Advantages of Critical Illness Cover
South Africa is the place where the first form of Critical Illness Cover was introduced. It was known as Dread Disease Insurance and it covered for a variety of forms of cancer. It has since become a more popular policy around the world. Not as popular as term life insurance but popular no less. It was in the United States that it started to gain some steam as it begin it’s life in North America protecting citizens against the risks of cancer. This was the precursor to today’s policies. It became more popular in the last ten years – in regions of East Asia, North America, and the United Kingdom.
The policies cover you, if you are to become ill during the term of policy. They will cover you against a specific number of illnesses as listed by the insurance provider. At the time of diagnosis you will receive a lump sum of money. It is often tax-free. The types of critical illnesses that will be covered can vary but you can be rest assured that cancers, stroke, heart attack, and most types of heart surgery will be included in a policy like this. Many companies may only cover 5-10 illnesses but they will likely be cheaper policies while over policies could over 100 different illnesses. When you are diagnosed with a critical illness it can be a difficult time on its own, so not having to worry about finances can be very helpful for many people. That way you can focus on getting better.
Dread Disease Insurance, the name for the first form of critical cover in South Africa, was not used for very long after the insurance product was brought to other countries. It wasn’t a very marketable name, it was said at the time but the policy did become quite popular after that. You wont see many (if any) insurance providers calling it dread disease insurance anymore – even in South Africa. Instead providers will use terms like crisis cover or trauma cover but the two most popular descriptions are still critical illness insurance and critical illness cover. Many insurance companies have expanded their list of protected conditions in order to grow the number of customers they have so some policies will cover for many different things.
People get critical illness cover because their countries social and health insurance does not provide them with any coverage so they would have to pay for the affects of a serious illness on their own. Some citizens that live in countries with great health care still get these policies because it means they will get the best possible care, attention, and treatment that money can buy rather than just having the bare minimum.
There are a number of extras that come along with this type of policy as it will cover medical expenses as well as normal life expenses in many cases. Your policy could cover the repercussions of any illness and for that reason alone, it might be worth it to think about one of these policies. Chances are your home and modes of transportation will need to changed as a result of a serious illness or disease and this can be quite expensive but many Critical Illness policies will cover against this.
Learn more about Critical illness cover. Stop by Jim Smithwick’s site where you can find out all about Mediclaim and Critical Illness Cover and what it can do for you.