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Considering health plans at a young age isn't easy especially when you're healthy but that does not mean you will not require protection at some point; although you may never need critical health insurance, it is preferable to have it an not use it than the opposite! Providing financial peace of mind for your family by taking out protection for a mere few dollars each week, does not seem as important to most of us as having that luxury cup of coffee every day during lunch.Unfortunately, despite longer lives, we are not generally healthier and insurance providers now routinely offer cover in their policies as there is a reasonably high probability of contracting a serious condition. These studies make for somber reading when you consider around one in five men will contract one of these conditions before they reach retirement age. For women, this figure is slightly lower with only one in six being affected by before retirement.Insurance companies are of the opinion that because people do not believe it will happen to them or there is general ignorance about the subject that these could be the reasons why so few people arrange critical illness insurance for themselves. The main reason critical illness cover is to protect mortgage repayments and this is why insurance companies will normally offer it as part of a mortgage agreement.These days increasing numbers of people decide to use the Internet to arrange their insurance plans and more recently cover for critical illness or even just catering to your needs if you have become incapacitated as to require use of  wheelchairs  has also become available. However, this is an area which is still developing and even now, problems occur owing to the nature of the policy type trying to be arranged. This is because many insurance providers who offer this type of coverage wish to have the applicant take a medical examination by an independent physician to ensure there is nothing untoward right from the start. Insurers have become more understanding when a person who has one of their critical illness insurance policies contacts them when making a claim.One group of high risk people are those that smoke, in fact they usually ask each applicant if they have smoked within the previous year and if the answer is 'yes', they will be rated higher. Insurance companies place smoking at the top of their list but other areas of your life can affect how much you pay for your premium like your age, physical health, activities you may participate in and the type of work you do.Of course, no-one can underestimate just how much the financial assistance critical illness insurance can provide for a person who has a terminal illness. Family responsibilities are never easy but ensuring your family is looked after if you are diagnosed with a terminal condition does not have to cost the earth.