Do you ever worry about how your loved ones would cope if you were severely ill or gone one day? It is an unpleasant thought, but something very crucial to think about. Sure you know there are a number of good friends and reliable family members that will take care of them during their troubled times but what about financially? What about the expensive hospital bills and treatment expense? How do you know for how long you will be in a critical state? These things are all to be thought about and precautions can be taken to financially protect your family when they need it the most. Critical illness is a tax free lump sum of money, your family can benefit if you become seriously ill. Critical illness refers to conditions such as cancer, heart attack, critical disease, coronary artery bypass surgery, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis, stroke, major organ transplant and permanent severe injury.

You will have to check with the insurance company what type of conditions they cover because each critical illness insurance policy is different. Certain medical conditions with policies are not covered. Some of the medical conditions that don't apply to the policy include certain types of tumours, angina, non invasive skin cancer, lymphoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, and HIV. A financial boost is necessary during difficult times so it is essential to plan out and prepare for the hardships of your life by looking into critical illness insurance policies that will cover your needs. Critical illness cover can be obtained by individuals between the ages of 17 and 70. There are policies that are for a specific time period or you can also sign policies that are valid for life. A critical illness insurance claim can usually be made only 3 months after the policy has been signed.

A medical examination usually needs to be done before you sign an insurance policy for critical illness. Once the insurers have the assurance that you have a clean bill of health, they will accept you for being covered under a critical illness policy. They also will need to examine your past medical history and family history to determine what medical conditions can be covered. You will have to pay higher premiums if you are a smoker. Drug abuse, suicide, self inflicted injury and criminal behaviour will not be covered under your critical illness insurance policy.

The cheapest policy will probably cover only a few medical conditions. The more expensive policies will cover everything from A to Z, so the insurers get the satisfaction of charging you high premiums. It is best to stick to an insurance policy that covers a medium range of medical conditions and some important serious conditions. Read all the terms and conditions to fully understand what is covered and what is not. There are policies which can cover children if they need to be hospitalized. If you do have children, ensure your family is covered under the policy you choose. Check the premium trends and make sure they are fixed and will not increase after a few years. Try and search for critical illness insurance plans that provide guaranteed premiums. Obtain the key feature document from each of the insurers you are investigating to compare one policy from another and find the one that suits your budget.