Beef up Your Coverage: Increase and Extend Your Critical Illness Insurance When You Can Afford It
When we are young and healthy, the thought of getting sick (much less being diagnosed with a critical illness) is so far away, even unthinkable. But as we age, we slowly come into terms with the possibility that we may be at risk of being diagnosed with a serious illness. And when this idea sets in, you may think about extending or increasing your existing critical illness insurance.
Also, there are milestones in our lives when we are more able to afford additional cover or that we feel an even greater need for additional cover. For instance, you were promoted and can now afford to pay additional premiums. Or, if you have gotten married or have children, then you can also think not just about increasing coverage, but also about providing coverage for your spouse and children.
Yes, getting additional critical illness cover may be a more attractive prospect later on.
Thus, you want to be able to keep your options open – you can do this by getting a policy that provides a renewable option. With a renewable option, you may be able to increase your coverage.
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Increasing Your Coverage Through the Indexation Option
This option allows for regular increases in the cover based on the increases in the Retail Prices Index (RPI), up to a certain maximum percentage of increase. This increase is applied every policy anniversary. The advantage of this is that there is no need for you to provide additional medication evidence (in terms of lab tests, physical exams, etc.) for the increase to be applicable.
Increasing Your Coverage Through the Guaranteed Insurability Options
Life changes that result in an increasing need for cover is addressed through the Guaranteed Insurability Options. These options are usually available if the policy has been issued with standard ratings and no exclusions have been applied to the policy due to medical reasons.
Beefing Up Your Cover Through Riders
Other riders that can help make your cover more comprehensive include:
- Children’s Critical Illness Cover
- Waiver of Premiums
- Total Permanent Disability or Total Disability
- Replacement option
Know more by reading our article about the additional benefits.
The life changes include:
- Parenthood. This covers natural birth, legal adoption or the adoption of a child via marriage (stepchildren)
- Marriage or civil union
- Major home improvements resulting in the Insured taking out a new mortgage or increasing their existing mortgage
- Change in employment or promotion that results in a salary increase
- Increase in value, for key persons and partners (in a company)
These options (as the name suggests) are not compulsorily applied. You may opt to apply for the increase in cover (with the accompanying premium increase.
Implications of Increasing Your Cover Midway
- Limits on the increase. Please note that you cannot just arbitrarily increase your coverage. There are conditions to the additional coverage, as well as maximum limits. The insurance company will also evaluate your application.
- Waiting periods. The additional coverage may also be subject to a new waiting period. If you are diagnosed with a critical illness during the waiting period, the insurance company will only pay based on the previous face amount.
Extending Your Cover Through the Reinstatement Option
There are some providers that allow you to extend your cover even after a claim has been made. Once a claim on the main benefit has been made, the cover stops. With the Reinstatement Option, however, you can still provide some cover for a shorter list of critical illnesses.
Other Considerations
Now, if you got a policy that is non-renewable, you don’t have the ability to increase your cover with your existing policy. Nowadays, insurance companies are offering more of the non-renewable policies instead of the policies with renewable options.
One way you can explore is getting a new critical illness policy altogether. Of course, if you get a new policy at a later date, you may have to pay higher premiums. There is also the possibility that your application will be denied, particularly if you already have a medical condition that can result in getting critically ill.
To protect yourself and your family, save up to 35%, please fill the critical illness cover + life insurance form on the right now.
Recommended useful information to read:
- Dos and Don’ts when making critical illness insurance claims
- What you should know about your critical illness cover: the exclusions to your policy
- Things to consider before getting a critical illness insurance policy
- Are you at risk? Critical illnesses you may be susceptible to
- Save up on premiums: factors that affect your critical illness insurance premiums