Serious illness - men / women
Men have a 1 in 4 chance of suffering from a serious illness before they reach retirement age. Women have a 1 in 5 chance of suffering from a serious illness before they get to the age of retirement. Critical Illness cover/ Serious illness Cover / Specified Illness Cover pays you a TAX-FREE lump sum if you are diagnosed with an illness covered on your particular plan.
Over 50 or Under 50??
One misconception people may have regarding these type of cover is that it’s just relevant to old people. This is certainly not the case as claims from individuals below 50 years (if we are to regard this as old nowadays!) will show that is not the case.
What's Covered:
Most of the major diseases are covered by your service provider such as Heart Disease, Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Stroke & Multiple Sclerosis.
It is very important to read the fine print before you decide to sign up as you must be 100% clear of what exactly you are ensuring particularly when it comes to Heart Disease & Cancer.
Serious Illness V Life Cover
Serious Illness may seem a lot more expensive than Life Assurance as it is for a very good reason.
You are 4 times more likely to suffer from a “serious illness” before you reach retirement age than you are to die. This is something to make sure to note just in case you feel the 2 covers are very similar.
Enough to worry about.
As any “serious illness” is a huge event in one's life to deal with, you do not want the added pressure of worrying about all the bills that keep coming in if / when this happens in your life. A lump sum payment will of course help take away the stress of worrying about how you will cope otherwise.
Cost of policy.
The cost of a policy will depend on many factors including the following main ones. The term of the policy - health & family medical history - the sum that you assured & who the insurance will cover.
Bad news for smokers
Bad news for smokers – If you are a smoker you can expect to pay up to double the cost of a person who does not smoke. Unfortunately if you have a medical condition or have a family history of a certain illness or early death, you can also expect to pay higher premium
Factors to be sure to consider
A few basic factors you should also make sure is clear before taking out a policy is do you have a small or large mortgage left, as this will be important when factoring in how much help you would need financially if you couldn’t work due to “serious illnesses? If you were out of work due to a “serious illness”, would you get any sick pay from your employer & if so when would your employer stop paying you this “sick pay”.
N.B There is NO tax relief on Serious Illness cover.
Bills still keep coming in.
Having at least first nailed down the two basic factors mentioned above, you will then need to factor how much you would need to pay off your mortgage, pay of other loans you may have how will pay for everyday costs & bills which will continue to come in
Serious Illness cover / Income Protection
Where Serious Illness and Income Protection differ regarding tax relief is that you can claim “tax relief at the marginal rate on Income protection which you can’t with Life insurance serious illness cover.
You should keep this tax relief in mind when considering the overall cost to you for income protection when decding if serious illness cover or income protection is best suited for you.
If you feel having read all the small print that “serious Illness cover” is not for you but you still know that you need to protect yourself & your family if you were unable to work due to injury or illness. You should consider looking into Income Protection which can pay you up to 75% of your income for as long as you can’t work due to an injury or illness which is in the policy you have taken out.
Your call.
You may also find income protection is not as restrictive & also covers mental health & back problems which are a cause of many people having to stop working but you must decide which suits your needs best having considered all factors.
We understand that there is a lot of information you need to consider & we believe in knowledge is power when it comes to choosing the right policy for you & your family.
If you feel you have more questions you need answering, why not check out our Serious Illness FAQ'S or contact us today
If you feel you have more questions you need answering, why not check out our Serious Illness FAQ'S or contact us today
