Steve May's story: Why Critical Illness Cover is Vital

When Lyndhurst Financial Management's Steve May suffered a heart attack he and his family realised just how important Critical Illness Cover really is

Critical illness cover supports you financially if you're diagnosed with one of the conditions included in the policy.

The tax-free, one-off payment helps pay for your treatment, mortgage, rent or changes to your home should you require it.   

Critical illness insurance will pay out if you get one of the specific medical conditions or injuries listed in your policy. It only pays out once, after which the policy ends. 

The conditions and illnesses covered can vary significantly between different insurers. The most comprehensive policies cover 50 different conditions or more, but others are much more limited. 

When Lyndhurst Financial Management's Steve May suffered a heart attack he and his family realised just how important Critical Illness Cover really is. 

Find out how Steve's critical illness policy supported him and his family after suffering from a heart attack. 

Hi, I'm Steve May:  

I'm 51 and a financial advisor working for Lyndhurst Financial Management who have offices in Hitchin and Harpenden   

I've been in the financial services industry since I left school at 18. I've been with my current firm Lyndhurst Financial Management coming up for 20 years now. 

We took out critical illness cover when we bought our first house: 

We took the protection out originally in 1999 when we bought our first house together. We were young and healthy so it was cheap at the time. It's been sitting in the background waiting for a day when you might have to claim for it.   

Don't cancel your cover: 

I've never thought about cancelling it and the premiums have always been affordable. The premiums are cheaper in your mid-20s than they would be taking your policy out 20 years later.  

My story:  

It was about 10 days before Christmas. I was driving home from work and I started to get pains in my chest.  

I got home. I said to my wife: "I'm not feeling so well." That's when the pain really started to come on. So we thought we'd better go to hospital to get this really checked out. We had a series of tests there. 

They said we needed to get some blood tests done. Which meant we had to go to a different hospital. They said: "You've had a heart attack." 

 Because it was 2am we had to go to a third hospital and have the operation to put a stent in. My wife was with me in the hospital until about midnight, but she had to go home to check up on our son. The operation only took about an hour or so and I texted her back to say: "Yes, I've had the operation to get a stent fitted and I'm going to be in hospital for two or three days." 

I guess it was scary at the point when they tell you you've had a heart attack. That's not really what you expected to hear. And with no previous ill health to speak of that was a bit of a shock. Then it was a case of 'let's get this fixed.' 

I was in hospital for only two nights. The morning after the op I thought 'yes, you've got a policy in place and it hasn't expired yet and all the doctors have confirmed you've had a heart attack.' 

Because I wasn't in any great pain it didn't feel like it was a very serious event. Because I hadn't collapsed or passed out – I walked from the car park to the hospital reception twice.  

Thankfully I recovered:  

I did a course of cardio therapy. I have to take a number of pills a day, certainly for the first year but physically I feel as good as I did before the 'event' happened. Probably better because I've moderated my diet on the advice of the health professionals. I play cricket and trundle in once again most Saturday's during the season.  

Digging out the paperwork:  

When I got back from hospital I dug out the policy documents and got on the phone to Legal & General and went through a 15 minute phone call – nothing too intrusive – and they said that I had met the criteria for a heart attack.  

A speedy payout:  

The process itself took about two months – but given a couple of weeks of that was over the Christmas holidays it was quite a speedy payout. The claims process was straightforward, there was always someone to email to get a response and to talk to. As an advisor it was good to have regular communication – and we're going to use a large chunk of the money to pay off the mortgage ten or 15 years quicker than we thought we would – which is a great financial weight off your mind. 

My story is why critical illness cover is vital: 

Now, I tell everyone – certainly the younger staff in the office – to get the protection now while it's available and affordable and you don't have any health issues and you'll be paying the premiums of a 25-year-old not a 45-year-old.  

You'll never know when you need it. Don't put anything off. Go ahead and do it.  

Steve May

For more information please contact Lyndhurst Financial Management:

Tel: 01462 441100