In 1983, the first form of critical illness cover was introduced in South Africa. It was known as dread disease insurance and has quickly became a popular form of insurance around the world. It was originally sold as a way to protect yourself from cancer in North America and it covered a variety of types of the disease. This “cancer policy” was the original critical illness cover and has became quite popular in Europe, North America, and even parts of Asia.
If the insurance policy holder becomes ill with one of the listed conditions named in the policy then they will receive funds to help them live with these illnesses. The money they receive will be a tax free lump sum for them to use to make their life a little easier in their time of need. The critical illnesses that are covered vary greatly for each policy. Most policies will cover for things like stroke, heart attack, and cancer though. Some policies only cover 10 or so conditions while others will cover over a 100: it really depends on what you are looking for. With more policies, may come higher prices so keep that in mind too when shopping for critical illness cover.
The term Dread Disease Insurance didn’t really catch on around the world so it was soon marketed under different names to help popularize this form of insurance. You wont hear many firms calling it that anymore. Instead, they will use alternatives like trauma cover, crisis cover, or even living insurance but Critical illness cover and critical illness insurance are the most popular. At one point in it’s history critical illness cover had very strict guidelines as to when it would payout but that has changed in recent years. Now it is a safe form of insurance that has strict guidelines that dictate when someone will or will not be paid out. A lot of insurance providers have expanded the number of conditions in order to be able to tap into a much larger customer base.
If your social or government insurance covers most of the illnesses then there isn’t much point in getting critical illness cover but make sure you know this before you decide to write off these illnesses. In many cases your social insurance will only cover a small portion and this could leave you in very poor financial shape. Critical illness insurance is much more important in countries that have poor security measures. Even if you live in a country with great health and insurance programs you still might want critical cover just for that extra safety. It means you could have the best possible care no matter what happens.
There are a number of extras that come along with this type of policy as it will cover medical expenses as well as normal life expenses in many cases. Your policy could cover the repercussions of any illness and for that reason alone, it might be worth it to think about one of these policies. Chances are your home and modes of transportation will need to changed as a result of a serious illness or disease and this can be quite expensive but many Critical Illness policies will cover against this.
Looking to find the best deal on critical illness cover for children, then visit www.criticalillnesscover.org.uk to find the best advice on the illness covered with critical illness cover.
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