Consumers needing critical illness insurance cover should consider the benefits and drawbacks of choosing an 'advised' policy over an off-the-shelf version, according to a life insurance and protection specialist.

Critical illness cover is insurance designed to provide a policy holder with a guaranteed cash sum if they are diagnosed as suffering from a specified critical illness.

Over 12 million adults and children are covered by around five million critical illness policies which have paid out over £1.6 billion since 2000, according to the association of British Insurers (ABI).

The policies can be bought through an advisor who offers a product to suit your needs or they can be purchased as a non-advised, off-the-shelf version but insurance specialists Lifesearch says there is only a limited choice with non-advised policies. .

"We would always recommend people go for advised over non-advised sales," said Linda Tyson, policy advisor from Lifesearch.

"One of the problems with non-advised is the products they sell. These will be the most basic types. They don't include the most suitable aspects such as income protection. An advisor can cover all the products right across the market."