critical illness cover quotes

blackswan2

Unlike other insurance, it looks like you have to go through a financial-adviser/insurance-broker to obtain and compare critical illness quotes - which of course you pay for one way or the other.

Is this correct?

PS I don't feel like I need advice, I want CI cover, want to get some quotes and then check the cover afforded by the best

stephenni1971

You haven't even started looking at quotes/costs/comparisons and already you are wrong.

Of course you can obtain your own quotes... whether you have sufficient knowledge to accurately compare them however is the question...

Where do you stand on renewable/reviewable/guaranteed premiums - will you go for indexation and if so do you know what RPI formula the company uses? What if you fall for one of the low cost policies which looks great on comparison cost tables but has built in annual cost increases most people dont factor in?

Do you want guaranteed insurability options? Life cover buyback in the event of a claim? Then there is Waiver of Premium, TPD which you could get own occupation, Works Tasks or ADL?

But if your are going to do it yourself you obviously know all this stuff already....

kingstreet

Are you taking out stand-alone CI cover, or are you bundling it with life cover, so you get a payout if you don't achieve the minimum survivability period?

Are you going for severity-based cover, where you can get a series of smaller payouts before the full payment is made on a more serious case of the insured condition?

Are you looking for cheapest, or most comprehensive cover? Will you ensure you get total permanent disability cover on an "own occupation" basis?

You can buy critical illness cover without advice. Whether you should do that is entirely based on your research into your needs and the best product(s) to meet them.

blackswan2

just simple stand-alone CI cover, guaranteed premium, not indexed - mainly interested in full payout for a critical illness rather than serial payments, but would review quotations to see what variance there is.

I know I can obtain my own quotes, what I meant to ask but didn't make clear was, are there comparison websites/tools (as there for other forms of insurance) whereby you provide your details online and and you get a list of quotes from a variety of suppliers. It seems not for some reason, but maybe I am wrong.

If not then I shall look to obtain 3 quotes and take it from there ...

Cheers .... Simon.

dunstonh

are there comparison websites/tools (as there for other forms of insurance) whereby you provide your details online and and you get a list of quotes from a variety of suppliers.

There should be. Although price comparison sites are very poor at detailing things other than the price. CI is something that should not be bought on by price as the primary filter. Budget plans will typically be cheaper than standard or comprehensive plans. Expensive doesnt meant it will be better but it is fair to say the best ones wont be the cheapest.

You say you dont need an adviser. This would indicate you have done your own research on which provider(s) meet your criteria. So, why would you need a price comparison site?

stephenni1971

blackswan2 wrote: »

just simple stand-alone CI cover, guaranteed premium, not indexed - mainly interested in full payout for a critical illness rather than serial payments, but would review quotations to see what variance there is.

I know I can obtain my own quotes, what I meant to ask but didn't make clear was, are there comparison websites/tools (as there for other forms of insurance) whereby you provide your details online and and you get a list of quotes from a variety of suppliers. It seems not for some reason, but maybe I am wrong.

If not then I shall look to obtain 3 quotes and take it from there ...

Cheers .... Simon.

Most of the comparison sites will take any information you provide and sell it on so if you use one expect lots of calls to follow!

You will also usually find that CI cover that includes life will be a little cheaper than Ci alone...

Also bear in mind there are some budget plans with reduced premiums and reduced cover so don't go by price alone.

ACG

Also dont just go by whichever has the most conditions... some cover things that are just on there to look good, the chances of claiming is minimal.

Surely Critical Illness quotes on a search engine must bring up something? I used to do quotes on a website when i worked for an actual life office to have a look at their KFIs...i cant recall what the site was now though.

blackswan2

don't know how I missed it but Compare The Market compares CI policies - the Equitable Life premium is fixed for 5 years until next review, so I compared quotes for 5 years and all came out more expensive - Beagle Street (who?) was 15% more, all the others >40%.
So I guess we're best to stick with EL.

I wonder why the big difference? Do they consider you a safer bet if you have a track record with them?

kingstreet

If it says "fixed for five years then reviewed" those are reviewable rates. The premiums can change if the insurer's claims experience is worse than expected and/or it's future expectation is different.

If you want a plan which has the same premium throughout the term of the policy pick guaranteed rates only.

OshayAway

When comparing critical illness plans, it's wise to consider:

• Defaqto score
• Number of total conditions
• Number of ABI+ conditions
• If the top causes for claims are ABI+ (i.e. Cancer, heart attack, stroke, MS)
• Claims statistics
• Buy-back options
• Guaranteed insurability option
• Total, permanent disability definition

There may be other things to consider depending on your personal circumstances, e.g. underwriting.

These things are not simple to compare yourself which is why seeking the advice of a broker can be very valuable. It doesn't necessarily mean you will pay more.

kingstreet

Beagle Street is part of BISL - Compare the Market.

There are only 22 CI definitions covered.