One form of insurance that you may not be aware of is critical illness insurance. This is insurance that provides owners with a lump sum of money if they experience a critical illness that is covered under their critical illness policy. Common covered illnesses are heart attack, stroke and cancer, but up to 30 conditions can be covered depending on the insurance company and the contract chosen. The policy definitions determine when a claim is paid for.
The benefit that critical illness insurance coverage offers an insured and their family is financial security in an already challenging time when a critical illness strikes. When you are suffering from a critical illness it is not only the physical strain that becomes draining, but the financial strain too.
When an insured gets their critical illness payment they can spend the money as they wish, and where it is most needed. The payment could go towards in-home nursing care, treatment not covered by your health insurance, or to pay bills that are falling behind due to the lost wages from work.
Anyone can experience an unexpected critical illness, and when it occurs it can turn your life upside-down.
Each year in Canada alone there are over 70,000 heart attacks, well over 40,000 strokes, and over 3,000 people diagnosed with cancer each week.
These examples are just a small fraction of issues covered under critical illness insurance. This safeguard insurance can be purchased independently, or in conjunction with term or life insurance. These extra financial resources can be used to:
- Pay for co-pays, prescriptions, and medical care.
- Pay for rehabilitation aids.
- Replace lost wages from time off of work.
Sometimes employers include critical insurance coverage for their employees. This is a benefit that makes an employer more desirable than their competitors as it lightens an employee’s load if they experience a critical illness.
When applying for critical illness insurance applicants are required to be assessed by an underwriting process. This process will help to gauge risk factors such as current age, gender, medical history, family medical history, BMI, and level of alcohol and nicotine consumption. For this type of coverage family medical history, nicotine intake, and BMI are given more weight than in a life insurance application.
These risk factors will help to determine the amount of coverage an applicant is eligible for, what their policy rates will be, and if any illness exclusions need to be added as an amendment to a standard policy. If the underwriter assigns an amendment the applicant will be notified and will have to accept the updated terms of the policy before the policy is issued. An experienced insurance broker can guide you through this process to get this valuable insurance.
Please use our contact page to get a critical illness insurance quote.
By Myles Rempel