It is a sad fact that many of us will know someone who has suffered from a critical illness. Despite medical advances, critical illness is still all too common. Critical illness conditions include such things as cancer, heart attacks, strokes, multiple sclerosis, leukaemia, and total permanent disability.Being diagnosed with a critical illness doesn’t only spell emotional and physical turmoil. It can also mean financial disaster.

And all this at a time when you may be having to find additional money to pay for medical treatment or the costs of ongoing medical care. With little support available from the State - less than 60 per week if qualify for Disability Living Allowance and just over 70 per week if you qualify for long-term Incapacity Benefit - you could soon find yourself in serious financial trouble. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help protect yourself from the financial implications of suffering from a critical illness.

Critical illness insurance provides you with a substantial tax-free cash lump sum if you are diagnosed with a serious illness. Different policies cover different ranges of medical conditions, but the one thing they all have in common is that they will pay you your chosen level of benefit as a tax-free lump sum in the event of your being diagnosed with one of the insured conditions. Providing critical illness cover for a sizeable sum is cheaper than you might imagine, and can make a huge difference to your quality of life in the event of a serious illness.

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