With the continuous advance in the medical field, critical illnesses such as cancer, stroke, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, etc are being discovered prematurely. Therefore, the chance of pulling through the critical illness could be much higher. Recent statistics state that there has been a minor increase in critical illness among people. Consequently, this has resulted in much more people seeking a critical illness cover.

Going through a critical illness could be quite a harsh time. As financial breakdowns occur, money is needed for your treatment. Critical illness insurance could be the right answer for you at this tough moment in your life. Though advances in the medical industry now make it possible for more survival cases, disability may still occur. As a result, the use of a wheelchair may require different attention. Your lifestyle could be changed. You could even resume work after a long time of rehabilitation.

Here are some statistics about the growing need of a critical illness cover in the UK:

According to Munich Re (2002), 1 in every 3 men between the ages of 40 to 70 are likely to develop a critical illness. More precisely speaking, 32 in every 100 men may suffer from a critical illness. Out of these 32 men, 15 can develop cancer, 10 are likely to have a heart attack, 5 may suffer a stroke and 2 can undergo a coronary artery bypass surgery.

As for women, 1 in every 4 women between the ages of 40 to 70 may also develop a critical illness, which is 25 in 100 women. Out of these 25 women, 17 are likely to develop cancer, 3 can have a heart attack, 3 may perhaps suffer from a stroke, 1 may be capable to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery and 1 is likely develop multiple sclerosis.

Let's see some statistics about three of the most life threatening diseases in the UK: cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Cancer
According to Cancer Research 2002, 1 of every 3 people may be diagnosed by a critical illness such as cancer. On the other hand, 1 of every 4 people is likely to pass away due to this critical illness. Moreover, four types of critical illnesses dominate the painful world of critical illness. These are: lung, breast, colorectal and prostate. Furthermore, according to Munich Re 2002, a quarter of the population in the UK could probably suffer from this critical illness in the future. Also, more than half of the people who suffer from cancer such as breast, cervix, testis, etc. may survive for a minimum of 5 years.

Heart disease
According to the British Heart Foundation 2002, each year about 280,000 new cases of coronary heart disease in the UK are most likely to occur. As seen, the level of this critical illness is quite elevated. Also, less than half of those suffering from a heart disease may die within 28 days, which means that care may be probably given on time. Moreover, about 28,000 coronary artery bypass surgeries are carried out each year, perhaps a 5 times increase since 1980. It is therefore unfortunate to see that a critical illness such as coronary heart disease can be the most common cause of premature death in the UK.

Stroke
According to the stroke association 2002, about 100,000 people may suffer from stroke each year in the UK. Around 10 percent of victims of this critical illness may be of retirement age. Stroke can be considered as a severe critical illness as its impact could be big on someone's life. About 33.3 percent of people who suffer from this critical illness are likely to become disabled. The similar percentages of people may die within a year while the remaining can make a good recovery. Stroke is probably one of the largest causes of disability in the UK, with over 300,000 people being affected at any time.

As seen, these statistics show that we should be concerned about critical illness. Many people are left with no other choice than taking a critical illness cover. Although critical illness is a preventive measure, as it should, the cover can be useful by sometimes awarding you a payment at the right time, to save your life.