Critical Illness Cover

[divadsnilloc]

I have a life insurance policy with additional critical illness cover. The critical illness element pays out a lump sum of €X but that's all. There is no medical fees/hospital charges cover, so if you have your own private medical insurance, is it worth having critical illness cover?

Thanks

 

[StevieC]

Your own medical insurance will pay for treatment but it wont make up for the fact that you will probably not be able to work in the short term or even indefinitely if you get one of the illness covered.

The lump sum can provide a cushion until such time as you are able to return to work or be used to clear debts like a mortgage which could be very hard to clear if you were just on state disability benefit long term.

There is a definately a purpose for this type of cover. If you can afford to keep it, its worth having in my opinion unless you have an income protection plan in which case it is a luxury to have it as well.

 

[Jimbobp]

Depending on your circumstances, you should look at the benefits of an income protection policy compared to a critical illness policy. Generally, an income protection policy will give you a greater chance of claiming (the two biggest reasons people miss work, are due to back problems & psychological issues such as depression, serious illness policies do not cover this), the cover could be greater than your serious illness payout and you get tax relief on your IP policy at your marginal rate. You also would have built in benefits on the IP policy including hospital cash benefit (usually after 7 days in hospital) & waiver of premium benefit. On the downside the benefit is taxable, but it would be well worth getting someone to checkout the alternatives for you.


www.powerinsurances.ie

 

[harvey]

Life insurance / specified illness (serious/critical illness) / Income Protection (PHI) / Health insurance/ Medical expenses plan all serve different purposes. Some offer tax relief others don't. Some have a slight overlap.

 

[Sumatra]

The two previous posters have given you excellent free advice. Get a review carried out of your financial circumstances so that you can prioritise your needs and match them to a budget you can comfortably afford. Critical illness policies bought a few years back may offer excellent value for money compared to a new one as rates increased relatively recently(but watch out for critical illness policies that are 'reviewable'). Don't be too quick to cancel cover and look before you leap.