The subject of life insurance is common knowledge and indeed many people are aware of its importance with regard to their personal financial planning, especially if they have a loan or mortgage policy to insure. But the problem is that far fewer are aware of critical illness cover and its importance with regards to their personal financial planning.

The thing about critical life insurance is that it is possible to add it to a policy as additional insurance or it can be used independently as a policy in it's own right. A critical illness insurance policy is one that will cover the policy holder in the event of they're contracting one of a number of major illnesses previously stipulated in the policy. Among those critical illnesses covered there is cancer, major organ transplant, stroke, heart attack, to name just a few.

The major thing to note is that payout of the insured amount is not dependent on any outcome of these critical conditions. That is to say, you do not have to die from one of these terrible illnesses for there to be a payout. You simply have to have suffered from the condition. As an example, you could suffer a heart attack and consequently see the policy pay out the insured sum, but could in fact go on to make a full and long enduring recovery, a not uncommon possibility with today's modern medicine.

So quite a valuable benefit to have, as a standalone plan, but also as an additional benefit on any other type of life insurance. So what plans can you have it added to? You can have it on level term insurance you can add it to whole of life assurance and most notably you can add it to mortgage protection.

It is with mortgage life insurance and protection that critical illness cover is the most beneficial. When taking out your mortgage you will probably have already considered arranging for the mortgage to be paid off should you die, but what if you suffer a heart attack or severe stroke and don't die but are rendered incapable of earning for several months? By taking out critical illness cover, you will have taken care of this possibility. The policy will pay for any ongoing debts such as mortgage repayments and loans leaving you able to convalesce and recover with no unpleasant monetary worries to impede you.

Critical illness has generally been thought of as a privilege of the wealthy alongside mortgage life insurance. What we mean is that people only really take it out if they have extra cash to afford it, and most people feel they have other more pressing things to spend their money on. Unfortunately people miss the point of how beneficial this sort of cover can be. Once the payout has covered any debts, the extra money can be a nice bonus to be spent on home improvements, a once in a lifetime holiday, or whatever may take your fancy.

To conclude. It is obvious that critical illness insurance has many benefits, indeed some would consider it more important than life insurance, per se, as you don't have to die for the benefits to be gained. It is up to the individual to decide whether it is affordable but it's coverage for mortgages and loans, at the least, should definitly be weighed up against the outlay. The best bet is to seek the advice of a life insurance adviser to talk you through the options, and maybe then advise you on the best type of critical illness cover to suit your needs and finances.