CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE - CRITICAL ILLNESS COVER

Running a business can be fraught with a number of different risks. However, the insurance industry is there to enable businesses, what ever their size or line of work, to manage their risks and protect against the eventuality of something going wrong. One of these insurance covers that are on offer by various insurers is critical illness insurance. The idea of critical illness insurance is to provide a tax free lump sum should the insured be diagnosed with a specified critical illness.

Life Critical illness cover could provide a vital safety net for a business against the loss of an employee for any period of time, especially if this person is crucial member of the team. Generally, such an insurance plan is referred to as key person insurance. Key person insurance could be considered to be more appropriate for small businesses where they depend on few employees and if the key members of staff are absent the functioning of the business would greatly suffer. However, similarly this may be the case for the key employees of a larger organisation. So, if a particular or number of certain employees were vital to the success and profitability of a business then covering the person/people with critical illness insurance could be considered to be essential.

CRITICAL ILLNESS COVER

The critical illness cover is taken out by the company/business on the life of an employee(s). With such a critical illness policy the business is known as the plan holder and will pay the monthly premiums from the business account. However, the life assured is the employee and the critical illness plan is underwritten on their details such as; age, gender, smoking status, health, family health etc. If that employee were to suffer one of the specified illnesses listed on the plan then the insurance company will pay a tax free lump sum to the company/business. This will provide the business with the financial requirements to keep the business running smoothly. What the business actually uses the money for is entirely down to them; it could be to continue to pay the absent employee a wage whilst off work, to recruit a temporary (or if need be permanent) replacement, etc. Basically, whatever it takes to maintain the success of the business.

DON'T LEAVE IT TOO LATE
Group critical illness cover is a form of protection insurance available to employers to enable them to offer an invaluable benefit to their employees. Nothing is certain in life and any one of us could suffer from a critical illness. However, with advances in the health sector many of us now have the strong possibility of surviving a critical illness and with the right support are able to make a full recovery and return to work.
With group critical illness insurance, as an employer you can provide some support in the form of tax free lump sum paid direct to your employee. The lump sum can be used can be used by your employee to ease the pressure of inevitable financial stress. This could be to pay off their mortgage, debts or similar, make possible adaptations to their home, access treatment any number of things that will hopefully aid their recovery and return to work.

CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE

Group critical illness insurance is offered by a number of different insurers. However, each will have their own set of definitions and criteria. Generally, most insurance companies offering group critical illness cover require the companies/business to have more than 50 employees. Normally, the critical illness cover will be offered at a discounted rate with more generous underwriting. It would be expected that the critical illness cover is paid for out of the companies/businesses bank account. The employee named on the critical illness plan(s) will be the life assured, but the company are normally the plan holders.

IS CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE RIGHT FOR ME?
Group critical illness insurance can be looked at as being beneficial to both parties;
For an employer group critical illness cover provides;

Benefits package – this can be attractive addition to someone’s salary, aiding in recruiting and retaining high calibre and key members of staff.
Affordable employee benefit – most companies will offer the cover at a discounted rate.
Financial support – provides a means by which a company can provide financial support to its key employees. Also, this can ease the pressure of a company on how it can maintain long term financial assistance to its employee.

For an employee group critical illness cover provides;

Financial protection – provide a lump sum of money at a time when it is needed most.
Peace of mind – eases certain stresses whilst you are going through treatment etc.
Feeling of being valued – such a benefit paid by your company makes you feel what you do is appreciated earning your loyalty.

Generally, critical illness insurance cover is thought of has being an insurance product taken out by individuals, couples and /or families. However, critical illness cover can be taken on a life of another by a business/company; this is normally known as key man insurance and/or group insurance. The principals are the same in that the critical illness plan will pay out a tax free lump sum on the diagnosis of a specified critical illness after a defined survival period.

Critical Illness Policy - Critical Illness and Life Cover

Group critical illness insurance is normally aimed at larger organisations giving them the ability to offer additional attractive benefits. The majority of insurance companies offering group critical illness insurance will want the company to have at least 50 employees. This is because they offer the critical illness cover at competitive discounted rates and in most cases with more generous underwriting. The cover is still assessed in the same way and the cost will be dependent upon;

Sum assured
Term of the plan
Details of person insured such as; age, smoking status, leisure pursuits, occupation, health and family health.

