There seems to be a surge in queries regarding critical illness plan in this period.
Different insurers have different cut off dates for application. You may still buy a plan from an insurer with a different cut off date.
AVIVA and Tokio Marine are as of this moment the last to allow applications for the old definition.
Cut off dates for critical illness plans for ALL insurers!
Cut off dates are for the application.
Your plan application can be approved after the "cut off" date (subject to each insurer's completion date). If you have health conditions, insurers may call for questionnaires and reports to be filled or medical underwriting which needs weeks to complete.
Tip: Do work with a qualified adviser in your application process.
If you have no health conditions, your application can be as fast as within the day as standard health.
Looking for early critical illness coverage on a term? Read article below on these two plans which I've frequently suggested to cover for gaps in early critical illness and critical illness.
Quick recap on changes and why
With definitions changing, many are concerned whether future CI plans are an inferior coverage.
My stance is that it is NOT inferior (though many other qualified practitioners feel differently). A condition that couldn't be claimed with the new CI condition is unlikely to be claimable under the old CI assessment. But this is merely my assessment and the insurer's claims department is the ultimate decision maker.
Below is a quick snapshot of the definition changes to critical illnesses.
Standalone term plan or whole life plan for critical illness coverage
There are many term CI standalone plans like the AVIVA MymultipayCI and Tokio Marine Multicare CI mentioned above. For these two plans, the max age coverage age is to age85.
Standalone term plans are cheaper in premium because there is no surrender value in the plan and premiums are for the entire term duration.
There are also wholelife plans that cover for CI. My suggestion is to use whole life plans for permanent insurance planning. Ideally, buy a small amount to cover extreme old age and NOT too much (because it can be costly).
In addition, choose a limited wholelife with the highest "multiplier effect". It gives you more coverage with the same premium (at the expense of surrender value).
Unsure the terminology, check tutorial below on how to save premiums on insurance!