To omit critical illness cover?

[Toastytoes1]

Hi,
Just looking for some thoughts really please. Our first baby is due in 2 weeks (😬) so we’ve just increased our life insurance; we had cover to clear our mortgage if my husband or I died but we’ve also now added a lump sum on top of that for both of us (i.e. two policies rather than a joint so if we both die at the same time our little one gets twice the pay out).
I’m looking at critical illness cover as well but its just so expensive. To get even just £50,000 which would not cover our mortgage, though of course would certainly help, we’re looking at an additional £50 a month.
I have a very good sickness policy luckily as I’m with the NHS; 6 months full pay, 6 months half pay and I earn more than my husband so if he had to take significant time off work due to illness, my salary could cover everything if it had to. We don’t have huge amounts of savings as we’ve been clearing debt which we have now done but only sitting on a few grand savings which won’t increase very much in the next few years due to my maternity leave and childcare etc.
I think it is something we would like to have in the future as I understand the benefits of it but right now, I don’t think we can afford it so would it be reasonable to put it off until we’re past the baby/childcare years before we revisit it or do you think its worth tightening our belts that bit more to have cover now?

Thank you

I have income protection and life insurance cover and also have good sick pay. I thought I didn’t need critical illness cover. I wish I’d had it - my daughter was diagnosed with cancer and we are incredibly lucky that her treatment protocol is short (6 months) as otherwise we’d be stuffed.
Bear in mind that critical illness cover will usually pay out if your child is critically ill rather than just you. A critical illness in your child can mean you need to take time away from work every bit as much as your own illness but sick pay can be more complicated.

Just another aspect to think about that I completely overlooked.

If you have a mortgage, you would be INSANE to not have illness cover.

What if you dont recover after 6 months/a year after being sick. It happens. 50£ sounds like a lot but you are insuring your salary. Shop around, you might get a better deal but I think anyone with a mortgage should have it.

Good luck.

This is the scenario where I thought income protection would cover me. But of course that’s no good if it’s your kid that’s sick

As it's so expensive we don't have as much cover as we'd like - we have a year's salary covered. My work don't pay sick pay after 3 days but my husband gets better sick pay and he's the higher earner.

I'm currently facing a cancer scare and working out how bad it has to be to pay out if I need time off work.

That's awful, I hope you are ok.

I bought my house when I was single and didn't bother with life insurance but did get critical illness. 7 years on I'm about to make a claim as I have stage 3 cancer. I get 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay for sickness but my partner has been made redundant and struggling to find suitable work. I'm currently working despite going through treatment, so the mortgage being paid off will be useful.

I had critical illness and it paid off the mortgage when I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It made it easier.

You can often get your life insurance paid early for a terminal diagnosis but not for other stuff that can be life changing.

It's a tricky one OP. In most cases you'll be fine without, but of course there's always the unlucky person who does need it. FWIW I do have it.

I have life and critical illness insurance but one thing I'm unsure of is should I have one with a fixed lump sum or one that reduces as the mortgage reduces?
Any thoughts? X

You are far more likely to suffer from a critical illness than die during the course of your mortgage.

I know two men who have both had the same condition (major but swiftly dealt with, operated, treatment, 5 years all-clear for both). One had critical illness cover and was able to take enough time off to recover properly and fully, went back to work after a year and is now mortgage-free thus easing his way back into work gently. The other had no cover, was only able to take a few months off, went back to work well before he was ready (physically and emotionally), was made redundant and is at his wits end trying to scrape by whilst still not 100%.

You owe it to yourselves to be able to support each other and your growing family by protecting your income should you be diagnosed with a critical illness.

YABU. £50 is a couple of takeaways and a few beers.

Level term assurance (payout stays same even though mortgage balance falls) tends to be more expensive than decreasing term assurance (which decreases generally in line with outstanding mortgage). I have one policy to cover mortgage (DTA) and additional life insurance with critical illness to provide a lump sum for the kids should anything happen. I also still pay my ex's life insurance just in case the worst should happen if only

I used to feel the same op as I also have an excellent full paid sick entitlement.

Then one of our friends got bowel cancer at the age of 30. He got the all clear after about ten months but was in no fit state to go back to work yet as he’d been left needing lots of physio for various reasons.

He then had a relapse 6 months later and died a few months after that, about 2 years after his first diagnosis. A big critical illness payout saved them from repossession during that 2 years and life insurance meant his dw and dd weren’t destitute when he died.

I’m maxed out on critical illness now and wouldn’t be without it. If the worst happens there’s no guarantee 6 or 12 months pay will be enough to see you through, even with eventual recovery.

You could look at income protection insurance which kicks in only after 6 months illness (or even 12 months if you can survive on half pay). This would have lower premiums that income protection kicking in immediately. I say income protection, because it's possible to lose your income through an illness which is not covered by your critical illness cover.

My critical illness cover paid out enough to pay off our mortgage when I had non- terminal cancer. I was a sahm at the time but it ensured I had enough to buy out my “lovely” (now ex!) husband when he left me the following year. I kept the family home for stability for my children and couldn’t have done that without that payout.

Yes, see if you can get a policy that doesn't kick in until 6-12 months after diagnosis, as should be significantly cheaper and on paper you don't need it before then. There's no point skinting yourself to overinsure.

Thank you everyone for sharing your stories! Given me lots to think about!
My thoughts are with all of you suffering at the moment 💐

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3819909-Do-you-have-Critical-illness-cover

I had (still have) CCI cover which I took out when single with first house. Be careful with what you buy as, after 20 years, mine started to to say I needed to pay higher premiums for the same cover or reduce the cover for same premiums. It was so long ago when I took the policy out - and I probably didn't pay too much attention to the issue then - that I've no idea if this was explained to me or this is a change of the terms. The premium hike was quite large and there was no guarantee that it wouldn't keep going up each year. So, be clear as to what you buy.

Critical illness cover is not so much to pay off all your mortgage at once.

It's more to cover all your bills if you have to be off work for a prolonged period,
so you don't lose the house etc

As pp said, make sure to get one that covers you if one of you has to be off for a long time if your DC has a prolonged serious illness / accident