As with any other critical illness insurance applications the information will be underwritten and an offer made accordingly.

Key man insurance is something that smaller businesses may wish to consider as they are less likely to be able to have group critical illness insurance. Smaller businesses may be more reliant on specific members of their staff in that should they suffer a critical illness and be off work for any length of time it would have a detrimental affect on the business. With smaller organisations it is not always viable to move staff to cover other employees work – there may simply be no-one to spare. Key man insurance will provide the same kind of protection as group critical illness. It will take the financial stress and worry out of losing a vital member of staff temporarily. It will provide a means of financially supporting that employee and the possibility of employing a temporary person in their absence.

Critical illness life insurance is a form of contract taken out with an insurance company that, provided you maintain the monthly premiums, will pay out a tax free lump sum on the diagnosis of a specified critical illness. In addition to this you can add life insurance to your plan and this will also provide life insurance to go alongside your critical illness. This is called life and critical illness. For example, for one family a critical illness policy became a crucial asset to them;

A working couple had, like many of us, set up home together and started a family. The wife took maternity leave from her job and at the same time the husband decided to go self employed to give more flexibility with his time with the prospect of a young family in mind. Unfortunately, after the baby was born the mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suddenly, the couple were thrown into turmoil with a new baby, bills, the father setting up in business and the stress and worry of the mother’s health and well being. Cancer is one of the core critical illnesses covered by insurance companies selling critical illness protection and offering you a critical illness quote. The other core illnesses included are heart attack and stroke. The majority of insurance companies today cover a vast variety of other critical illnesses but this will vary between providers and policies.

Fortunately, at the time of getting their mortgage for their home they took out decreasing critical illness cover. Therefore, the family received a tax free lump sum of £70,000 from their critical illness cover. This paid off their mortgage of £50,000 leaving them £20,000 spare. The father was able to delay his plans for the business to help look after the baby, home and his wife. The financial help that they received just from having critical illness cover meant that a lot of stresses and worries were taken out of their lives giving them the opportunity to put their energies it to the more important things such as the mother’s recovery and the baby. Conversely, the alternative scenario to the above if the family had not taken out any form of protection in the form of mortgage critical illness cover could have been quite different. They may have lost their home due to not being able to meet the mortgage payments. The business may not have been able to go ahead due to financial strain but then the father would have had to get back into employment. This with the added strain of looking after a new baby and fighting cancer does not bare thinking about. The above is a true story and illustrates the practical way a joint critical illness cover plan can fundamentally change a family’s life or certainly by time.

Critical Illness and Life insurance - Critical illness insurance specilist

Many insurance companies offer critical illness and life insurance online. The internet is also a valuable place to find out about critical illness and life online. You can find out about the company that you are going through, or get free quotes. Buying and learning about critical illness and life cover online can be fast, easy, and convenient. The internet is a great way to do research before you buy. It is very important to do so. You can find out about critical illness specialists online. This insurance is meant to pay out a lump sum when a person is diagnosed with one of a number of specified critical illnesses. Many people may not know that if they have a joint policy, that it will only pay out once, this is know as joint life first death. If one person on the policy files a claim, the policy will cease to exist. These are one of the many facts that you will learn when researching your options online. Many times, critical illness and life insurance online is cheaper. You can get real time quotes. Many companies are competing against each other in order to give the best monthly premiums. Choosing cheaper insurance is not always as straight forward. This is why you really need to do a lot of critical illness and life cover research if possible.

There are so many companies, that you need to do your homework before considering a certain plan.
Look into the definitions of critical illness and life online as well. This will help you understand what is being covered in your policy. Not all companies will pay for the same illnesses or number of conditions. All though this is true, all companies must follow ABI guidelines. Researching critical illness and life cover online is a convenient way to make sure you are getting what you need. This will make you feel more confident in committing to a critical illness insurance plan. The online world of critical illness protection can really work to your advantage. You can get free quotes in a matter of minutes, and learn about all of the policies that are available to you. If you have a company in mind, ensure they are a critical illness specialist and research their background and customer satisfaction rating before you commit to buying a policy.