Critical Illness Articles
How Britons Really Feel about Critical Illness Cover
Critical illness cover is a type of insurance that can help provide much-needed cash assistance if an insured is diagnosed with a dread disease or suffers a serious injury. The cash benefit is tax-free and can be used to help pay for medical costs, high financial obligations such as a mortgage, and any other expense that the insured needs.
The Shocking Insurance Statistics
A recent study conducted by Scottish Provident shows that most residents of the UK do not carry a form of life or critical illness cover. Only about 15% carry critical illness cover, and 44% of UK residents carry life insurance.
These numbers are staggering, especially considering that an average of one out of every five UK residents will suffer a serious injury or will be diagnosed with a critical illness between the ages of 40 and 70.
However, Britons are not averse to insurance, as evidenced by the fact that about 71% of those surveyed do have contents insurance for their homes. Unfortunately this leads to a conclusion that UK residents are more in favour of insuring their homes than themselves!
The survey also found that only 11% were covered under a private health insurance, 9% had income protection insurance, and only 5% carried an unemployment benefit.
The Reality of Critical Illness Cover
Why are Britons not insuring themselves for some form of income replacement in the case of sudden death or critical illness? Most respondents said they felt that critical illness cover was too expensive. However, an adequate critical illness cover can be purchased for £15 to £30 per month. This is a small price to pay to protect yourself from devastating financial loss due to a diagnosis of a critical illness or serious injury.
For anyone who survives a critical illness, the financial fallout can be extremely difficult. Critical illnesses include cancer, stroke, multiple sclerosis, major organ failure, head trauma, and paralysis. Surviving one of these illnesses can render the individual disabled and unable to make a living or earn an income.
The Risks of Not Opting for Critical Illness Cover
Cancer victims make up about half of all critical illness cover claims. The statistics show that 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer at some point in their life. 250,000 will be diagnosed this year alone, and breast cancer alone counts for the highest number of claims.
In the UK, a heart attack occurs every 2 minutes, or about 280,000 per year. In addition, about 2.6 million UK residents currently suffer from some form of heart disease. There are about 42,000 coronary by-pass and angioplasty surgeries each year. Approximately two-thirds of men who suffer their first heart attack will survive at least another 5 years. Of those who survive, how disabled will they be? Could they work?
These are the numbers that show why more people should consider purchasing a critical illness cover plan. The odds are high enough that you could be disabled at some point in your life due to a critical illness or injury. Without financial protection from an affordable critical cover plan, you could suffer financial woes in addition to a disability. If these numbers concern you, look into a critical illness cover with your independent financial advisor.
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