Protect Your Family Against Critical Illness Crises - Include Them in Your Cover
Life is full of unexpected surprises. One member of the family may get critically ill and thus adversely affect the finances of the family. Yes, when a tragedy such as a critical illness strikes the family, its implications will be felt by every member of the family. That is why it is highly recommended to get coverage not just for yourself, but also for your spouse and children.
In the UK, you usually have the option to take on a joint policy with your spouse or you can take on a “family cover”. In most cases, the critical illness cover will automatically include your spouse and children (of a certain age).
The coverage for children will usually be limited to a certain percentage of the main insured’s face amount. Otherwise, it will be a specific amount specified on the policy.
Qualification for Spouse
If you own a joint critical illness policy, your legal spouse (and in some companies, common-law partner) can be included in the coverage. In the event of one spouse’s death, the surviving spouse can opt to continue the coverage by paying the portion of the premium that pertains to the surviving spouse.
However, if the critical policy is linked to a spouse’s life insurance policy, upon the death of the main insured, the other spouse’s coverage will also cease.
Qualification for Children
Usually, children from 1 to 18 years of age are automatically included (although there are some companies that begin the automatic coverage only when the child turns three years of age). Once they reach the age of 18, they will no longer be eligible for coverage under your policy. What they need to do will be to purchase their own critical illness policy.
For children that are automatically covered by your policy, this will cover not just your present natural children, but also future children, as well as step children and legally adopted children. However, foster children will not be included since they are considered only temporarily under your care.
Please note that there is a maximum limit for the number of children the policy will cover – usually the limit is set at three children.
Some Considerations
What you need to do is to read the fine print.
When getting this kind of policy, it is important to ensure whether only one family member will be paid. There are some policies that will cease coverage once it has paid for the critical illness claim of a family member. You should also check whether any claims with regards to a child’s critical illness will not be deducted from your cover.
Please also remember that every company’s coverage of children will differ so it is best to check your policy’s terms and conditions.
Recommended useful information to read:
- Are you at risk? Critical Illnesses you may be susceptible to
- Things to consider before getting a critical illness insurance policy
- What you should know about Your Critical Illness Cover: The exclusions to your policy
- Save Up on Premiums: factors that affect Your Critical Illness Insurance premiums
- Dos and Don’ts When Making Critical Illness Insurance Claims
