Critical illness insurance can be a Godsend for anyone who would suffer financially if they were to be diagnosed with a critical illness such as cancer, a heart attack or stroke. If something such as this should happen, then the bills would soon mount up, bills including your mortgage, your medical bills if any, taking care of your family and the future - these all come into play.

Critical illness cover gives you a tax-free lump sum payment that can be used as you wish. Some people pay off their mortgage, others use it to pay for private medical treatment or put it in the bank to allow them to carry on paying their every day bills along with making any changes that might have to be made to their home to accommodate their illness.

The illnesses covered by this policy varies from company to company as well as how much you pay for your policy. There are many types of policy available and the level of cover will determine how much you pay for the insurance and also what is included in the cover. However the policy can be tailored to some extent, with some companies offering benefits for what you can afford to pay.

It is imperative that you fully understand critical insurance policies, as with any type of insurance there are many exclusions within them. Policies will only pay out for the conditions which are listed within them and these usually include heart attack, stroke, any major transplant of an organ, cancer, coronary heart by pass and multiple sclerosis.

However even with these being outlined within the policy it still doesn't mean that it is cut and dry, for example with some insurers you have to have proof that your heart problems are not such as angina, as this is excluded from some policies. So always make sure that you read the small print and what is and is not covered by the policy.

Usually there will be a waiting period before you can make a claim on a policy and a critical insurance policy can usually be taken out between the ages of 17 and 70.