Critical illness cover

Critical illness cover is unlikely to pay out if you’re diagnosed with coronavirus. That’s because viral infections like COVID-19 aren’t specified as critical illnesses, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

If you were to develop a secondary critical illness due to complications arising from coronavirus, your claim would be paid as long as it meets the terms laid out in your policy.

Critical illness cover offers financial support if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness or injury listed in your policy. It can allow you and your family to benefit from the payout while you’re alive.

Life insurance is a tax-free lump sum paid to your beneficiaries after your death.

Critical illness cover pays out if you suffer a serious ailment that’s specified in your policy.

With an illness described as terminal, your clinician would expect it to lead to death within the next 12 months. In these cases, people can often claim on a life insurance policy rather than critical illness cover.

Most life insurance policies include terminal illness cover, which could include illness or injury resulting in total and permanent disability (TPD).

Most critical illness insurance providers will allow you to make changes to the level of cover in your policy. This could be as simple as extending the term or adding an increased level of cover.

You should always check if you can adjust your policy before taking out cover.

You can take out a joint life insurance policy that includes critical illness cover as an add-on.

Typically, though, you’ll only able to claim for critical illness once between you. So if one of you makes a claim, you’ll no longer have critical illness cover for the other.

There are some plans that offer dual cover, however, which will continue insuring the other person after one of you makes a claim, and so could pay out twice rather than just once. These are likely to be more expensive.

You can get critical illness cover for children, but it’s not usually a standalone product. Children’s critical illness cover can be bought as an add-on to the main policy of a parent or guardian. Sometimes it’s included as standard.

If your child’s condition requires you to claim on the policy, you must do this as the main policyholder.

Some insurance providers will offer critical illness cover if you have a pre-existing medical condition, but others won’t.

A pre-existing condition is an illness, disease or injury that you’ve received medical treatment for. It can also be an ongoing condition such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s. Providers will look at you and your family’s medical history to work out if they’re willing to offer you cover.

If they do, it may be more expensive and have more exclusions than a standard policy. If you have a pre-existing condition, you should always be honest about it or your provider might reject any claims you make.

Most critical illness policies do cover cancer but there may be conditions attached. For instance, whether a cancer is covered may depend on factors such as where the cancer originated and how it has spread.

If you’re diagnosed with advanced cancer, this is likely to be covered, but slow-growing or early-stage cancers may not be as clear-cut.

Always check the terms of any policy carefully to understand exactly what’s covered in case of a cancer diagnosis.

Yes, you can buy critical illness cover as a standalone policy, without life insurance attached to it. You’ll be covered if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness listed in your policy, but your beneficiaries won’t receive a payout if you die.

You can’t buy critical illness cover as a standalone policy through Compare the Market. But you can add it as an optional extra when comparing life insurance quotes with us.

While a critical illness insurance policy can offer you peace of mind and a financial safety net during a difficult time, it can have some drawbacks:

• It can be expensive, depending on your lifestyle and age

• You can usually only claim once

• Your policy might not cover every illness or condition

• If you never make a claim, you won’t get your money back

• Policies can be complex, and you might need expert advice.