Critical illness cover – what you need to know

We all want to protect our families when life gets tough, so critical illness cover is designed to give you peace of mind should the worst happen.

It’s a way of safeguarding you and your family against the financial challenges you may face if diagnosed with a critical illness like cancer, a heart attack or a stroke.

Help with bills

Critical illness cover comes as an added cost when taking out life insurance, but means you and your loved ones would receive a payout if you become seriously ill.

This could help with childcare costs, household bills or simply allow you to maintain your standard of living if you have time off work to recover.

As you get older, it's a good idea to think about how much you'd need to live on if you fell sick and whether some extra money would boost your income.

Things to consider

Before purchasing critical illness cover, it's important to check whether you already have some illness insurance combined with another policy like life insurance or your mortgage.

Your employer may also pay out benefits if you are unable to work due to ill-health or a disability, so speak to them first and decide on a policy that's right for you. If you have savings, you might want to use them instead of insurance.

Pre-existing conditions

Insurers will ask for full details of you and your family’s medical history too. If anything is left out and you make a claim, they could refuse to pay out.

If you have a pre-existing condition, find an insurer who will cover it. The policy may cost slightly more to compensate for the increased risk.

Taking out critical illness cover gives you a back-up plan if your life gets turned upside down and you are unable to work, alleviating some of the financial stress from the situation.

To learn more about how we can help protect you, visit our critical illness cover page.