If you want belt-and-braces cover, then life and critical illness insurance is one for you to seriously consider.
Combining the policies is often cheaper than having separate life and critical illness cover.
You also have the comfort of knowing that your family is protected during the policy term should you: - Die unexpectedly - Have a critical illness diagnosed that is listed on the policy - Cannot work due to illness or disability as laid out in the policy You can choose term life insurance with critical illness cover as an additional benefit.
If you only have a term insurance policy, the insurer will only pay out if your die during the term.
If you have a term insurance policy plus critical illness cover and the insurer pays out for a critical illness, most insurance companies will not pay out a second time on your death.
What happens at the end of the policy? Should you outlive the policy or keep your health during the policy term, neither you nor your family receive any return on the money paid in as premiums over the years.
The policy has no investment value.
Defining a critical illness The definition of a critical illness varies from insurer to insurer.
Most policies pay out on diagnosis of seven major illnesses, including heart attacks, strokes, cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Some insurers will pay out on a larger range of illnesses than others, but generally all insurers cover the seven major illnesses.
Generally, to prove a claim, your doctor will have to provide written evidence of a diagnosis and you should expect to undergo an insurance company medical as well.
If you are well enough to return to work after a critical illness diagnosis, the policy will still pay out a tax-free lump sum.
The policy will also pay out if you cannot return to work due to illness or disability.
The conditions of settling a critical illness claim varies between insurers and the details are laid out in the policy documents.
Who's covered by the policy? If you have a mortgage with a partner, you can both take out a joint term life with critical illness insurance policy.
If a pay out event is triggered for either of you, like an unexpected death or one of you suffers a serious heart attack, the policy will pay out.
The policy will only pay out once, generally on the first event that triggers a claim.
Other life cover options Besides term life insurance, you could opt for whole-of-life insurance policy with a critical illness add-on.
Whole-of-life insurance cover is generally more expensive than term life because the insurer takes a gamble that you may not claim against a term life policy, but it's inevitable they will pay out on a whole-of-life policy because the cover stays in force until you die.
Most insurers will discuss your life and critical illness insurance options with you and tailor a package that suits your requirements.
Combining the policies is often cheaper than having separate life and critical illness cover.
You also have the comfort of knowing that your family is protected during the policy term should you: - Die unexpectedly - Have a critical illness diagnosed that is listed on the policy - Cannot work due to illness or disability as laid out in the policy You can choose term life insurance with critical illness cover as an additional benefit.
If you only have a term insurance policy, the insurer will only pay out if your die during the term.
If you have a term insurance policy plus critical illness cover and the insurer pays out for a critical illness, most insurance companies will not pay out a second time on your death.
What happens at the end of the policy? Should you outlive the policy or keep your health during the policy term, neither you nor your family receive any return on the money paid in as premiums over the years.
The policy has no investment value.
Defining a critical illness The definition of a critical illness varies from insurer to insurer.
Most policies pay out on diagnosis of seven major illnesses, including heart attacks, strokes, cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Some insurers will pay out on a larger range of illnesses than others, but generally all insurers cover the seven major illnesses.
Generally, to prove a claim, your doctor will have to provide written evidence of a diagnosis and you should expect to undergo an insurance company medical as well.
If you are well enough to return to work after a critical illness diagnosis, the policy will still pay out a tax-free lump sum.
The policy will also pay out if you cannot return to work due to illness or disability.
The conditions of settling a critical illness claim varies between insurers and the details are laid out in the policy documents.
Who's covered by the policy? If you have a mortgage with a partner, you can both take out a joint term life with critical illness insurance policy.
If a pay out event is triggered for either of you, like an unexpected death or one of you suffers a serious heart attack, the policy will pay out.
The policy will only pay out once, generally on the first event that triggers a claim.
Other life cover options Besides term life insurance, you could opt for whole-of-life insurance policy with a critical illness add-on.
Whole-of-life insurance cover is generally more expensive than term life because the insurer takes a gamble that you may not claim against a term life policy, but it's inevitable they will pay out on a whole-of-life policy because the cover stays in force until you die.
Most insurers will discuss your life and critical illness insurance options with you and tailor a package that suits your requirements.
