Critical illness cover ‘provides alternative’ to life insurance
The man who came up with the idea for critical illness cover has pointed out that it gives people a viable alternative to life insurance.
South African surgeon Dr Marius Barnard, who created the first ever critical illness policy in 1983, pointed out that increased life expectancy, improved ability to diagnose illness early and the advent of better treatment have meant that critical illness cover accounts for more eventualities than life insurance.
He noted the difficulties facing individuals who want to take out adequate cover: "If you die at 30, life insurance was more important.
"But if you get a critical illness at 55 or 45 - when you are at the height of your earning ability - and you have an operation and survive another ten to 20 years, then critical illness insurance was more important."
He added that while life insurance is somewhat easier for individuals to understand, critical illness policies often require a financial advisor to explain their finer details.
"When the financial advisor sits down with the client about life insurance, he understands it. But with critical illness cover, this takes time," remarked Dr Barnard.
In its 2006 Statement of Best Practice for critical illness cover, the Association of British Insurers called for "plain English" to be used in product information.
The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with medical conditions
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