Life and Critical Illness Insurance

Life and critical illness insurance are often combined so you can make sure any potential scenario is covered by your policy. Unlike a term permanent insurance policy, many traditional life insurance policies will not pay your full death benefit if a critical illness was involved. Purchasing a separate plan that specifically deals with these issues and combining it with your original policy is a great way to get yourself the protection you need, especially if your family history has several severe illnesses that you must keep an eye out for.

How it Works

Life and critical illness insurance will typically include a death benefit that can be used to pay end of life expenses. Critical illness insurance will specifically pay for death that is a result of a terminal disease. You can also set up your policy so you can receive a lump sum to help pay for your medical care or any changes to your lifestyle that will take place because of the disease you contracted.

Your life and critical illness insurance will often pay part of your benefits if you contract a disease that is not terminal but will result in a drastic change in your lifestyle. For example, if you develop arthritis and are no longer able to work, you can use your coverage to supplement your income. You can also use these payments to help you move into a nursing facility or hire a caretaker for your home. You can also file a claim if you must undergo treatment or major surgery that will result in a long hospital stay so you do not need to worry about a loss of income during this time period.

Life insurance companies often have rules about how when a person can file a claim after being diagnosed with a critical illness. Typically your diagnosis must come from a standardized test such as an EKG or from a doctor that specializes in the disease in question. The patient is typically required to live at least thirty days from the point of that diagnosis in order to claim their benefits. It is important that you read through your contract and speak with your agent so you are aware of what rules apply to your situation.

If you hold an older life and critical illness insurance policy, you should ask your life insurance company if the terms of your critical illness clause have changed. Some issues, such as heart attacks, used to be included in critical illness coverage, but are often left out today because these incidents are no longer as fatal as they once were. Additionally, many companies have opened their coverage to include diseases such as HIV/AIDs or Alzheimer's disease that may not have been included in a contract previously.

Getting Life Insurance Coverage

In order to sign up for life and critical illness coverage, most companies will require that you are not currently a patient receiving treatment for a serious disease. Your overall health and medical history will be evaluated to determine the risk of taking you on as a client. In other words, the healthier you are and the more effort you put into staying in good shape, the more deals you will be offered when signing up for your life and critical illness insurance. Some insurance companies are more lenient when it comes to taking on less healthy subscribers, but be prepared to pay a higher price for these contracts.

Because there is such a variety of what diseases and conditions life and critical illness insurance might cover it is important to get as many quotes as possible from several different companies so you can see what your options are. Read through each quote carefully and make not of the differences in restrictions, fees and opportunities for investments so you can easily rule out which plans do not offer you an adequate amount of coverage for the price you are expected to pay. You may find that a slightly more expensive life and critical illness insurance policy is actually the better buy because it comes with more protection and fewer loopholes than its cheap competitors.

When you are ready to start shopping for life and critical illness insurance, go online and enter the specifications you have for your coverage into a secure policy search and you will instantly be paired with companies that have products to fit your needs. You will then be contacted by these agencies with quotes on their life and critical illness insurance plans. Look through this information at your leisure, ask questions about things that seem out of place or you do not understand or ask advice from your financial advisor about which plan seems to fit your needs the best. Once you have gathered all the information you need it will be easy to make your decision.

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