Home/Personal protection/Critical Illness Cover
Personal protectionPays out while you are still here to use it.
A lump sum on diagnosis of one of the conditions your policy lists. Not every illness is covered and not every severity qualifies, which is why the wording matters a great deal more than the monthly price.
What you are actually buying
Two policies at the same price can cover very different things. This is the part of the market where cheapest and best are least likely to be the same policy.
- What it pays
- A single lump sum
- When
- On diagnosis of a listed condition
- The key detail
- The policy's own definitions
- Common pairing
- Added alongside life cover
A defined list of conditions
Cancer, heart attack and stroke make up the large majority of claims. Beyond those, insurers list anywhere from a couple of dozen conditions to well over a hundred.
Severity and definitions
Most policies only pay in full once a condition reaches a stated severity. Some pay a smaller amount for earlier stage diagnoses. This is where policies genuinely differ.
Combined with life cover
Often bought as one policy that pays on death or critical illness, whichever happens first. Cheaper than two policies, but it pays only once and then ends.
How we arrange it
Decide what the money is for
Clearing the mortgage, adapting the house, or simply not working for a year while you recover. That changes the amount.
Compare the definitions, not the headline price
We look at how the conditions that actually get claimed on are worded, and at what happens with an early stage diagnosis.
Be straight in the application
Non-disclosure is the most common reason a claim gets declined. If you are unsure whether something counts, declare it.
Review it when life changes
A bigger mortgage, a new child or a change of job are all reasons to look at it again.
Critical Illness Cover, answered
- What conditions are covered? Every policy carries its own list. Cancer, heart attack and stroke are on all of them and account for most claims. The rest of the list, and how each is defined, varies by insurer.
- Is all cancer covered? No. Most policies pay in full for cancers of a specified severity and pay a smaller amount, or nothing, for some early stage or localised cancers. The definition is the thing to compare.
- Can I have it with life insurance? Yes, and it is common. Be clear whether you are buying a combined policy that pays once, or two separate policies that can each pay.
- Does it pay out more than once? Standard policies end after a full claim. Some insurers offer additional payments for specified conditions, or child cover that pays without ending the main policy.
- What about pre-existing conditions? They are usually excluded, or the policy is priced accordingly. Declare everything. An insurer that knows about it and prices for it will still pay other claims.
Cancer, heart attack and stroke account for the large majority of critical illness claims across the market.
Which is why we spend the time on how those three are defined in your policy rather than on the length of the list.
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Ask us about critical illness cover
Tell us where you are up to and an adviser will come back to you. The answers below just save us a phone call working it out.
- One of the five advisers on Eastfield Road, not a call centre.
- Usually the same working day.
- No obligation, and nothing to sign at the end of it.
Would rather talk now? Call 01733 602 033.
Worth an honest conversation.
We will show you where the policies genuinely differ and let you decide.