We never think a critical illness is going to happen to us, especially when we feel healthy, but it can and does. What if it did happen to you? Imagine if you were critically ill and unable to work for a long time... ...could you manage financially?
Skipton offer a 5 star critical illness product provided by Legal & General, which is a level term insurance policy with critical illness cover included. This means that the policy could provide a cash sum to help you and your family financially if you were to die, or be diagnosed with a terminal illness or one of the specified critical illnesses we cover during its term.
Why do you need critical illness cover?
- Critical illnesses are more common than people tend to believe and can affect anyone at any time. A number of critical illnesses are being diagnosed at a younger age. In fact in 2009 the average age of Legal & General's critical illness claimants was just 44 years old.
- Approximately 89,000 people under the age of 65 will have a heart attack in the UK this year. Up to half of these people won't return to work.1
- In 2009 Legal & General paid 2,149 claims. The average pay out was £70,331 and the largest was £750,000.
- The most common cause of cancer for men aged between 20-39 is testicular.2
- Around 125 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every day in the UK.3
What are the key features of Legal & General's critical illness cover?
- They provide cover for 39 critical illnesses.
- Critical illness cover for your children is included at no extra charge although some conditions apply.
- They will pay out an additional payment in the event of a mastectomy for ductal carcinoma in situ claim. The original sum assured and premiums are not affected although some conditions apply.
- Legal & General won't pay out a claim in the event you are diagnosed with an illness that is not covered, and due to medical advances not all forms of cancer are covered.
- Legal & General's critical illness policies are available to UK residents who are between the ages of 18 and 63 at the start of the policy. You can set up the policy to last between 1 and 40 years, although it must end before your 65th birthday.
- For further details about this cover please see the Key Features Document.
Things you need to know
- It's essential that you give Legal & General all the information they ask for during the application and that it's accurate. If you fail to mention something like a medical condition, for example, they may not pay out in the event of a claim.
- Life insurance and critical illness plans are not investment products. They have no cash in value at any time. Also, if you stop paying the premiums before the end of your policy, your cover will end after 30 days and you will not get anything back.
- After you apply, you must tell Legal & General if any of the following change between completing your application and when your plan starts:
- family history
- medical disclosures
- occupation
- travel or residence (except holidays)
- pastimes
- alcohol consumption
- start smoking
- use of recreational drugs
If you don't tell Legal & General about changes to any of the above, it could mean your policy won't pay out and they may need to cancel your policy.
Premiums
- The main factors that affect the amount you pay for cover are your age, sex, occupation, smoker status, health, family medical history, the level of cover you need and type of contract that you choose. Normally, the older you are, the higher the premium. Your individual height, weight, medical history and lifestyle are all assessed.
- You can choose between guaranteed or reviewable premiums. If you choose reviewable premiums, these are reviewed every five years and could increase or decrease.
- If you want to increase the level of cover at any time, you may be able to do so without further medical questions by using your guaranteed insurability option. There are certain terms and conditions for increasing your cover, which are outlined in the Key Features Document. Please read it carefully.
- Legal & General's critical illness policies include terminal illness cover at no extra cost, which means that your policy could pay out if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. Full details of Legal & General's terminal illness cover are included in the Key Features Document.
If you take out critical insurance cover with Legal & General, you have the option to pay your premiums monthly or annually. If you decide to pay annually you will receive a discount, giving you cheaper cover.
Why is Skipton working with Legal & General?
In times of financial uncertainty, it's important to know that you're taking out life cover with a company that will still be around in years to come.
You can be confident that Skipton has made every effort to ensure we work with a provider you can trust.
Legal & General provide high quality life insurance, mortgage life insurance and critical illness cover at competitive prices and consistently receive awards that acknowledge this.
In 2010 Legal & General received the Financial Advisor Life & Pensions Awards for Term Assurance and Critical Illness Provider of the year, as well as being named Best Life Protection Provider at the Money Marketing Awards, for the 6th year in a row.
On top of winning awards, 1 in 5 of the individual term and critical illness policies taken out in the UK in 2009 were sold by Legal & General.
Apply online today for Legal & General's critical illness product and you could be covered immediately.
- Source: British Heart Foundation 2005
- Source: Cancer Research UK August 2010
- Source: Cancer Research UK March 2010
- Source: Swiss Re Term & Health Watch Report 2010