Have you recently borrowed a large amount of money and require critical illness insurance? If so simply find the insurer that best matches your profile using the life insurance company Insurance Quote finder or get a quote online direct from the top UK companies listed on the right.

Alternatively, read our guide below concerning what you need to know regarding critical illness insurance.

Critical Illness Protection Guide

What is critical illness insurance?

In the same way life assurance provides a lump sum to the policyholder’s relatives in the event of death, critical illness insurance policies are designed to alleviate the short and long term financial burden if the policyholder is unable to work following the diagnosis of a specified critical illness. Usually a lump sum is paid out, or a regular income for a specified period of time. The types of medical conditions normally covered by such policies are strokes, heart attacks, cancers or multiple sclerosis. It is worth noting that the definition of medical conditions may differ according to who the provider of the critical illness insurance is, therefore, consider carefully the scope of cover provided.

According to insurance industry statistics you are more likely to suffer a critical illness before the age of 65 than die, therefore, premiums are generally higher than life assurance policies. Modern advances in medicine mean that some patients partially recover from their critical illness, albeit with a lower quality of life.

Most people appear to buy critical illness insurance either separately or as part of a mortgage protection product or key man business policy. In January 2005, The Association of British Insurers issued a Statement of Best Practice to critical illness insurance companies designed to help the ordinary consumers understand what is covered and what is not covered by such life policies, and compare cover.