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Over the past 25 years, higher levels of stress in our daily lives have contributed
to an increase of almost 55% in disability resulting from heart disease,
hypertension, stroke and diabetes. However, due to advances in medical
science, premature deaths have decreased significantly. What this means
is that more and more people who suffer from major illnesses (such as heart
attacks, strokes, and cancer) are able to survive the initial attack and
continue to live for quite some time. But, having survived, many
people are unable to return to work and find they have
to pay for specialized medical care.
Because traditional life
insurance cannot meet these needs, insurance companies are now offering
critical illness insurance to fill this gap.
Critical illness insurance pays
out a lump sum on the diagnosis of a "serious disease". These
conditions include: cancer, heart attack, stroke, alzheimer's disease,
heart bypass surgery and angioplasty
Some policies also pay out on loss of sight, hearing and
paralysis.
The cost of critical illness coverage
depends on your age, sex, lifestyle, whether you smoke, any pre-existing
medical conditions and the amount of money you wish to insure yourself
for when a critical illness is diagnosed.
You can take out critical illness
coverage separately or as part of a life insurance plan.
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