<<< 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