Critical Illness Insurance

When you take out death or earlier critical illness benefit or critical illness benefit  in your plan, you may be able to select a buyback option. This option allows you to take out additional critical illness cover when you make a critical illness or total permanent disability claim and insurers accept the claim. You must be under a certain age when you make the claim to use this option.

If your claim was for cancer, you may be able to set up the buyback benefit 12 months after you have been discharged from successful treatment with no subsequent recurrence of any cancer. This option must be taken up within a fixed period of your claim.

If the claim was for any cause other than cancer, you can set up the buyback benefit 12 months after insurers accept your claim. This option must be taken up within two years of your claim.

The buyback benefit will be for the life assured in respect of whom the claim was made and will cover cancer, heart attack and stroke. The normal 14-day survival period will apply to these conditions. If your original benefit included death benefit, this will also be included under the buyback benefit. Any special terms and/or exclusions under your original benefit will also apply to the buyback benefit.

The buyback benefit will be a level benefit amounting to a percentage of the claim payment made under your original benefit. However, this benefit cannot be more than a fixed amount or the equivalent amount of an income benefit (e.g. for a 10 year term the maximum income will be £10,000 per year in other words £100,000 divided by 10). Once this limit has been reached, whether through the exercise of this option or the same or similar options under other plans you have with us, the option will no longer be available.

The maximum critical illness cover that you can select with buyback option depends on the insurer . You should restrict any benefit amount with buyback option to this level on your Application Form. If you require more than a certain amount of critical illness cover (or equivalent income amount) you should complete the extra benefit requirements section of the Application Form.

The buyback benefit will be for a fixed term of between five and 10 years. The term of your benefit will be determined by the term to run under your original benefit at the date of claim. Once the buyback benefit is in force, you will be able to make a claim provided the event covered happened during the cover period of the buyback benefit.

Your premium will increase to pay for the option. Once you have exercised the option, the buyback benefit will be set up and a small yearly premium  will be payable.

Where you have premium payment benefit (sickness, accident or disability) and/or premium payment benefit (unemployment) (Mortgage plans only) under your plan, these benefits will not be extended to cover the extra premium due when the buyback benefit is set up.

If you choose critical illness benefit on its own with buyback option, insurers will not pay a death benefit. However, if you die after we have accepted your claim for critical illness but before the expiry of the buyback option or the term of the buyback benefit, they may pay pay a small  benefit.

Children’s critical illness benefit will continue to be covered until the expiry of the buyback option or to the end of the term of the buyback benefit if you exercise the option. During this time if you die, this benefit will automatically cease on the date of death. The existing Policy Benefit Schedule and Policy Provisions for this benefit will continue to apply and any claims already paid will be taken into account when assessing any new claims for children’s critical illness benefit.

If you do not add this option when you take out your plan, it may be added at a later date. 

If you think your critical illness insurance policy should have this option, or you want to discuss your needs for critical insurance more fully, please use the quotation link below.

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