We are all conscious of our health and many of us will suffer one form of illness or another in our lifetime. As a result, more and more people are buying a critical illness insurance policy. While some buy life insurance policies, others buy critical illness policies because these policies offer different benefits. We will look at critical illness insurance in more details. Some people also buy a combined critical illness policy with life insurance. Others consider having a standalone critical illness insurance. Let's see the variation between these two.

A combined critical illness cover will provide benefits if the insured person happens to die or to suffer from a critical illness. The effect of a critical illness can either render the person permanently disabled or make him take a lot of time to recuperate. In this case, combined critical illness can be useful. The lump sum could be used to alleviate financial insecurity at home as well as lessen the pressure on members of the family.

On the other hand buying a standalone critical illness insurance will pay benefits only if the insured person happens to be diagnosed with a severe critical illness. As seen above, the combined insurance would pay in both cases. Thus many people tend to choose the combined critical illness policy. Therefore the premiums tend to be lower as compared to the standalone policy.

However a standalone critical illness policy can be valuable to you and your family. You could pay for your medical charges or otherwise change your living environment to match your changing needs. With a standalone critical illness cover, you could even specify the maximum amount of time you want the cover for or how much cover you want. Let's say if you have a mortgage to pay over 20 years, you could choose a critical illness cover for 20 years.

In case of a claim, normally most critical illness insurance companies take about 28 days to 3 months to award the lump sum. The possible reason behind is that they look at your medical history. If the critical illness you are suffering from is clearly covered by the policy they will award you the payout without problem. Therefore you should read the terms and conditions carefully before you sign the standalone critical illness policy. It is important to compare quotes and companies to find the best critical illness cover deal you can. It is imperative that you look at the fine print carefully. Look at the exclusion clauses. You could find your claim refused when you are in a state you mostly need care if you fail to disclose any medical condition.