subject: Is Critical Illness Cover Different To What I Took Out Previously? [print this page] Critical illness cover is forever changing and so a contract taken out in the past will tend to be different to a contract offered now. A contract which was taken out a number of years ago would most likely cover fewer illnesses than what is offered currently, the comprehensiveness of a contract will differ from provider to provider however this will also differ from what they offered a number of years ago. An insurance provider is always looking for ways to improve their contract and basically keep up with the current market or for example stay one step ahead so they are offering the best contract on the market perhaps. Keeping up with competition can be very difficult for companies but if other providers are enhancing their contract it will no doubt only be a matter of time before others follow. There will always be a number of basic conditions which have to be included with any critical illness cover. The cover is based on the core ABI conditions and from these conditions they can then build their own contract.
It is difficult to determine exactly what insurance you need or which plan you should go for and in many cases, having more options makes it more complicated. Talking through the options with an adviser will be able to help identify the contract you have perhaps compared with a contract you could take out today perhaps. You would have to bear in mind that the cost of the insurance from the plan you took out previously to the plan you may look at may have increased in price. The price will be determined by the insurance provider and so you can then decide whether paying the increased amount is worth the increased level of cover.
There may be a number of reasons why you choose to look at taking out a new cover; however the price will always be calculated at that point in time. If providers continue to increase the level of cover offered to the clients then this may have some affect on the price of the plan, of which some people may not be able to afford and therefore need to look at the most competitively priced insurer rather than the most comprehensive policy.
If you have existing critical illness cover then you can always look into how much a new contract would cost and what the differences in terms of the illnesses covered were so that you could then determine whether it was something you wanted to do or not as most advisers would provide you with free quotes. You could then also complete an application form to see what terms would be offered if you had to disclose medical conditions on the application form. This again would typically be done at no cost as the insurance broker once the policy started would then receive commission from the provider. If you however felt that you did not want to proceed any further and decline the offer and stay with your original plan then that would be your choice. The benefit of taking out a new critical illness cover is that you may then be covered for more illnesses which then if suffered from a critical illness would give you possibly a better chance of receiving a payout from your insurance provider.
Critical illness cover could protect you in a wide array of circumstances, purchasing insurance today will ensure that if you were to suffer a critical illness you will have the peace of mind that you will be financially safe and that that if anything arises you will be able to afford to pay for it.
