HOW MUCH DOES THE COVER COST?

SOMEONE buying £100,000 of combined critical illness and life cover will pay between £14 and nearly £80 a month in premiums, depending on their age, type of policy and the provider they opt for.

So a 30-year-old looking for cover until age 65 will pay between £29.63 (Zurich) and £45.18 in monthly premiums, fixed for the policy’s term. This assumes they are a non-smoker and have no pre-existing health issues. But a

45-year-old would pay a minimum £63.30 (again, Zurich).

Many people buy cover in tandem with purchasing a family home and taking out a repayment mortgage. In this instance, they usually opt for a policy that decreases the amount of cover over time, in line with the shrinking size of the outstanding home loan. A 30-year-old could get such cover from Zurich for £13.66 a month while a 45-year-old would pay £39.89 (Aviva).

All figures from financial protection insurance specialist Highclere Financial Services – highclerefinancial.co.uk.