Imagine: Linda, a 40 year-old hotel manager and single parent, discovered she had cancer.

"It's malignant," her doctor said. "But with today's surgical advancements, I think I can remove just the growth in your breast, and nothing else." The surgery was a success, but now Linda wants to take time off from work, because her life has become focused around her weekly chemotherapy and radiation treatments, as well as looking after her children. Her recovery will take six months, with another three months during which she could only work part-time. It's typical of critical illness patients to recover their health and get their life back to normal in stages. Fortunately for Linda, her aunt provided an inheritance months earlier, and Linda and her children can live on that while Linda takes the time to recover without financial worries.

When you have cash benefits to fall back on in the event of a critical illness, you don't have to worry about finances, and you can take the time you need for a complete recovery.

Where would you turn if this happened to you?