Financial Protection / Critical Illness

Critical Illness
A critical illness benefit is an insurance benefit payable if the insured person is diagnosed with a life threatening illness or injury. Critical illness benefits can be provided as a stand-alone policy or as a benefit under an existing insurance policy.

If you want financial cover for periods when you may not be able to work due to illness, accident or disability, you have a choice of:

•       Critical Illness Cover - which provides a lump sum payment to help you through a period of disability or sickness when you're diagnosed with a specified critical illness.

•       Income Protection - which gives you a regular income if you can no longer work because of a long-term illness.

If you want to protect your family in the event of your death you should consider Life Assurance cover.

Current products include:

• Essential Protection Plan - a life assurance policy providing cover for a set period of time. It pays a lump sum if you die within your chosen period of protection. There is no cash-in value.  You can cover both your and your partner's life and you can add critical illness cover to the plan.
• Flexible for Life Plan - a life assurance policy providing cover for your lifetime. The amount of protection provided can be increased or decreased to suit your changing circumstances. It pays a lump sum when you die. You can cover both your and your partner's life, and you can add critical illness cover to the plan.
• Critical Illness Plan - a policy providing a cash sum if you suffer from one of the serious conditions covered, such as cancer, a stroke or a heart attack, or become seriously and permanently disabled.
• Income Security Plan - an income protection policy providing a regular income if you can't work because of accident or sickness until you retire or reach 65, if this is earlier.  There is no cash-in value.

You should always check which illnesses are covered by critical illness cover.