Stand-alone
CritIcal illness protection
Gives you the financial breathing space you need
to cope with the consequences of a critical illness.
Why is it a good idea?
A critical illness could change your life forever
Illness is a fact of life. Some illnesses only keep us off work for a few days but others can be serious. Rehabilitation can mean a lengthy time not earning, plus you might need costly care. And that’s on top of your usual outgoings – mortgage or rent, food and bills.
That’s why Critical Illness Protection is worth considering. It pays out if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness, giving you valuable cash to help cope during a very traumatic and uncertain time.
Many people prioritise Life Protection over Critical Illness Protection, but your chance of being diagnosed with a critical illness before the age of 65 is much higher than dying. That’s why, in an ideal world, you need both.
How does it work?
If you’re diagnosed with a critical illness we pay out
Our Critical Illness Protection covers you for a comprehensive range of serious, life-changing conditions, including the 3 most common – heart attack, stroke and cancer. We also pay out if you’re permanently disabled by any illness or injury.
Together with your Financial Adviser, you decide how long you want your policy to last and the amount of cover you need – that’s the amount we pay out if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness.
The amount you pay depends on your age and health when you apply. It’s worth remembering that the younger you are the lower your premiums will be.
Single or dual life?
Protection for you and your partner
These days the family depends on both parents equally – whether you both work to meet the monthly commitments, or just one of you earns while the other carries out all the essential household tasks that keep the family going.
The truth is critical illnesses are indiscriminate. If one strikes a breadwinner the family will lose valuable income, and if one strikes a stay-at-home parent the family will need to pay for help, at additional cost, to cope with the upheaval to day-to-day life.
That’s why, if you have a partner – whether they work or not – it pays to consider our dual life approach. Dual cover pays out if either partner is diagnosed with a critical illness, providing the money to make the most difficult of situations easier for all involved. Unlike normal joint cover, if one of you has to claim your partner will still have cover in place and won’t have to try and replace it when they’re older.
What type of cover do you need?
There’s a choice of 4:
Level Cover
With Level Cover, you choose the amount of cover you want and the length of time you want to be covered. The amount is fixed, and you can also choose whether to receive a lump sum or a regular monthly payment.
Decreasing Cover
Decreasing Cover is designed to cover mortgages and other long-term borrowing. So, as the outstanding borrowing goes down, so does the cover. Because of this, the premiums tend to be lower, and it also only pays out a one-off lump sum.
Increasing Cover
They say what goes up must come down. But what about the cost of living? That only ever goes in one direction. So, to keep up with rising prices, the amount of cover you get with Increasing Cover rises in line with inflation. Unlike Level Cover, the cost increases each year.
Family Income Benefit
Rather than paying out a lump sum if you die, Family Income Benefit gives your loved ones a regular payout for the rest of the policy’s lifetime. So, if you take out a 25-year policy and die 5 years into it, your family will receive regular income for the remaining 20 years. If you were to die 15 years into the policy, it will pay out for the remaining 10 years. But remember, once the policy ends, the cover and the payouts will stop.
POLICY TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Critical Illness Protection is just one of the ways we can help protect you and your family from financial uncertainty. For more details, view our terms and conditions and key facts document.
To find out exactly what suits your needs best, speak to a Financial Adviser.