This section was written to educate you on the reality that critical illness cover can help protect you financially. Most clients that I see have the attitude that it will never happen to me, that is unless they know someone personally who has had a critical illness. Then they can see at first hand the devastating affect a critical illness can have on a family financially. Others who appreciate the importance of this cover have known people who have claimed on a policy of this kind and the help that it has given them at such a difficult time.

The below critical illness causes have been shown to reinforce the need. These are not designed to scare you into taking critical illness, they are shown so you can make an informed choice.

- More than 45,500 are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year. One in nine women will develop breast cancer at some time during their life. #
- In the UK around 227,000 people suffer a heart attack each year. ##
- Each year an estimated 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke. A stroke is a leading cause of severe adult disability. ###

The pie chart below breaks down the critical illness causes into the most common claim types.

The above pie chart shows a breakdown of the causes of critical illness claims received by Eagon Scottish Equitable during 2008.