Seeing a child unwell can often change how we feel, especially if you are a parent. Even when it’s a common childhood illness, such as a cold or a fever, seeing the little person who normally fills your home with noise and energy become exhausted and uncomfortable is hard to watch.
Over the last few days, my three-year-old daughter has had chickenpox and while we are lucky that both of our children are generally very healthy, seeing my energetic, fiery, and constantly dancing little girl lying in bed all weekend, broke my heart.
As parents, we hate seeing our children poorly, and many of us are fortunate that our kids bounce back from the majority of illnesses fairly quickly. Sadly however, this is not always the case.
According to Cancer Research UK, around 2,000 new cancer cases in children are diagnosed every year, the equivalent of more than five every day. Alongside this, other serious childhood illnesses, such as heart conditions and neurological illnesses like meningitis, continue to affect thousands of families across the country.
EMOTIONAL IMPACT
For those parents, the emotional impact is unimaginable, but there is also a financial reality that many families still underestimate, which is why discussing Children’s Critical Illness Cover (CIC) with clients is so important.
For advisers working primarily in the mortgage market, protection conversations can sometimes feel secondary to the main event, especially when a client’s main objective is to secure a mortgage to buy the house of their dreams.
In some cases, a client may have heard about income protection, CIC or life cover, which can make explaining the value of protection somewhat easier. Yet many parents are still completely unaware that children’s CIC exists.
Many are also unaware that it can often be added to a CI policy for a relatively small additional premium each month – often less than the cost of a cup of takeaway coffee – and provide them with access to substantial financial support should the unthinkable happen.
LUMP SUM PAYOUT
Depending on the type of policy in place, parents could receive a lump sum payout of £25,000 or more if their child is diagnosed with a serious illness. While this money is no consolation for their child’s health, it does give them options when they need it most.
Whether this means taking time off work to care for their child or staying with their child in hospital for treatment, Children’s CIC can help to reduce financial pressure and enable parents to be fully present at an emotionally challenging time.
Serious childhood illnesses often involved long treatment pathways, multiple operations and consultation visits and ongoing rehabilitation. In some cases, severe injuries can result in permanent disability, loss of speech, paralysis or lifelong care requirements.
“Sadly, life and work commitments do not stop when a child becomes critically ill.”
Sadly, life and work commitments do not stop when a child becomes critically ill. Mortgage payments still need to be made and household bills still need to be paid and balancing the emotional trauma with the financial strain can be overwhelming.
This is where good advice becomes genuinely valuable. Asking questions about what would happen financially if one parent needed several months away from work or how the family would cope with regular travel to a specialist hospital can make all the difference in bringing children’s CIC to the forefront of consumers’ minds.
“This is one of the most important, and most overlooked, areas of protection advice.”
There is no denying that these are difficult conversations to have, but they are also meaningful ones and I honestly believe this is one of the most important, and most overlooked, areas of protection advice.
Most families are unlikely to have enough money in savings to cover the cost of a caring for a critically ill child, and if they do, those savings could rapidly diminish if long-term care and treatment is needed.
Framing children’s CIC as part of the overall advice and protection planning process can help customers understand how they can retain financial stability during challenging times.
Many may never need to make a claim but for those that do the impact can be enormous and give them the time to focus on their child’s recovery rather than financial survival.
