Serious Illness Insurance

Serious illness, trauma and critical illness insurance: What’s the difference?

When looking into cover for serious health conditions, you may come across products such as trauma insurance, critical illness insurance and serious illness insurance. These names are often used to describe similar types of cover, but insurers may define and name their products differently.

At Real Insurance, we offer optional Serious Illness Insurance, which can be added to an eligible Real Life Insurance policy. If you're diagnosed with one of the covered serious illnesses as outlined in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), you’ll receive a lump sum cash payment.

If you're comparing cover, it's important to check each insurer's PDS to understand the covered conditions, exclusions, eligibility criteria, and benefit amounts, as these may vary between products. 

Why should I consider optional Serious Illness Insurance?

If you are the family breadwinner, the financial impact of a serious illness is clear, and the payment may cover some of your lost income during this time. If you are your family’s main caregiver, all the things you used to do may need to be done by someone else while you recover.

The benefit amount can be used any way you wish, such as for everyday expenses, your mortgage, medical bills, for childcare or school fees.

What conditions are covered?

With optional Serious Illness Insurance, you’ll receive a lump sum cash benefit if you’re diagnosed and suffer one of the following serious illnesses:

• Cancer – excluding specified early-stage cancers
• Heart attack – with evidence of severe permanent heart muscle damage
• Heart bypass surgery (coronary artery bypass graft surgery)
• Stroke – in the brain resulting in specified permanent impairment while covered under the policy

These medical conditions including certain exclusions are defined in the PDS.

Some things you should know

• Each serious illness event is defined within the policy and each claim will be assessed against these definitions.
• Exclusions apply to this cover. Importantly no claim will be paid for any condition that first becomes apparent before the commencement of the cover or within the first three months of cover. For more details about exclusions please refer to the PDS.
• This cover expires on the policy anniversary following the insured’s 65th birthday.
• If you claim on this cover, it will reduce the amount of your life insurance benefit by the same amount as the claim.

For more information about optional Serious Illness Insurance, download the PDS.