Every year, around 700,000 people may be affected by a critical illness such as stroke. On the other hand, heart attack may make approximately 340,000 victims while around 1 million may be diagnosed by a critical illness like cancer. If you have term critical illness cover, then you may have enough financial backing to pay for your treatment.



So, insurance companies hope that after seeing such statistics you go and take a term critical illness plan straight away. Having a term critical illness cover can be a good financial asset. But other financial experts say that it is a waste of money to buy an insurance plan that provides cover for only specific illnesses. Term critical illness insurance pays living benefits as compared to life insurance. Thus, term critical illness cover can bridge your financial gaps by allowing you a tax free lump sum that can be used for various reasons apart from your treatment.

Should you need a kidney transplant or are affected by lung cancer or heart attack, term critical illness insurance may help you obtain the required treatments. Long ago term critical illness cover was widely known as cancer insurance. But through time, term critical illness insurance appeared.

People could get attracted with term critical illness policies that protect them against many diseases. Thus, apart from providing further protection, companies may have as well designed such policies to enhance marketing issues and consequently boost term critical illness policy sales.

Some life threatening illnesses generally defined by most term critical illness policies are cancer, stroke, heart attack and multiple sclerosis among others. The benefit with taking out a term critical illness cover is that the policyholder can obtain a tax free lump sum upon a claim. But similar to other types of insurance, with term critical illness also, rules apply. The policyholder may have to undergo a survival period of around 28 days before term critical illness cover makes a payment. Term critical illness cover may differ from one company to the other, so the extent of the survival period can also fluctuate at times. For instance, some term critical illness policies may stipulate a survival period of 2 months.

As such, the money obtained from term critical illness insurance can be used for any purpose that you prefer. Thanks to term critical illness insurance, you may pay off your mortgage or even use the money to attain a better standard of living. However, to be able to obtain a successful payout, it is essential that you provide full details about your present and past health conditions.

If you had suffered from an illness at the time you applied for the term critical illness insurance but didn't let your insurers know, then your policy might be cancelled. This can be a disadvantage especially when making a claim under your term critical illness policy after years of contribution. In this case, you may lose all your benefits and the money paid as premium may not be refunded.

Many people also take out term critical illness cover related assurance policy. Upon a claim, the insured may receive benefits based on the event that occurs in the first place and then ceases.