Children's Critical Illness Cover

Want to find the best children's critical illness insurance deal?

Behind cancer at 56% of all claims, children’s critical illness accounted for 12% of claims which placed it even above heart attacks at 9%*.

Why do I need children’s critical illness cover?

Life Insurance and critical illness cover is to cover yourself and your loved ones in the event of unforeseen circumstances such as the diagnosis of a serious or critical illness that would result in loss of an income stream to the family over a prolonged period of time. 

Although your children do not contribute to the household income it is important to consider the costs incurred if a dependant was to fall critically ill. You may have to take unpaid leave or possibly even leave your job to care for your child in these circumstances. Therefore it is important to have provisions in place should the worst happen.

What is children’s critical illness cover and how does it work?

Contrary to popular belief children’s critical illness cover is not a separate policy you take out under your child’s name. It is included as part of a critical illness policy for an adult and incorporates cover for any children they may have. This can include natural children, stepchildren or adopted children as well as any that may come along in the future. Depending on the insurer, children are usually covered from between the age of 30 days and 18 years, or 21 if in full time education.

A child is generally covered for most of if not all of the conditions that are covered under the policy for the primary person insured (which vary in terms of number as well as severity required to be classified under that condition).

How much cover is available for children?

The sum insured for a children’s critical illness is typically a percentage of the total level over cover but limited to a maximum amount, generally 50% of the sum insured up to a maximum of £20,000 to £25,000 depending on the insurer**.

A claim made for children’s cover is not deducted from the total cover but rather set in addition to the sum insured. For example if you have cover for £100,000, a claim for £25,000 for children’s critical illness cover could be paid. If you were to be diagnosed with a critical illness yourself further down the line you would still be able to claim the full £100,000 provided the premiums are paid and up to date.

There are of course, scenarios that are excluded from making claims for a child. Some typical examples include, conditions present at birth or symptoms/conditions that existed before a policy was taken out as well as congenital conditions. Total and permanent disability is often excluded for children’s claim even if the option has been included under the full policy.

It’s important to note that there is a range of insurers out their offering critical illness policies which all vary in terms of the conditions they cover and the terms and conditions of when a claim is eligible and how much that claim will be in monetary terms. Due to the fact there is such a wide scope of variation from insurer to insurer it would be impossible to explain every eventuality and detail here. For all the product specific details feel free to talk to any of the consultants at I’m Insured. They will be able to talk you through the differences from provider to provider and explain the details between the products and the providers available

To get a quote for critical illness cover online please click the ‘compare online’ button below or to request a call from one of our experienced consultants click ‘talk to us’ and fill out the short form on the next page.

*Ageas Protect claims statistics released April 2014

**The amount of cover can vary between providers. It is important you read the Key Features document to ensure you fully understand the cover available.