What options are available when taking out Critical Illness Insurance
When taking out Critical Illness Insurance there are additional options which you can choose to add to your policy. Typically you could choose to add the Indexation Option, Premium Waiver, Fracture Cover, Total Permanent Disability or/and the Reinstatement Option.
The Indexation Option is where you can protect the amount of cover you choose to take. Typically your chosen amount of cover could increase in line with for example the Retail Price Index to ensure you cover always suits your needs.
Also, the Premium Waiver Option could be added to your policy. This protection will ensure that should you be unable to work due to sickness or disability for six months (dependent on the provider), the insurer will continue to pay the premiums for your policy until such times as you return to work or the term of the policy expires. This would normally cost a few pence in addition to the standard premium.
Fracture Cover is also available to be added to a critical illness policy dependent on the provider. This cover offers small lump sums for fracturing one of a selected specified bone. The amount payable will tend to be limited to a maximum of £2,100 per year. Generally speaking only one claim will be allowable in any one year.
Total Permanent Disability can be added to your policy to ensure that the sum assured is paid out in the event of being diagnosed as totally and permanently disabled. This would be defined within your policy document; however, most insurers adopt the same definition. As total and permanent disability means different things to different people it is important for you to establish from outset if you are covered in the event of you not being able to do you own job or any job.
If you were to add the Reinstatement option to your policy this would mean that you would be given the option to take out a new policy once you have made a successful claim with your provider. The new policy will however limit the amount of conditions you are covered.
All options are provided at an additional cost to the standard premium.When you are applying for critical care cover you should also know that there are several options that you can add to your policy. This will help you customize it in the way you see fit. There are several options that you can choose from. Understanding each one should be a prerogative in order to get the best out of them.
The Indexation Option: this is a sensible option where you can chose to protect the final cover amount that you receive. A good move to make is to make sure that your chosen cover amount increase along with the Retail Price Index. This is the best way to make sure that all your needs are always taken care of.
The Premium Waiver Option: you could consider adding this to your existing policy. In the case of you being unable to work and subsequently being unable to pay your premiums, your service provider will do this for a period of six months or more depending on what the agreement is. All this does to your existing premium is increase it by a few pence.
The Fracture Cover: this is a small addition that can prove useful in the case of some illnesses. This addition will cover the breakage of a specified bone. The only thing here is that this claim can be made only once and there is often a ceiling on the amount of money paid towards this in a year.
Total Permanent Disability: this is a rider that you can add to your policy in the event. This is an assurance that you are given a payout even if you have been diagnosed with being completely disabled. This will be placed in your policy document. However, read through it carefully since each service provider may have their own clauses to add. Complete disability does not have a fixed definition and therefore is a variable. It is better to be clear on the outset as to what the definition is.
If you were given the option of adding a Reinstatement to your critical claim policy, it would be mean that you are eligible to take a renewal policy. This is done after you have made a successful claim. But in this renewed policy, the options given to you in terms of coverage are reduced a bit. You can however opt for anything additional at a slight increase in the standard premium amount that you will be paying.