Serious Illness
Being diagnosed with a serious illness can be devastating. But unfortunately, while you are coming to terms with the diagnosis and the impact it will have your life, your bills still need to be paid which could lead to additional stress and anxiety for you and your family.
Even if you’ve been saving for a “rainy day”, you may find that these funds will not cover your bills on a long-term basis.
What’s the difference between Serious Illness and Income Protection?
Serious illness insurance will provide you with a lump sum payment should you contract a specific illness as defined in your policy.
Income protection however, will provide you with specific monthly payments should you be unable to work due to illness, injury or disability. You can claim as many times as the policy is in place and payments will continue until you can return to work or pension age
Do I need Serious Illness cover if I have health insurance?
Yes – the two are very different!
Your health insurance plan will cover day-to-day medical expenses like hospital visits, surgery, maternity benefit and various treatments.
On the other hand, your serious illness cover will provide you with a lump-sum payment should you be unable to work due following diagnosis of an illness listed within the policy.
What’s covered in a typical serious illness policy?
As with all insurance, specific coverage will differ from policy to policy. Usually however, a policy may cover:
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Coronary artery disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Kidney failure
- Some types of cancer
- Motor neuron disease
- Blindness
What is Permanent Total Disablement (PTD)?
There are two types of PTD cover:
- Any-occupation PTD – this provides you with cover should you become unable to carry out any job.
- Own-occupation PTD -this cover is for if you are permanently unable to continue with your own specific job.
In some instances, Permanent Total Disablement may be included in your policy and will allow you to claim should you become permanently and totally disabled from an illness or condition that is not listed on your policy.
We appreciate that this can all be very confusing, so we suggest calling in to speak to one of our team who can bring you through the various policies.
Call in to us today – we look forward to meeting you