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Miguel Said:

Does DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) count as a Critical Illness?

We Answered:

Yes, it is considered so. It needs immediate medical attention & treatment, if not thrombi may detach and migrate to occlude the pulmonary vessels & this is defined medically as( pulmonary embolism).No one can tell when this may take place, also it may may a sudden process or a gradual one According to the size of the migrated emboli pulmonary embolism may be mild, moderate or massive.Acute massive pulmonary embolism is a highly risky life threatining condition.and is very difficult to control
I hope this help

Fernando Said:

Does ING "Critical Illness Coverage" (see details) include heart disease OTHER THAN heart attacks?

We Answered:

I don't know about ING's coverage, but typically all of the conditions you've mentioned are amongst the standard conditions covered.

Most good policies will cover ALL of the following:

Heart Attack, Cancer, Stroke, Coma, blindness, alzheimers, Coronary artery Bypass Surgery, deafness, kidney failure, loss of limbs, loss of speach, major organ transplant, ALS (Lou Gehrig's deisease), Multiple Sclorosis, paralisys, parkinsons, severe burns, occupational HIV.

Some will cover even more than that. For example Empire Life's policy also covers Aorta Surgery, and heart valve replacement surgery

As for what types are covered that depends on how the US does things. In Canada, we have standard definitions for all companies throughout Canada. If a company covers heart attacks, that coverage will be the exact same as the next company. Same case goes for Cancer, there are so many forms of cancer that some of the non-life threatening cancers (like early stages prostate cancer), will only result in a partial payout. These definitions are the same from company to company. Other examples of a partial payout would be Coronary angioplasty, HIV related to cancer, or Ductal Carinoma in Situ of the breast.

All compnaies must have a definition guide as to what is covered and what exactly that entails.

My suggestion would be to contact a lisensed insurance broker though. They will have access to multiple companies so they can get you the best coverage on the market.

Finally, I am always leary of banks offering insurance. If this was something offered to you as a mortgage insurance or something to specifically cover your debts (also known as creditor insurance), please do not get it. Go with a stand alone policy from an insurance company. There are several differences, the main one being they don't actually underwrite until the time of claim, which means you could pay into this thing for ever under the assumption that you are covered and still get denied the claim. Here are some links explaining the differences between what the banks offer and what an insurance company offers (these are specific to life insurance, but all forms of insurance in this manor go by the same guidelines whether in Canada, or the US as well)

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/in_denial/
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2007/02/cr…
http://www.asset-aid.com/bank_vs.shtml