[1] The policy may also be structured to pay out regular income and the payout may also be on the policyholder undergoing a surgical procedure, for example, having a heart bypass operation.
The standardisation of the claims definitions may serve many purposes including increased clarity of cover for policyholders and greater comparability of policies from different life offices.
For example, in the UK the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has issued a Statement of Best Practice which includes a number of standard definitions for common critical illnesses.
[4] Examples of other conditions that might be covered include: Ref: Canada Life Critical Illness Insurance Policy Due to the fact that the incidence of a condition may decrease over time and both the diagnosis and treatment may improve over time, the financial need to cover some illnesses deemed critical a decade ago are no longer deemed necessary today.
These critical illness insurance products generally pay hospitals directly to avoid policyholder’s incurring out of pocket expenses and lengthy reimbursement processes.
In most instances of this alternative to the lump sump critical illness insurance, policyholders may decide where they will receive treatment among a pre-selected group of hospitals.
Some forms of critical illness insurance also offer policyholders the option to travel to highly specialised hospitals in other countries to receive treatment.
These policies usually include travel and accommodation expenses for the policyholder and a companion, as well as other concierge services such as translators or personal nurses.
Critical illness insurance continues to grow in popularity and has recently been accepted into other territories including the far east and the United States.
Unlike in the United Kingdom, Trauma Insurance conditions are not standardised and market competition is based on both premium and policy definitions.
Trauma Insurance policies in Australia when used to provide personal protection, are generally not tax deductible and any claim proceeds are not taxable.