Critical Illness Insurance Cover For Contractors

Critical Illness cover – is it time you got yours?

The first Critical Illness policy was launched 30 years ago in South Africa by Crusader Life insurance, and developed by Dr Marius Bernard. The policy covered four conditions, heart attack, cancer, stroke and coronary artery surgery, and was shortly after picked up across the world. As medical advances and new illnesses have emerged, critical illness insurance has had to change to reflect the challenges of modern life but it remains popular, especially amongst the Contractor community.

 

A cover to suit today’s illnesses

 

With advances in science over the past thirty years, our knowledge of these critical illnesses has developed along with the cures and treatments available, so insurers now offer policies that cover you for a larger range of critical illnesses. A typical policy will usually cover between 30 and 50 different types of critical illness, depending on which insurer you choose.

 

Figures taken from Cancer Research UK show us that 40 years ago someone with Testicular cancer would only have a 69.7% chance of survival of 5 years after diagnosis, whereas figures between 2005 and 2009 have shot up to a 97.2% chance of survival of 5 years after diagnosis. The fact that so many more patients are surviving their illness means that ensuring you have financial provisions in place to help you cope with life after treatment should be a top priority.

 

Why is it important for me?

 

The stressful and challenging environment you work in as a Contractor can make you more susceptible to critical illnesses, and more vulnerable to financial loss the first day you are unable to make it into work, which is why this type of cover is very popular among the contracting community.

 

If you were to suffer from a critical illness such as a stroke, you may want to choose a different career path which would lower the risk to your health, and therefore may not be able to earn as much. A critical illness policy can help you to clear outstanding debts such as a mortgage and supplement your earnings so that you can afford to take life easier while you recuperate and beyond.

 

How does it work?

 

With critical illness cover you will pay a monthly premium, which needn’t be expensive and when you need to make a claim, your policy will pay out a tax free lump sum on diagnosis of a critical illness. Even if you fully recover from the illness, you never have to pay back the lump sum.  You can choose the amount of benefit you wish to receive, along with the length of the term you are covered for, this will be helpful if you plan to cover your mortgage or to clear any other financial burdens.