Overview
Critical illnesses are more common than you may think. They can strike at any time and could effect your ability to work. If the worst happened, have you considered how your family would manage financially?
For an extra cost you can add Critical Illness Cover to your Life Insurance policy and help protect your family's financial future. The policy, provided by Legal & General, could pay a cash sum should you die or be diagnosed with a specified critical illness during the length of the policy, or are diagnosed as being terminally ill (except in the last 12 months of the policy).
The money could help pay your mortgage, private medical treatment or simply be put towards maintaining your family's lifestyle during this difficult time.
Benefits of IrishSavings Critical Illness Cover
- Cover for 41 conditions - 17 more than the Association of British Insurers guidelines
- Your children are covered at no extra cost – if your child, or future child, is diagnosed with a specified critical illness and is eligible to claim, a cash sum is paid. This could allow you to take some time off work or modify your home (conditions apply)
- Accident hospitalisation benefit – if you're admitted to hospital with a physical injury following an accident, and stay for at least 28 days, the policy will pay out €5,000 (conditions apply)
- Terminal illness cover – your policy could pay a cash sum if you are diagnosed as being terminally ill, and expected to die within 12 months. This money could allow you take a special family holiday or help toward getting your finances in order. Excludes the last 12 months of your policy.
This is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made
Exclusive offers
If you're a Nectar card holder and take out a new Life Insurance with Critical Illness Cover policy by 26th December 2016 you'll receive:
- €65 IrishSavings gift card to treat yourself*
- Double Nectar points for 2 years at IrishSavings**
- Discounted premiums - please note premiums will not drop below the minimum premium of €5 a month
Gift card will be issued four months after your policy start date. Conditions apply – please see below.
It's your responsibility to make sure the policy meets your needs. If you require advice please contact a financial advisor.
Choices
When taking out a policy for Life Insurance with Critical illness Cover, there are various options you can choose to make sure the cover works the way you want.
Choice of premiums
You can choose guaranteed or reviewable premiums.
- Guaranteed premiums - stay the same unless you change your plan, so you'll always know how much you're paying
- Reviewable premiums - are reviewed every five years during the length of the policy. This is to establish if the premium you're paying is enough to provide the level of cover selected. Premiums may go up, down or stay the same.
Level of cover
You can select the amount of cover and how long you'd like the policy to last. If you're not sure how much cover you need, our online calculator could help you decide. In the future, you have the flexibility to increase your cover if your lifestyle changes, such as increasing your mortgage or the birth of a child.
Adjust the amount of Critical Illness Cover
Within the online application you have the option to adjust the amount of Critical Illness Cover you add to your Life Insurance policy.
- Get a quote for Life Insurance with Critical Illness Cover and the application will offer you the same amount of cover for both. If you choose this option you will be covered for the full amount.
- Get a quote for Life Insurance only and you have the option to add and adjust the amount of Critical Illness Cover. You can change it to meet your needs and budget.
Waiver of premium
Once you have a quote, you have the option of adding Waiver of Premium for an additional cost. This benefit waives your premiums if you’re unable to work due to incapacity caused by illness or injury. After 26 weeks, you'll no longer need to pay your monthly payments, giving you one less thing to worry about.
This is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made
It's your responsibility to make sure the policy meets your needs. If you require advice please contact a financial advisor.
What is a
critical illness
A critical illness is a state of severe ill health which is likely to affect your lifestyle. Critical Illness Cover is designed to pay a cash sum if you are diagnosed with a specified critical illness during the length of policy. Not all critical illnesses lead to death and the money could help during your recovery.
IrishSavings Critical Illness Cover covers 41 conditions, for details please read the specified critical illnesses list
Could it happen to me?
No one likes to think they could be diagnosed with a critical illness – but it can affect anyone at any age, at any time. Below is some information on a few of the most well known conditions.
Cancer
- Around 1,200 women under 50 die from breast cancer each year
- 47% of all cases of testicular cancer occur in men under 35
Heart attack
- There were around 92,000 heart attacks in England between April 2013 and April 2014
- Men are two to three times more likely to have a heart attack than women
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- MS is not a fatal condition, around 100,000 people currently live with the disease
- Most often diagnosed in people in their 20s and 30s
Stroke
- Every year around 150,000 people have a stroke, that's one every five minutes
- Stroke is the largest cause of adult disability
Statistics relate to people living in the UK, sources: Cancer Research UK 2016, Department of Health 2016, Multiple Sclerosis Trust 2016 and NHS Choices 2016. Please note not all forms of cancer are covered.
More people are surviving critical illnesses
Advances in medical science and improved hospital care means the number of people surviving critical illnesses has increased over recent years. However, this also means more people may need financial support to help them during their treatment, recovery and in some cases, to help them live with their illness (source: Legal & General 2016).
Critical Illness Cover could help by paying a cash sum if you are diagnosed with a specified critical illness during the length of the policy.
This is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made
It's your responsibility to make sure the policy meets your needs. If you require advice please contact a financial advisor.
Specified
critical illnesses
IrishSavings Critical Illness Cover, provided by Legal & General, could pay a cash sum should you die or be diagnosed with a specified critical illness during the length of the policy.
Below is the complete list of 41 critical illnesses that the plan covers.
