What are the main feature of Critical Illness cover?
Critical Illness Cover (CIC) pays you a lump sum if you are diagnosed as
suffering from one of the specified illnesses. It doesn't pay an income.
To receive a payment your illness must be from your provider's specified
list. You can't claim on simply any sickness that affects your ability to work.
Policy summaries are particularly important in the case of critical illness cover because
they contain the list of covered illnesses.
Not all stages and varieties of an illness will be covered.
Some providers might exclude your previous medical history while others
might require you to have a medical before they will go ahead with the cover.
Providers might impose conditions on your cover. These can be because of
your own or family medical history and you should be told what they are, and
why they apply to your policy before you sign anything.
Often you will have to survive at least one month from the date of diagnosis to be able to make a claim.
In some cases, such as a heart attack, the severity of the condition will
need to be proven with medical evidence before you can receive a payment.
Critical illness insurance is different to other types of protection insurance like income
protection or payment protection, so make sure you understand what it does
so that you can establish that it is the right plan for you before applying.
To research your critical illness position further you can use our exclusive interactive research tool, the critical illness finance navigator.
