’s critical illness cover
Combined Life and Critical Illness Essentials has children’s critical illness cover built in. It pays out £25,000 or 50% of your cover amount, whichever is lower.
Combined Life and Critical Illness Protection has no built in children’s critical illness cover. Instead, you can add Children’s Critical Illness Protection at any time. You can choose any cover amount from £10,000 to £100,000 limited to your cover amount.
These are just some of the differences, to find out more talk to your Financial Adviser before deciding which combined life and critical illness cover is right for your needs and budget.
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.
So, to provide a family with well rounded protection, both parents should ideally be covered against death and illness.
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 of you is diagnosed with a critical illness or dies prematurely, 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 3:
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 when you apply you can choose whether to receive a lump sum when you claim 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 cost increases each year.
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.
