Critical Illness Cover is an insurance policy that gives you a tax free lump sum in the event of being diagnosed with a pre-defined medical condition. Access to critical illness pay-out can save you from draining your life’s savings or borrowing money from friends and relatives to cover your personal or household expenses. Some of the critical illnesses covered are certain types and stages of stroke, heart attack, cancer, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, and other medical conditions. The full list of medical conditions and injuries covered are listed in your policy.

Critical illness is often confused with terminal illness. Insurance cover for a terminal illness usually comes as standard component of Life Insurance Policies. Hence, if your doctor confirms that you are terminally ill and are likely to die within 12 months, the sum assured is often paid out to you. On the contrary, Critical Illness policy covers conditions from which you might recover.

Critical Illness Cover is different also from Health Insurance. When you are diagnosed with a medical condition, Health Insurance bears the cost of treatment and medication. Critical illness pays you a lump sum at the diagnosis of a specified critical illness.

Life is uncertain as far as health is concerned and an attitude of ‘it won’t happen to me’ can have disastrous consequences. It is extremely important that you get yourself covered while you are healthy. The earlier, the better. The older you get the more vulnerable you are to certain health conditions and that can make it harder for you to obtain an appropriate cover. While Life Insurance benefits your loved ones after your death, a critical illness cover will benefit YOU while you are alive. Take it now while you can because during the toughest days of your life it will serve you well.