ProperCharlie

I currently have critical illness cover for my wife, to redeem the mortgage. It is quite expensive and i had been considering cancelling. i emailed my IFA saying i wished to change to a joint policy covering death only, and he has responded saying i should keep the CI cover if at all possible. I *can* afford it but I didn't really consider it to be that important. I mean, if you are critically ill aren't you gonna die soon in any case? he also states that the cover is good value as providers have withdrawn from this market or increased rates due to something or other. what are the pros and cons here?

tia.



BTW: Cost of Maintaining CI cover for term of mortgage: £18,000 excluding any interest accrued if the money were to be invested

RussBoy

I took out critical illness cover about 5 years ago when I was a fit healthy 27 year old. I too pondered from time to time if it was worth it but never got around to cancelling it.

I then got diagnosed with diabetes two years later and now no bugger will give me critical illness cover at any cost, though legally the cover I took when fit and healthy stays in effect.

I'd therefore suggest that if you can afford to keep it then do so as there may come a time when you won't even be offered it anymore...


Russ

ProperCharlie

suppose that is worth considering, Russ. Plus she's not as young as she used to be

Tiggs

"I mean, if you are critically ill aren't you gonna die soon in any case?"

no...you wont.

there are a load of things that will knock you flat for a long time but wont kill you......you want to pay the mortgage while you get over cancer?

oak

i'm going to get some cover as a few friends lately have had to go to hospital and its makes you think, i've done a quick quote with scot prov on ETS site, £50000 over 25 years came back at
Monthly Premium is £59.33
is that any good, this is my first time looking in to this also.

Huxley Chick

I too am diabetic, so surprise surprise, I can't get CI cover.

As a compromise we opted for Mortgage Protection Cover which pays the mortgage, if you are ill, for up to 12 mths.

Although, just like any insurance policy, if they can find a way to get out of paying they will!

Tiggs

oak....do an independant search, they are unlikely to be the cheapest

T

simo

get quotes from other people, i have one that has been running for 5 years (since 30) for £100k at 25pm & one for the same value for £33pm, this one is only 1 yr old. Misses covered this year for 100k for 35pm (loaded as history of cancer in her family) mine fixed sum for 25yrs, hers is reviewed every 5 yrs

s

Rachael

Thankfully I didn't have a mortgage when I was diagnosed with cancer... now I'm over my critical illness (and thnakfully I didn't die soon after ), I'm wondering how easy it will be to get cover in the future...
Keep the cover, things like cancer etc can be so sudden. One week I was teaching a class of 5 year olds, the next I was being told how to cope with chemotherapy!

MattN

I cancelled mine as it is a waste of money.

I had 110k of cover and it cost £22 a month, that was for life cover too.

The main problem is with the fact you can only claim off one policy. My work has part of the cover with my pension so if I claimed off one I couldn't claim off the other.

Different for me though as I'm single so if I did become critically ill I sure as hell wouldn't be at home alone.

ProperCharlie

thanks for the comments - i've decided to keep the cover

it's £70 pcm for £210,000 cover - death and critical illness. shame the other half was a smoker at the time, otherwise it would have been less. but it seems that even if i cancelled and took out new cover, it would cost more now.

better to be safe than sorry, i suppose. particularly now we have a young 'n so have to thing of child care etc in the event of illness or untimely death.

druddle

I am also diabetic and cant get CI cover. Me and my wife have gone for seperate policies, so if she has to claim, my policy isnt affected and vice versa. She has CI and/or death, so that if the claims for CI, then the death part still carries on. I have death only. We both pay about 35 quid a month each for 200k cover.

Dave

fast bloke

I have arranged CIC for diabetics in the past - Anyone who took out CIC before last January (2003) should hold onto it if they can afford it. I took 600k of cover in November 2002 - It costs me £40.00 per month. The same cover now would cost me £170.00 per month. On average - 1 person in 12 who is diagnosed with a critical illness will die within 18 months. That means that 11 in 12 will get the benefit of the cover.
Eg - You have a 100k mortgage costing you £550.00 a month. You work your nuts off to pay it and have the nice things - Working too hard stresses you out and you get a heart problem - BINGO - mortgage is paid, you can't lose the house and you can probably get by on benefits for two years, or take a less stressful job as you wont lose the house. The instant removal of that stress means you have time to recover, so you don't go back to work or worry until you are fit and ready, you don't have the second heart attack and you get to live for another 30 years. This is costing you a few quid a month and you wonder if it is worth it?

If you don't believe me, get your paws on a report showing the type of people who recover from cancer or heart complaints against the type of people who die within 18 months. You will find that the dead people are in the majority working class who have dismissed insurance as a waste of money, and when the crunch comes, have no option but to continue in the lifestyle that gave them the problem

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

I can only enforce what fast bloke is saying mate. another good way to look at is this, do a calculation of your outgoings inclusive of mortgage, dont forget loans, credit cards, hire purchases, food, clothes, gas, electricity, water, telephone bill, council tax, petrol, car tax, car insurance, if you have kids allow a futher £100 per child per month, add it up. now look at what your partner does for work, are they full time part time or house person? presume they have an income? if they have worked for the same company for the last 3 years "an average" they will probably get 90 days full wages and maybe 90 days half wages then stat sick pay about £37 per week ish, so lets presume were at that stage you have just lost your half wage and your on £37 a week, can you afford to pay the previous outgoings?

sleep well.....

jamo

darlodge

Mine and my girlfriends CI cover is just over £21 per month. That provides cover for £130,000 (balance of mortgage). We are both non smokers, she is aged 21 I am 22.

However like Huxley Chick said, they are insurance companies, they will put up a fight before giving you any money.

I saw a program on TV (might have been watch dog) about insurance companies not paying out in cases of Breast Cancer. One women was due to get £50,000 and instead she received £35,000 as she failed to disclose 1 trip to the doctor about a year before the policy started for a cold A £15,000 cold.

Other policies failed to pay out as the cancer was not progressive. What? Cancer is fecking cancer, does not matter if its progressive. I think this case was bowl Cancer.

Darren

ProperCharlie

ok ok, you win - i'm keeping the cover.

tbh i thought i didn't get a particularly good rate at the time i took the cover, but i went ahead with it as i was in the middle of hundreds of things and didn't have time to shop around. as the rates for cover have gone up now in any case, i'll stay put.