How much critical illness cover do I need?

FAQ Home \| General Questions \| Critical Illness Insurance \| Life Insurance \| Home and Contents Mortgage Payment Protection \| Mortgage Life Insurance \| Short Term Income Protection Insurance Mortgages \| Car Insurance \| loans \| Private Medical Insurance \| Travel Insurance Hot Topics Is there a waiting period to receive payment on a Critical Illness claim? All Critical Illness policies require you to survive a specified number of days following diagnosis in order to have a valid claim. The typical survival period is 28 days but some insurance companies have reduced this to 14 days. What decisions will you have to make before you can get a quotation? You will have to make four decisions: Can You Include Your Partner On Your Critical Illness Policy? Yes, as with Life insurance, Critical Illness policies can insure one or two lives. Are You Allowed To Continue Working After A Critical Illness Claim? Once an Insurance company has paid your claim it has no interest how you live your life or what you go on to do. What happens if your condition deteriorates after making a claim on your Critical Illness policy? As far as your insurance is concerned, it makes no difference. Your policy has already paid out and your ex- insurer has no further interest in your health. The following might help you decide how much cover you need.
Repay loans How much would you need to repay your mortgage, overdraft, loans or any credit card balances? The freedom that comes from being debt free does wonders for recovery.	£
Costs related to recovery How much could you spend travelling to and from consultants and specialist hospitals? If you were in hospital for a lengthy time, how much would your family incur in travelling costs or possibly staying in a nearby hotel? After any operations you may even wish to join a fitness club or swimming club. Perhaps a holiday would speed your convalescence.	£
Medical expenses If you don’t have any medical or hospitalisation insurance to cover operations, would this need to be part of your cover? There could be the cost of Doctors and Consultants’ to take into account. Following their advice there may be extra costs for occupational therapy or physiotherapy. Some of these costs may be met by the NHS but you may not wish to be in a waiting list.	£
Your home Some illnesses may require your home to be modified. You may need to put in a ramp put where there are currently steps. If you need assistance in walking having an electric wheelchair or a mini-scooter could be a boon and enable you to be more independent. However, these gadgets cost money and whilst some can be obtained through the NHS they may not be available in the type or time you need them. Imagine you are in a wheelchair. Now think of your home. Are the cupboards at the right height? Are the doors wide enough? Is that shag pile carpet suitable for an indoor electric chair? Could you get up the stairs without assistance? Social Services expect a contribution towards the costs of adaptations and equipment based on a financial assessment but the whole process can take a long time.	£
Your business If you run your own business, would you need to hire extra staff to take over some of your tasks and lighten your workload and worry? Are there other business expenses that are ongoing whether or not you are bringing in any revenue, such as offices expenses, subscriptions and wages? Having a cushion of several months’ revenue can make the difference between coming back to a profitable business as a going concern and having to start again.And then you need to add a contingency sum	£