Critical Illness
Help to ease the financial repercussions if diagnosed with a critical illness
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What is Critical Illness Cover?
Critical illness cover pays out a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a specified life-changing illness or condition. Being diagnosed with a critical illness can have serious impacts on your work and home life.
Almost certainly, a serious diagnosis will disrupt your ability to earn, and you and your loved ones may face additional costs to cope with a new situation. Critical illness cover (also known as critical illness insurance) is here to help lift that financial burden.
UK-based experts can help explain how it all works
Do I Need Critical Illness Cover?
Being diagnosed with a critical illness can impact you beyond just your emotional and physical health; it can also affect your finances. Realistically, you are likely to be unable to work for some time due to treatment and recovery.
Critical illness cover is here to bridge the gap between any savings you may have and your loss of income.
What’s Covered by a Critical Illness Policy?
Exactly what illnesses are covered can differ between insurers, which is why it’s important that you speak to one of our protection advisers before taking out a policy. You will need to be diagnosed with a certain severity for your policy to pay out.
Most policies cover, but aren’t limited to:
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Heart attacks
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Cancers
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Strokes
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Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
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Parkinson’s
It is important that you thoroughly read your policy documents to determine exactly which illnesses you are covered for and to what severity.
You can get these by contacting your insurer directly or by speaking to one of our advisers.
What Isn’t Covered by a Critical Illness Policy?
Your policy documents will clearly outline what conditions and illnesses are covered. If it’s not listed, then it’s not covered.
Each insurer is different, but the conditions that are typically not covered include:
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Pre-existing conditions
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Hereditary illnesses (e.g., muscular dystrophy, sickle cell disease, Huntington’s disease)
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Diagnosis of a terminal illness
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An illness arising within the first 14 days of taking out your policy
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Some types of cancers
If there is a certain illness you want to cover, speak to one of our advisers who can recommend a suitable insurer for your circumstances.
How Much Critical Illness Cover Do I Need?
At a basic level, having some critical illness cover is better than none if you’re concerned about developing a serious illness in the future and the financial consequences that could arise.
One rule of thumb for calculating the amount is to multiply your annual income by three. You might be forced to stop working due to a serious illness, so the amount of cover should allow you to stop working for up to three years, while continuing to pay all of your usual mortgage or rent payments and other bills as you recover.
How Much Does Critical Illness Cover Cost?
Critical illness insurance is more expensive than life insurance. This is simply because you’re more likely to claim on a critical illness insurance policy than on a life insurance policy.
Several factors can determine the cost of your insurance policy:
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Your age
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Your health status
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Amount of cover
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Your lifestyle
Use our quick life cover calculator to get started
Can I Get Critical Illness Cover with a Health Condition?
It can be challenging to get critical illness cover if you have a pre-existing condition, as insurers will consider you a higher risk of becoming critically ill.
You may, however, be able to get critical illness cover with an added exclusion. This means you will be able to claim and receive a payout for an illness unrelated to your pre-existing condition. Alternatively, you may be able to get cover but might have to pay a higher premium due to the increased risk.
Remember, each insurer is different, and with no one-size-fits-all policy, it’s not always impossible to find the cover you need! However, it is worth being aware of how pre-existing conditions can make taking out a policy a bit more complicated than usual.
Combining Life Insurance with Critical Illness Cover
Combining both life insurance and critical illness cover is always recommended. Not only do you double-up on your cover, but there’s also no "survival period," which is standard with most standalone critical illness policies.
At a basic level, both products provide a tax-free lump sum to protect you and your loved ones should the worst happen. The key difference is the stage at which a payout is made: a life insurance policy pays the benefit when you die, whereas a critical illness insurance policy pays the benefit when you fall ill with one of the critical conditions covered by the policy, such as cancer, heart attack, or stroke.
Some people choose to buy two separate policies—one for life insurance and one for critical illness insurance. This approach offers more flexibility. For instance, you might want a life insurance policy to cover your mortgage should you pass away but only need a small amount of critical illness insurance to supplement the family income for a few months if you fall ill.
Having two separate policies gives you and your family additional protection and peace of mind.
Children’s Critical Illness Cover
While most critical illness policies cover children automatically, some policies charge an additional fee for children, and some don’t cover them at all. It’s a matter of finding a policy that works for your individual situation.
Policies that cover children typically do so from either birth or 30 days old until 18 or 21 years of age. Coverage applies whether they are your children by birth, adoption, or marriage. When shopping for your policy, note that health conditions from birth, pre-existing conditions, and hereditary illnesses typically are not covered.
Just as for adult policyholders, you’ll receive a cash lump sum if your child is diagnosed with one of the covered illnesses. However, the payouts for children are usually smaller than for adults, as children generally don’t have the same financial responsibilities.
If you claim against your policy for your child, you can expect between 20% - 50% of the adult rate, with a maximum of £25,000, depending on the policy you choose.
You might think your children don’t need critical illness cover since they don’t have car payments or rent to cover, nor do they have dependents. But you do. If your child becomes critically ill, you or your partner may need to take substantial time off work or possibly even leave your job to care for them. They may require full-time care at home, frequent hospital visits, or even trips across the country or abroad to see specialists.
How Compare Life Can Support You
Protecting families is our business. Since 1998, Compare Life has helped over 1.8 million individuals in the UK find the best insurance solutions tailored to their needs, budgets, and future plans. As an independent intermediary, we provide top customer service and ongoing support whenever you need it.
A Little More About Compare Life
Insurance isn’t always easy to understand. There are many types of policies and providers, each with its own options. At Compare Life, we simplify the process, guiding you to the right critical illness coverage without the hassle.