Critical illness insurance is taken out to insure against the possibility of an individual being diagnosed with a critical illness sometime in the future. With advancements in medicine more people who are diagnosed with a critical illness are recovering from the illness but their finances could be stretched to the limit and life could be harder than it has to be.



The cover will pay out if you are diagnosed with any of the critical illnesses which are outlined in the policy, the actual illnesses will vary on the policy but common ones include being diagnosed with cancer, suffering a stroke, a heart attack or having to have an organ transplant. However consumers are sometimes getting confused when it comes to taking out critical illness insurance, and end up buying cover that does not give them adequate protection.

Some providers of the cover are selling a policy for huge premiums that gives very little protection and can have many exclusions in it that offers very poor value to the consumer. It is the small print in the policy which is causing the majority of problems with a policy; very little information is often given regarding them which mean that the consumer is buying cover that they do not understand.

While critical illness insurance when taken out with the small print in mind will payout a tax free lump sum on diagnosis of a critical illness, it was recently reported that around 25% of all claims made against a policy are rejected due to the exclusions. At a time when the individual needs financially security and peace of mind that they will be able to continue repaying their mortgage and essential outgoings many are being left with the added stress of finding they cannot claim.

It seems that many providers of the cover will do anything possible to squirm their way out of paying out on a claim, excuses such as drinking more alcohol than stated on the form and not reporting minor problems before being diagnosed have all been made. It is essential when taking out the cover that you know exactly what you are buying before you purchase and take care when filling in the forms associated with the cover so that you disclosed everything necessary relating to your health.

Just as with payment protection cover which is being investigated by the Financial Services Authority, critical illness cover has seen a rise in the amount of claims against firms selling inadequate critical illness insurance. Many of these claims were based on the fact that the provider failed to make the consumer aware of the exclusions and small print in a policy at the time of being sold the cover.

Critical illness cover can help you at as key time in your life you have read the key facts and small print of the policy and the best way to get the essential advice needed is to go with a specialist broker. The cover can be pushed alongside the loan or mortgage but this is the riskiest and most expensive way of buying the cover. A specialist broker can get you a good quality critical illness insurance policy while at the same time gathering the key facts so that you can determine if a policy would be suitable for your circumstances.