<<< Back to Index
Critical Illness Insurance
What is Critical illness insurance ?
Critical illness insurance, otherwise known as critical illness cover or a dread disease policy, is an insurance product in which the insurer is contracted to typically make a lump sum cash payment if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the specific illnesses on a predetermined list as part of an insurance policy.
The policy may also be structured to pay out regular income and the payout may also be on the policyholder undergoing a surgical procedure, for example, having a heart bypass operation.
What is a Critical illness policy?
Critical illness cover pays a tax-free lump sum if you're diagnosed with a defined critical illness during the policy term.
Provided you keep paying your premiums, you should be covered throughout the term. Once the policy term ends, all protection stops.
When you take out a policy you can decide how long it will last e.g. until your children have grown up, or until the mortgage is paid off.
Critical illness cover is often available as a combined policy with term life insurance. In these instances, you can often only claim once.
For example, if you get a cash payout after being diagnosed with cancer, the policy is effectively finished. There is usually no life insurance payout if you die at a later date.
How does critical illness insurance work?
This is a type of insurance that should pay out a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as cancer or heart disease. The money is tax free and can be used in any way you like – to pay a lump sum off your mortgage, enable you to stop working, or buy private medical care
What are the 36 critical illnesses?
1. Heart Attack
2. Stroke
3. Coronary Artery Disease Requiring Surgery
4. Cancer
5. Kidney Failure
6. Fulminant Viral Hepatitis
7. Major Organ Transplant
8. Paralysis / Paraplegia
9. Multiple Sclerosis
10. Primary Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
11. Blindness
12. Heart Valve Replacement
13. Loss Of Hearing / Deafness
14. Surgery To Aorta
15. Loss of Speech
16. Alzheimer's Disease / Irreversible Organic Degenerative Brain Disorders
17. Major Burns
18. Coma
19. Terminal Illness
20. Motor Neurone Disease
21. AIDS Due To Blood Transfusion
22. Parkinson's Disease
23. Chronic Liver Disease
24. Chronic Lung Disease
25. Major Head Trauma
26. Aplastic Anaemia
27. Muscular Dystrophy
28. Benign Brain Tumor
29. Encephalitis
30. Poliomyelitis
31. Brain Surgery
32. Bacterial Meningitis
33. Other Serious Coronary Artery Disease
34. Apallic Syndrome
35. AIDS Cover of Medical Staff
36. Full Blown AIDS