Re: Critical Illness cover - €38 per month - Am I mad to pay this?

Hi,

I am a first time buyer and I have agreed to critical illness cover of €38 per month. Am I mad to pay this? I felt railroaded into it to be honest. My broker kept going on about my age (not 21 anymore) and the fact that I was single. Dont know what to do now and I am in a panic about being able to afford that much per month. My mortage is going to be €1,220 as it is per month.

You don't have to have critical illness cover to keep your mortgage provider happy. They will only require basic mortgage protection insurance.Is the broker quoting €38 on top of the life premium or is that the total premium? You should also note that not all companies cover the same list of ilnesses (Eagle star/Zurich currently have the best range of cover) so you should check who they are quoting you. I wouldn't dismiss this cover out of hand, but you do have to look at affordability. Did the broker offer income protection? This could possibly offer a lower premium and arguably better cover.

You are not mad to get critical illness cover, as you never know. The important things to look at are, could you afford to cover your mortgage if you are ill, out of work and so on. A lot of brokers are on commissions for different forms of insurance, and rightly so, but always look at the small print. Are you covered on any other policy? Are you already covered in work with some other form of insurance and also what other insurances did you have to get with your mortgage?

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. The broker never mentioned anything about income protection and the €38 is on top of the life premium which will bring the total payment to €67 a month which is why I started to panic to be honest.

I know it does make sense to get illness cover as I dont have any other insurance in place if I did get sick but I have since heard that the insurance companies are not that great at paying out unless you have a specific illness. Stroke/heart disease is on the list of illnesses but they can decide that your not sick enough to pay out. Have heard of a man with a serious heart condition that could not work and the the insurance company would not pay him and said that he was not sick enough (paid critical illness cover for years).

Can you reduce your payments down the line I wounder. I am covered in work for up to 13 weeks if I am out sick and then after that I go on half pay.

Hi Delphi,

If I were you I would think about having Income Protection instead of critical illness. It would pay out after 13 weeks for any sickness or injury and would pay out until you are 65.
You can PM me if you'd like some quotes done.

I would be always someone who was not interested in these type of policies. Maybe I think I am invincible and it wont happen to me. However, a couple of incidences where friends of mine have gotten paid out on policies due to various circumstances have made me change my mind.

One of my friends had breast cancer and had she not had the income protection, would not have been able to pay her mortgage for the year or so she was off work.

Like the OP, I am single and am going to look at policies such as critical illnes or income protection in the near future.

Whatever about the for or against of it - You should shop around if you decide you do want it as the broker is probably leaning you toward a certain supplier rather than the best price. you can research this online. Also he would of asked you how much income you want covered and the premium reflects this. You could take out cover for less income in the event of claim and thus keep the premium down. Personaly I agree with above poster, in that for your circumstance I would be against it. You could always invest a monthly amount for yourself into a fund, in the medium term you will have built up a good sum to cover such an event that is your own money.

Ceatharlach said:

Whatever about the for or against of it - You should shop around if you decide you do want it as the broker is probably leaning you toward a certain supplier rather than the best price. you can research this online. Also he would of asked you how much income you want covered and the premium reflects this. You could take out cover for less income in the event of claim and thus keep the premium down. Personaly I agree with above poster, in that for your circumstance I would be against it. You could always invest a monthly amount for yourself into a fund, in the medium term you will have built up a good sum to cover such an event that is your own money.

Click to expand...

Best price isn't always best advice. But some companies( Irish Life and New Ireland ) may do a price match to the lowest monthly premium in the market. Probably very little in the difference but as they say every little
helps