SERIOUS ILLNESS COVER
Serious Illness Cover is a form of "living insurance". It is sometimes called Specified or Critical Illness Cover, but it aims to do the same thing - rather than paying out when you die, like life cover, it pays you a lump sum if you are diagnosed as suffering from one of a list of serious conditions.
Types of Cover
There are two different types of cover available:
Stand alone – Serious Illness Cover is separate to any other type of cover it pays out a specified amount over a specified period. While it may be purchased in conjunction with a term policy a claim will have no effect on the amount of life cover.
Accelerated – this cover is attached to a term policy, when it pays out it reduces the amount of life cover by the same amount. For example if you have life cover of €500,000 and accelerated Serious Illness cover of €250,000. If a claim is made and the €250,000 of Serious Illness cover paid out the life cover will reduced to €250,000
Propose of Product
It is different to cover, such as health insurance, in that it is aimed at serious conditions only that may have a major effect on your family finances. The lump sum paid is totally tax-free and aims to replace any shortfalls in income or increased expenditure due to illness.
Why take out Serious Illness?
For people with mortgages it is an important cover to have; if you were to suffer a serious illness and give up work, it is important to ensure you'll have the money to pay off your mortgage or meet the repayments.. At the very least, your mortgage should be covered.
What does it cost?
This depends on a wide range of areas such as age, sex, health status, amount of cover and term/
*It is important to note there is no savings element or cash-in value to Serious Illness Cover.*
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