Insuring against the risk of serious illness

You are five times more likely to suffer from a life-threatening illness than you are to die before you reach 65, insurance claims statistics suggest. You might expect therefore that the risk of falling seriously ill is something that people readily address when planning their finances.

However, whilst most people have some sort of Life Insurance, far fewer address the risk and potential impact of falling seriously ill. Critical Illness Insurance Cover can offer a solution.

Typically, most clients either have or look to put in place, two forms of insurance cover:

- Life Insurance to help their dependents in the event of their death; it might replace earnings, pay off a mortgage or provide a lump sum for other use (e.g. shareholder protection).
- Income Protection to cover the risk of loss of earnings due to long term illness or disability.

We advise on whether clients have too much or too little cover or indeed whether they have the right kind of insurance cover. In many cases, we consider a third form of cover:

- Critical Illness Insurance Cover (CIC) which pays a tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed as suffering from a life threatening condition- the most common conditions resulting in claims are cancer, stroke and heart attack.

For your free 27 page, electronic guide to Protection, giving details on these and other types of personal and business protection, please send an email to jacqueline@refp.co.uk