You’ve come to the right place for critical illness insurance in Pelham! Hometown Life Insurance is proud to serve the entire Niagara Region, including the Town of Pelham. By combining our industry leading digital capabilities, with a knowledgeable and hard-working team, we provide an unmatched customer service experience. Contact us today to get started, we are here and ready to assist you with all of your insurance needs!
For a young or growing family, a proper insurance plan will include some level of critical illness protection for you and your loved ones. If you are an income earner, you may want to protect your income for a period of time, anywhere from one to three years to ensure you aren’t forced back to work when you aren’t ready to return. If you aren’t the primary income earner, you likely still require coverage for any income you earn, as well as the value of providing care to any dependents. It is also very common for young families to add critical illness protection coverage on their children to ensure that they would have the financial flexibility to take the time off of work required to provide care to their children. Getting insurance is simple, taking the time to review your needs with our team will ensure that you and your family are properly protected.
Over the course of your life, your critical illness insurance needs can change quite significantly. As your income grows, you may require a larger amount of coverage to ensure you are able to maintain your lifestyle. It may also be increased by other life events like purchasing a home, getting married, having a baby, starting a business, among many other reasons. Initially, you may also choose a shorter coverage term to ensure your premiums remain more affordable, but as you age, you may want to convert to a longer term, or permanent coverage, to ensure you are protected into your retirement years as well.
A simple rule of thumb is that if you need life insurance, it is highly likely that you also require critical illness insurance. The financial burden if you were unable to work or care for your family can add significant stress at a time where you should be able to focus on recovery. CI coverage provides a cushion that can ease the financial difficulties at this already difficult time. Just like life insurance, your premiums are affected by your age (and even more so, your health), so purchasing while you are young and healthy will allow you to lock in at a lower rate, guaranteeing coverage, regardless of any changes to your health.
With critical illness insurance, you can select a coverage period that matches your needs. Each of the different policies have a term length where the premiums will be locked in. For example, if you choose a coverage option of Term to 75, your premiums will be locked in at the same level for that time. For any temporary coverages where the policy expires, there will also be options to convert to a permanent policy, without medical underwriting, where your premiums would once again be locked in for the duration of the coverage. It is important to review your insurance needs on a regular basis to ensure your coverage is still meeting your needs.
If you are diagnosed with a covered critical illness, contact us at Hometown Life Insurance and we will assist you in going through the process of submitting a claim. We are here to make the entire process as simple and stress free as possible, to ensure that you are able to focus on your recovery.
From getting a quote, to applying for a policy, and even any medical underwriting that may be required, there is no cost to you. The only cost that you will incur, is when you start to pay your premiums to activate and maintain your policy. All it takes is a little bit of your time to get started. Ensuring the safety of you and your loved ones are has never been so easy.
Yes, at any time, you can choose to cancel your critical illness insurance. Since the premiums you are paying only cover your insurance costs, and there is no cash value in the policy, it will simply lapse with no additional fees. If you have added a “Return of Premium” rider and held the policy for the required amount of time, you will also be entitled to a refund of all, or a portion of your premiums as well. It is always important to consider alternatives before cancelling your policy, especially if you may require coverage in the future. Your premiums that were locked in while you were young and healthy would no longer be available, and your insurance would be based on your new age and health conditions.
When applying for critical illness insurance, you will be asked questions to help the underwriters better understand your health, medical details, personal information, occupation and hobbies. After completing the application, it will be submitted for review by the insurance company’s underwriters. At that point, the underwriters will determine if they have any additional follow up requests, which they will share with us, or you directly. When they are satisfied with the details, they will be able to make a decision and approve the policy. Ensuring your application includes all applicable details will not only speed up the process, but also allow the underwriter to more accurately assess your risk to give you the best price for your coverage.
The additional features that can be added to a critical illness insurance policy are called “riders” and are used to customize your coverage based on your individual needs. Some of the most common riders include return of premium at expiry, return of premium at death, and disability waiver of premium. More information about riders for your critical illness insurance can be found in our FAQ’s section on our critical illness insurance pages.