Being diagnosed with a critical illness is something we all dread, that trip to the doctor’s or hospital when you are given the diagnosis and the world seems to stand still. Once over the initial shock practicalities kick in. Can you still work? How will your family manage without your income? Can vital bills be paid? All these questions, and more, can be answered easily; protect both yourself and your loved ones with critical illness cover.

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While everyday folk may bandy around the world ‘critical’ when it comes to illnesses and diseases, there is a very clear definition when it comes to insurance, and one which all providers of critical illness cover must abide by. There are specific conditions named in all policies and the specific definition is vital should you fall victim to such an illness and be in the position where you need to make a claim.

When you take out home contents insurance, for example, you will have various choices as to how much cover you need to replace what you have lost should you suffer a disaster. A critical illness insurance policy via a comparison site such as www.critical-illness-cover.org works in a similar way as it covers various illnesses, from the standard three which are strokes, cancer and heart attacks, through to the full list of 23 that are defined as critical illness by the ABI.

As with life insurance, the more you pay in the more you get back, and whilst it may be tempting to go for a lower level of cover to enable you to pay more in, the fact is that you are greatly limiting the number of illnesses you will be covered for. You can’t realistically decide that you are more likely to develop one more than another, anybody at any time can be struck by a critical illness that turns your world on its head.

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Think about it logically, you are covered for cancer, strokes and heart attacks as they are the big three, but what if you have an accident and lose a limb? Or become permanently blind or deaf? Unless these are specifically mentioned as key feature in your policy you won’t receive a penny, and your family will suffer financially as well as emotionally, all because you wanted to save a few pounds.

Life is the biggest lottery of them all; nobody knows what is around the corner, and figures show that even the fittest people can be struck down by a debilitating critical illness, years earlier than you would normally expect. The association of British Insurers have a list of 23 illnesses which they define as critical, and you should ensure you take out a comprehensive policy that covers all 23.

You probably didn’t think twice about taking out a life insurance policy to ensure your family don’t suffer hardship when you have passed away, so common sense should tell you that they will suffer even more if you have a long term critical illness. Make sure your family aren’t put into this horrendous situation by taking out a critical illness policy, it’s something nobody should be without.

More info : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_illness_insurance

A critical illness insurance policy is an insurance product where a lump sum amount of money is provided to the policy holder under certain circumstances defined in the contract when he is diagnosed with a critical illness that is also clearly mentioned in the policy. In certain cases, the policy can be made in such a way so that the policy holder gets a regular monthly payment from the insurance company. The insurance coverage also includes certain surgical procedures.

Life insurance policies are offering critical illness riders which will pay anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 upon first diagnosis of a critical illness. Some of these life insurance companies will pay you this benefit up to 3 times over the term of the life insurance policy.

It is usually less expensive to buy a critical illness rider on a life insurance term policy that if you purchase a critical illness stand alone policy. If you buy the rider, you also will get the added death benefit on a life policy in additional to a tax free benefit to your beneficiaries.

As per some insurance policies, the policy holder has to be alive for a certain number of years after the diagnosis of the illness before the insurance payment is made. This period is also called the survival period and usually ranges in between 28 to 30 days.

The critical illness insurance is also known as the crisis cash, living insurance or the serious illness insurance. Although different companies cover different different diseases in their insurance policies, but mainly they include serious diseases like coronary artery by-pass surgery, cancer, heart attack and stroke. Later, many other health conditions were added to this insurance coverage such as Alzheimer’s disease, kidney failure, major organ transplant, blindness, multiple sclerosis, deafness, Parkinson’s disease, paralysis of limbs, terminal illness, HIV or Aids contacted through blood transfusion etc.

The number of diseases or illnesses that are covered under this insurance policy and the insurance amount keeps on changing constantly depending upon the number of diagnosis being made and the treatment available for the disease. This means that coverage for diseases that seemed important years ago may not be that much in demand today and the illness that are covered today might not need that much insurance coverage tomorrow. Diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes are expected to get greater insurance coverage in the near future.

The critical illness insurance was earlier introduced to safeguard the financial conditions of people who are unfortunately struck by illness that were later deemed to be critical after treatment or diagnosis was made. The amount received from the insurance payment can be used for paying off the treatment bills and costs, used as aid for recuperation, repayment of debts, make up for lost income incurred due to inability to earn following the illness, or even to help the change the life style of a person once the illness diagnosis has been made.