Specified serious illness cover / SSIC / Critical illness… it goes by many names!

You have made sure that your family will be provided for financially if you die by putting a life assurance policy in place.  You have even taken the sensible step of organising a tax efficient income protection policy so you will continue to have an income coming into your household if you find yourself unable to earn your usual income due to an illness, disability or injury.  But consider the following scenario…

You suffer from a serious illness that not only leaves you unable to work, but also leaves you with life altering circumstances of being in a wheelchair or needing considerable additional care on an ongoing basis.  Do you have the funds available to alter the layout of your house?  Would it be useful to have a large chunk, or all, of your mortgage paid off?

Balanced approach.

We believe in taking a balanced approach to your protection cover.  Just enough cover to make sure that the show will stay on the road, financially speaking, but not so much that too large a portion of your income is spent on insurance premiums every month.  This makes us sometimes feel that taking out some specified serious illness cover is a bit of a luxury.  But there’s nothing wrong with luxuries, if you can afford it.  A specified serious illness policy will pay you a lump sum of money if you suffer from a serious or critical illness as defined in your policy conditions.  The policy conditions for an insurance policy are the fully detailed rules for that policy – well past the marketing highlights and down to the nitty gritty of what will be paid out under what circumstances.  This lump sum of money can be used by you in whatever way you need to use it – pay down your mortgage, install a wheelchair ramp out the front of the house or just hold it in an account to pay for ongoing expenses.