Critical Illness Protection

What is critical illness insurance?

 

Critical Illness Insurance is lifestyle protection. It pays out a lump sum benefit upon the diagnoses of a significant medical condition covered on the policy. The three most claimed conditions are cancer, heart attack and stroke. How many people do you know that have been diagnosed with cancer, had a heart attack or a stroke? Most Canadians assume that the government will cover all their costs associated with dealing with such a serious health concern, but in a lot of cases they are left to pay out of their own pocket for a lot of these costs. These costs can include travel to and from treatment, home care and drugs not covered by our government.

 

It was actually a doctor who invented critical illness, after he treated a patient who had lung cancer. After the patient passed away, her life insurance paid out a lump sum of money to her beneficiaries. The doctor thought; wouldn’t it have been better if she was paid out before? He realised the huge financial burden having a major illness had on individuals and their families. He spoke to an insurance company about the idea of a new type of insurance, and in 1983 critical illness insurance was born.

Critical Illness, like life insurance, is available in term and permanent coverage. You can be covered for up to $2 million and can get your premiums back if you never make a claim.

 

Critical Illness plans also give you access to “best doctors”, which is a global network of the best doctors in specific medical fields. This allows you to make sure you are receiving the best medical care and advice available to you. The beauty of this feature is that you don’t need to make a claim to use this service. By owning a policy, you can access it for any medical concern you may have.