When first buying
critical illness insurance there are a number of additional options available that help to boost your original cover; one of which is the buyback opportunity. This buyback option. This buyback option will allow you to top up your original critical illness cover in the event that you ever have to make a claim. To be eligible to use this benefit you have to be under the age of 60, however if you do make a claim and posses this add on then the provider will have no choice but to accept your claim and reward your benefits.
With traditional life insurance providers, before you are able to use your buy back option you must first meet certain criteria. For example if you suffer from a heart attack, primarily your doctors or surgeons will have to be contacted in order to obtain your medical status. Before any buyback benefit can be received, there must be sufficient proof that a full year has passed with no reoccurrence of any symptoms of your original illness. This option to top up your policy also must be taken within 5 years of your original claim.
Also know as reinstatement cover by some insurance providers, this form of top up benefit can be a great advantage. Customers should also be aware that different insurance providers may call this product something else or offer it in a different way, applicants should therefore be aware of what they are being offered. Traditionally, this reinstatement benefit will cover a number of illnesses; however this will not be as comprehensive as your original policy and will often exclude the illness you have suffered from.
However, in recent years the insurance provider Prudential have updated this product and dramatically improved the service offered. Within PruProtects Serious Illness Cover, which covers three times more illnesses than traditional
critical illness cover, a Minimum protection account is available. This Minimum Protected account takes into consideration that, due to medical advances, the chances of suffering more than one critical illness and surviving has dramatically increased; the need for increased protection is therefore vital.
Unlike traditional buy back policies, PruProtects Minimum Protected account can pay out up to three times, and most importantly it can pay out more than once for the same illness. In addition to this, once a claim is rewarded, the Minimum Protected account requires no further medicals, under writing, and no change in premium; as well as this the critical illness you suffered from will not be excluded.
Although traditional critical illness polices do offer additional benefits, those offered under PruProtects serious illness cover are far more advanced and offer customers a more comprehensive plan.
