Falling ill is never a pleasant experience for anyone yet it happens to us or our loved ones all the time. It can drain emotionally, financially or even cripple you during the most productive phase of your life. Luckily, you can prepare for such eventualities by taking out life insurance.
There are multiple types of life insurance policies available on the market today. But only a few provide better cover for major health conditions than a critical illness insurance plan. This policy is designed to help pay the bills whilst you recover from a defined critical illness.
If you are in the market for this policy, this detailed guide will help you choose the best possible plan for you and your loved ones.
Explore the list of beneficiaries
Who is your insurer including in the list of beneficiaries when you enrol on a critical illness policy? It’s not uncommon to be the only party that benefits from the insurance cover if a risk happens.
Unfortunately, this can be quite limiting if the medical condition affects your close family members too. The best critical illness insurance plan includes both you and your loved ones as beneficiaries.
While your children and spouse may not be fully covered by the policy, many providers offer pay-outs with a specified limit.
For example, if your policy on risk occurrence offers £50,000 as financial benefit, your child might be entitled to £25,000 as the maximum payout if he/she is 21 or younger.
Find out the list of critical illnesses
The best insurance policy comes with clear terms and conditions for the benefit of both parties involved in the contract. For critical illness insurance plans, you must know the list of all medical conditions which the insurer recognises as critical illnesses.
You want to commit to a policy that includes health conditions which you or your beneficiaries are at a higher risk of getting diagnosed with.
Identify critical illnesses you’re most susceptible to due to your working condition, environment, lifestyle, or genetics. Then enrol on a policy that offers a reasonable cover for them.
Do they offer benefits beyond financial support?
Dealing with a critical illness is never an easy thing as it affects multiple areas of your life. You suffer psychologically, emotionally, and physically. These effects are never easy to deal with even with sufficient financial support.
The best critical illness insurance plan supports you beyond the financial aspect. For example, some insurers cover your emotional and physical support services when dealing with a critical illness. This is particularly crucial if you need access to counselling services or specialist nurses who take care of you at home as you recover.
Take a look at customer testimonials
Any insurance provider can claim to have the best critical illness insurance policy. But to be sure, you need to verify it by analysing the feedback that policyholders leave after using their services.
A sensitive risk getting diagnosed with critical illness requires utmost good faith. This is why you want to enrol to a policy from an insurance provider whose services are rated highly by other customers.
Start your research here:
Nature of terms and conditions
Are there cases where customers reported information falsification or misrepresentation?
The waiting period between receipt of a claim and compensation
How long does the insured wait until they receive the agreed-upon financial support?
Grounds of cover revocation
What does it take for the insurer to revoke the insurance contract? Which redress options are available to customers?
Besides, try to find platforms that publish unbiased reviews on insurance providers to gather even more insight into the conduct of your preferred company.
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Assess your financial standing
The best critical insurance plan is one whose premiums you can afford without struggling in other areas. Abandoning a policy midway because you can’t service it only wastes your hard-earned money.
Ensure that you are on the clear with other financial expenses such as debts, mortgages, or rents. If you still have other pending bills but still need the cover, we recommend that you look for the cheapest possible critical illness policy available. Sure, it might not pay much but you’ll get some assistance to soften the financial blow for when you cannot work.
Consider your family’s composition
Are you young and single or are you married with dependents? Find out who is potentially affected if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness and their level of needs. The best policy for you is the one whose payout can support your family for at least a few months until you’re healthy again to go back to work.
Conclusion
Are you in the market for a critical insurance plan? Applying these tips will help you narrow down your choices and ultimately enable you to find a policy that suits you best.
