A critical illness insurance policy should be taken out by anybody that is not seriously wealthy or employed by a company that has its own health plan. In addition, I would also say that it should be looked into by anyone who has a family. The reason is this: should you be so unfortunate to contract a critical illness, the last thing that you or your family wants is to be faced with the additional stress of hot having enough money to finance the recovery. A critical illness policy is the health equivalent of the old saying “a stitch in time saves nine.”