Life Insurance / Income Protection / Critical Illness

Weighty1

dunstonh said:

I think another thing putting me of Critical Illness is that when my mum put in a claim after a cancer diagnosis, it was denied. The type of cancer she had was not critical enough apparently.

Like most insurances, you can effectively put CIC plans into budget, standard and comprehensive (as you can with income protection).  So, it is important to look at the quality of the coverage and not just the premium. There is a massive difference in the number of conditions that can be covered across the various plans.

Further to this, it's not only the number of conditions but the claims definitions used.  Many of the cheaper plans which cover the "core" critical illness conditions would only cover cancers which require chemotherapy and radiotherapy, not those which can be used via surgical removal or other means.  The quality policies absolutely cover many of these early stage cancers.  There still needs to be a specific clinical diagnosis and histology reached but a claim is made far earlier into the progression of any cancer on these quality plans.

Jemsnation

Thank you for your advice on this. I think it's better to be safe than sorry. Yes it's only "worth it" if you make a claim but for peace of mind I'll get decent cover for both. Here's hoping I never need CIC or Income Protection!