- More than 15 million people in England have a chronic or long-term disease ranging from asthma to heart-failure3
- One in three people in Britain will have a cancer diagnosed at some time during their life1
- Of those women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, 62% survive five years or more4
- Less than 10% of all strokes are fatal5
- The possibility of surviving a critical illness before age 65 is almost twice as great as dying2
Early detection and improved treatments now mean illnesses that were once considered life-threatening can now often be managed by medical experts and patients so that even with a chronic condition you can still live a long and fulfilling life.
However, the lack of financial support can increase the stress of suffering a serious illness. This can be compounded by concerns over how to pay the mortgage, bills or even the treatment itself.
A type of cover is now available that covers more conditions than many others on the market and allows you to claim for less severe illnesses as well as life threatening ones. In fact, the policy covers up to 154 illnesses, conditions and procedures where most other critical illness policies only cover on average 27. In addition, it will pay out all or a proportion of your cover depending on how severe your illness is and is designed to start paying out at an earlier stage of illness. You may even be able to claim again if there is enough cover left in your policy.
Finally, the plan encourages you to lead a healthier lifestyle by providing you with potential discounts on gym memberships, health screens, cinema tickets and holidays (presumably to reduce stress!), giving you the potential to reduce your future premiums.
If you would like to find out more about this cover please contact Adrian Firth
Sources:
1. Imperial Cancer Research Fund
2. National Centre for Health Statistics
3. Gordon Brown’s speech on NHS 7th Jan
4. Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Five year survival figures for England and Wales, patients diagnosed in 1981
5. American Heart Association, Stroke Outcomes Classification, 1998
2. National Centre for Health Statistics
3. Gordon Brown’s speech on NHS 7th Jan
4. Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Five year survival figures for England and Wales, patients diagnosed in 1981
5. American Heart Association, Stroke Outcomes Classification, 1998
