Critical Illness

Critical illness cover pays out a lump sum or a regular monthly income if you're diagnosed with a critical illnesses from a list of specified Critical Illnesses.

If you're diagnosed with any of the critical illnesses covered, or you're totally and permanently disabled, the Insurance Company would pay out - making it easier to cope financially at a time when you need to concentrate on getting better.

This cover also gives you up to £20,000 (each company has its own amounts) free children's critical illness cover for each of your children.

Your options

You can decide what kind of cover you want, depending on your circumstances.

If you want a lump sum for you and your family, you choose between an amount that stays the same, one that goes down in line with your outstanding mortgage or one that goes up with inflation.

An increasing lump sum grows by the rate you've chosen, i.e. between 2% and 5% a year, or a rate based on the change in retail price index (between 2% and 10%) to keep pace with inflation.
A level lump sum will pay out the same fixed amount no matter when the claims made.
A decreasing lump sum will pay out less and less over time. People usually choose this option to cover the remaining balance on a mortgage which will be getting smaller as they pay it off.
A monthly income. If you want your or your family to get a monthly income rather than a lump sum, you can decide whether the amount should be fixed i.e. level, or grow with inflation. This would be like still getting a salary payment if you were too ill to work for example.

Should you insure just yourself, or your partner too?

With single life cover, you can decide to insure yourself or your partner separately, within one policy. This would mean your Company would pay out twice if you were both diagnosed with a critical illness.

With joint life cover you can insure yourself and your partner together and the policy would pay out just once - when the first person was diagnosed with a critical illness.