Covering the cost of health problems

I am working hard to stay fit and healthy and as I have never been seriously ill, I have never really considered what might happen if I was. However, with my Mum and her heart problems and my extra responsibility, having children, I do wonder what might happen if either me or my husband was ill and could not work. I think I could carry on working through most illnesses, I didn't stop when I was in hospital having my twins, for example. My husband would be a much more serious matter. He is the main bread winner and my earnings would not even cover our food bill. We have talked about getting some sickness and redundancy insurance but it does seem like a lot of money to gamble each month. I have decided that because I am encouraging him to fitter and healthier then at the moment it is unlikely that he will be unwell and we should be fine. He also had good sickness pay with his company which would really help if it was necessary. He has a good family history with regards to illness as well which is really good. He is very lucky to be in a really secure job where redundancy is almost impossible so hopefully everything will be fine.