Critical Illness Cover – Recover your health without financial worries

None of us like to think about getting sick and the worry this would cause for our loved ones and ourselves as we do our best to get well again. The last thing we would need is to be worried about money. Often, this is a real concern. Apart from the impact an illness might have on your income or indeed your business, you may need access to additional cash to pay for care at home, possibly to adapt your home, or to buy medical equipment that will assist your recovery or improve your quality of life. Indeed critical illness cover is often linked to a mortgage, paying off some or the entire mortgage in the event of you getting sick. 

Critical illness cover, sometimes known as serious illness cover (or specified illness cover) is a product designed to remove the financial worry when you suffer one of a specified list of serious illnesses. Critical illness cover has been a very popular addition to the protection portfolios of clients in Ireland for the last 20 or so years, the attraction of it being the availability of an immediate lump sum in the event of a claim.

Is it likely to happen to you? Well hopefully not, but according to the National Cancer Registry Ireland, there are more than 20,000 new cancer cases in Ireland each year. Their statistics also show however dramatic improvement in 5-year survival rates, due to the advancements in medical science. The picture is the same in relation to heart disease and strokes. Approximately 10,000 Irish people have a stroke each year and there are approx. 30,000 people living in the community with disabilities as a result of a stroke, according to The Irish Heart Foundation. But of course while surviving is good news, money is also needed to enable you to recover without worry.

There have been some great innovations in critical illness cover in recent years. While claims are allowed on approx. 40-50 specified illnesses, some insurers will also pay out partial amounts on other illnesses or sometimes for serious accidents. Some insurers also provide cover for children free of charge. It is even possible to access a second medical opinion service with some of these types of financial products.

Where do you find the right critical illness cover for you with the most relevant benefits? This is where your Financial Broker comes in. Unlike a bank with access to the product of a single provider, your Financial Broker has knowledge of and access to products across the marketplace. Depending on your own circumstances, they will find the best critical illness policy with the right set of benefits at the lowest cost to suit your own personal circumstances.  

Getting sick is of course a time of concern. However you can take the financial worry out of it by asking your Financial Broker to find the right critical illness cover for you.