These headings typically use medical terms to describe the illnesses, but in some cases the cover may be limited. For example some types of cancer are not included and to make a claim for some illnesses you need to have permanent symptoms.
| Condition | Description |
|---|---|
| Alzheimer's Disease | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Aorta Graft Surgery | Requiring surgical replacement |
| Aplastic Anaemia | With permanent bone marrow failure |
| Bacterial Meningitis | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Benign Brain Tumour | Resulting in either surgical removal or permanent symptoms |
| Blindness | Permanent and irreversible |
| Cancer | Excluding less advanced cases |
| Cardiac Arrest | With insertion of a defibrillator |
| Cardiomyopathy | Of specified severity |
| Coma | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Coronary Artery By-Pass Grafts | With surgery to divide the breastbone or anterolateral thoracotomy |
| Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Deafness | Permanent and irreversible |
| Dementia | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Encephalitis | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Heart Attack | Of specified severity |
| Heart Valve Replacement or Repair | With surgery |
| HIV infection | Caught from a blood transfusion, physical assault or accident at work |
| Kidney failure | Requiring dialysis |
| Liver failure | Of advanced stage |
| Loss of hand or foot | Permanent physical severance |
| Loss of Speech | Permanent and irreversible |
| Major Organ Transplant | |
| Motor Neurone Disease | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Multiple Sclerosis | With current symptoms |
| Multiple System Atrophy | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Open heart surgery | With median sternotomy |
| Paralysis of a limb | Total and irreversible |
| Parkinson's Disease | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Primary Pulmonary Hypertension | Of specified severity |
| Progressive Supranuclear Palsy | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Removal of an Eyeball | Due to injury or disease |
| Respiratory failure | Of advanced stage |
| Stroke | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Systemic Lupus Erythematosus | With severe complications |
| Third Degree Burns | Covering 20% of the surface area of the body or 20% of the face or head |
| Total and Permanent Disability† | Of specified severity |
| Traumatic head injury | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
Additional cover
| Ductal Carcinoma in situ of the breast | Treated by surgery. This means that if you meet the definition, we'll pay out 25% of your amount of cover up to a maximum of €25,000. This benefit does not affect your amount of cover or the premiums you pay. |
| Low grade prostate cancer | Requiring treatment. This means that if you meet the definition, we'll pay out 25% of your amount of cover up to a maximum of €25,000. This benefit does not affect your amount of cover or the premiums you pay. |
Terminal illness cover
| Terminal illness cover | The policy will pay out the full amount of cover if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness and you meet the definition, except in the last 12 months of the policy. |
It's your responsibility to make sure the policy meets your needs. If you require advice please contact a financial advisor.
Quality service
IrishSavings has worked in partnership with Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover provider Legal & General since 2004 and we're proud of the service they offer.
There for you
If you need to make a claim on your Critical Illness Cover policy you'll benefit from:
- UK based call centres – so your claim can be managed efficiently
- Single point of contact - a designated member of Legal & General's specialist team will manage your claim
- Compassion – claims staff have been trained by The Samaritans to offer exceptional levels of care and sympathy
- 24 hour help service – there for you when you need it
Improve your wellbeing
Once you've taken out a policy you can access Healthy Living, a clever online tool that allows you to monitor and improve your health over time.
This is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made
It's your responsibility to make sure the policy meets your needs. If you require advice please contact a financial advisor.
Important
info
Things you need to know
- Your cover will depend on your individual needs and circumstances and the premium you choose to pay
- This is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made
- If you stop paying premiums before the end of your plan, your cover will end 30 days after your missed payment
- The policy will not pay out in some circumstances, for example if you don't truthfully give us all the information we ask for
- Not all forms of cancer are covered
Life Insurance with Critical Illness Cover is provided by National Insurance Company, Registered Office: One Coleman Street, London, EC2R 5AA (registered in England, no. 166055). Legal & General do not provide advice or personal recommendations on this product. If you are unsure of the suitability of this product for your needs, please contact your financial adviser.
**Double Nectar Points 1. Offer only available to customers who take out a new IrishSavings Life Insurance policy (with or without Critical Illness Cover), excluding IrishSavings Over 50s Life Insurance Plan. 2. You must continue to pay policy premiums for 2 years to continue collecting double points. 3. If the policy is cancelled, double points will cease from the cancellation date. 4. Only the first Life Insurance policy registered against each Nectar account will qualify for double points. You may qualify for additional points by taking out other qualifying products. 5. Base points on qualifying spend in IrishSavings will be collected as normal. A bonus equal to the total of these points each calendar month (subject to a monthly maximum of 2,500 points) will be credited to the Nectar account by the 10th of the following month, for up to 24 months from the policy cover start date. Excludes all Bonus point offers and points from IrishSavings Energy, Telecoms, Digital, Bank and all other IrishSavings services. 6. The monthly bonus will only be calculated on, and credited to the Nectar card nominated at the time of application. The nominated card must also be used at the time of each IrishSavings purchase and points will not be allocated retrospectively. 7. The Nectar loyalty programme is operated independently of IrishSavings by Aimia Coalition Loyalty UK Ltd; and the collection and use of points is governed by the Nectar Collector Rules, set out in the registration pack 8. IrishSavings reserves the right to alter, cancel or withdraw the offer without prior notice.