- Critical illness insurance
- Income protection
- Mortgage payment protection
Life and Critical illness insurance or life and critical illness cover is a form of financial protection available from various insurance companies. It will provide a tax-free lump sum upon diagnosis of any one of the illnesses specified within the critical illness insurance policy documents. All providers of life and critical illness insurance include the seven core illness which include; heart attack, cancer, stroke, coronary artery bypass, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis and major organ transplant.Further conditions will be included within the cover but will vary between providers.
Life and critical illness – Life and critical illness insurance – Life and critical illness cover
All conditions that may be included in a critical illness insurance and life insurance plan are clearly defined; these definitions have been standardised by the ABI and have to be adhered to by all providers of critical illness cover. For example, the definition of a stroke as detailed in the Bupa plan is;
Death of brain tissue due to inadequate blood supply or haemorrhage within the skull resulting in permanent neurological deficit with persisting clinical symptoms.
The following are not covered:
- Transient ischaemic attack
- Traumatic injury to brain tissue or blood vessels
A stroke is where the brain cells have died due to a lack of blood supply and thus oxygen. There are essentially two types of stroke;
- Ischaemic stroke is the commonest form and occurs in about 7 in 10 cases. This form of stroke is caused by a blood clot in one of the arteries that blocks the blood flow to the brain. The affected area of brain tissue soon dies due to the lack of oxygen.
- Haemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke is whereby a weakened artery wall bursts causing a bleeding on the surrounding brain cells. This can cause the affected cells to lose their oxygen supply and become damaged or die.
A transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is sometimes referred to as a mini-stroke. However, a TIA is normally caused by a tiny blood clot that gets caught in a tiny blood vessel causing temporary oxygen starvation to an area of the brain. Due to these blood clots quickly dispersing or surrounding blood vessels compensating for the lack of oxygen the affected brain cells are only starved off oxygen for a few minutes and soon recover. Therefore, transient ischaemic attacks do not cause permanent/long term damage or disability. The symptoms of a TIA will last minutes, 24 hours at the most.
Therefore, should you suffer a TIA, even if your consultant has informed you that you have suffered a mini-stroke under the definitions of a stroke a life and critical illness plan will not pay out. You must always be aware of the terms of the terms of your life insurance with critical illness cover to ensure that you are fully covered for possible eventualities.