Critical Illness Cover pays out a tax-free lump sum if you become critically ill with one of the serious illnesses the policy covers. You must meet the severity of the illness the insurer details in its terms and conditions to make a claim.
There are multiple insurers to choose from, each with their own coverage for various conditions and slightly different policy terms. It can therefore be tricky to find the best Critical Illness Insurance. You need to know exactly what you’re looking for and what’s best for your needs.
If at any point you want an idea of Critical Illness Insurance premiums, use our online comparison tool to get quotes from every top UK insurer →
The most common conditions Critical Illness Insurance providers pay out for are:
However, your policy will likely cover many critical conditions. These often include:
Most of the best Critical Illness Insurance providers cover around 40 conditions.
However, there are insurers which cover just 10 illnesses and those which cover more than 100. It therefore pays to do your research or get an expert adviser on the case.
If you need help please don’t hesitate to pop us a call on 02084327333 or email help@drewberry.co.uk.
To get started, it’s important to understand just what Critical Illness Insurance providers offer.
Finding the best Critical Illness Cover isn’t easy. There’s lots to think about when you compare providers, from the number of conditions each insurer covers to the definitions of those conditions.
You’ll also want to check out any additional benefits, and potentially compare each provider’s child cover if you have a family or plan to start one in the future.
To get the best cover, you’ll need to compare a few key factors relating to insurers and their policies. For example, you’ll want to look at:
Firstly, look at the insurer providing the cover. Take a look at its reviews, both from clients and from expert advisers.
How is the claims experience? Does it offer a high enough benefit and have the kind of features you’re after?
Firstly, Critical Illness Insurance is there to pay out if you develop one of the conditions the policy covers. It’s that simple.
However, it’s more complicated when you start looking at each insurer’s small print.
All the best Critical Illness Insurance providers offer cover for the ‘big three’ illnesses (cancer, heart attacks and strokes). They also cover a number of other major conditions in common. However, there are key differences in many areas.
Ultimately, some insurers cover more conditions than others.
One area where this is particularly clear is with total permanent disability (TPD) cover. This triggers a payout if you become totally and permanently disabled.
However, not every insurer includes it as one of the critical illnesses that trigger a payout. For many providers, you must add it for an extra premium.
As well as the number of conditions each provider covers, you want to dive into the detail and look at the definitions of those conditions.
Some insurers have better definitions than others. For example, some insurers pay out for any diagnosis of cancer. Most, however, require cancer to be at a set severity before you can claim.
To help with this, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) produced model definitions of conditions. This lays out the definitions of the illnesses the best Critical Illness Insurance providers commonly cover and therefore to what severity you must develop them before you can claim.
These are only minimum standards, however. Many insurers go above and beyond for some conditions, offering what’s known as an ABI+ definition. That’s a definition that is better than the definition the ABI dictates.
The best Critical Illness Insurance providers include the most ABI+ definitions.
Children’s Critical Illness Cover offers a payout if one of your children develops a critical condition. This is most commonly 25% of your benefit, but can be more with certain insurers. Other providers let you pick a child benefit of your choosing.
Some insurers include children’s Critical Illness Insurance as standard. It comes with the cover, regardless of whether you have children.
With other providers, it’s an optional add-on for an extra premium. This may suit those without children who have no plans to start a family and don’t want to have a benefit on their policy that they won’t use.
As with most aspects of Critical Illness Insurance, children’s cover isn’t created equal. There are some key differences to look for:
Look beyond the core cover. All policies at their core pay out if you develop one of a select list of critical illnesses. Where the best Critical Illness Insurance providers differentiate themselves is in the additional benefits they offer.
These benefits commonly include:
Each insurer has a different maximum benefit they’ll cover you for. For some insurers, there’s no limit. However, most Critical Illness Insurance providers cap this at around £3 million.
For the vast majority of people, the £3 million limit should be more than sufficient. Premiums would likely be significant for anything above this anyway.
Some providers pay out on a sliding scale if you don’t quite meet the necessary severity for the illness you develop as your insurer outlines.
For example, if you develop a low-grade, in-situ cancer and catch it early, the insurer may not pay the full benefit because you don’t meet the full definition of cancer in the policy documents.
Other insurers offer a proportionate benefit (commonly the lower of £25,000 or 25% of your benefit) if you develop a less serious, or ‘additional’, illness that isn’t quite as severe as the main conditions the policy covers.
Most insurers have a survival period. This is a set number of days you must live after your diagnosis before you can claim. Survival periods can vary from 10 days to 2 weeks or more, so check carefully.
There are a lot of factors which affect the cost of Critical Illness Insurance. They’re split into personal and policy factors.
To calculate the premiums in the table below, we’ve had to make a number of assumptions about each individual. For example, we’ve assumed they are:
These premiums are the cheapest available that meet the above criteria. However, the cheapest policy won’t necessarily be the best.
One provider might have more robust definitions, better additional benefits or a range of other factors that are an improvement over the cheapest option.
25 Years Old | 35 Years Old | 45 Years Old | Decreasing Cover |
|---|---|---|
£33.77 | £48.68 | £84.80 | Level Cover |
£39.75 | £67.97 | £122.48 |
As an independent insurance broker we compare all of the leading UK insurers for our clients.
Each insurer has its own unique coverage. This includes number of conditions they cover and the definitions of those conditions, as well as areas such as additional benefits where insurers really set each other apart.
In addition to this expert guide we have also written expert product reviews for each of the top UK critical illness providers individually including Aviva, Legal & General and Vitality.
| Policy Overview |
|---|---|
Maximum Benefit | £3 million |
Conditions Covered | Core Cover
Enhanced Cover
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ABI+ Definitions | 16 |
Survival Period | 10 days |
Children’s Cover | Standard Children’s Cover An optional add-on for an extra premium, covering children from birth to age 22 for:
Enhanced Children’s Cover An optional add on for an extra premium. It covers children from birth to age 22 for:
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Claims Paid | 98% of claims in 2021, totalling over £28 million | Additional Benefits |
Smart Health is AIG’s main additional benefits offering. It includes:
| The Drewberry Verdict |
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| Child cover offers good protection including a child funeral benefit, hospitalisation benefit after 7 consecutive days, and insures children for certain birth defects |
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| Excellent free benefits that support you in maintaining good health and wellbeing through AIG’s Smart Health services |
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| Total Permanent Disability, Waiver of Premium, and Child Cover are only available as optional add-ons |
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| Only covers two additional critical illnesses which pay a lower benefit as standard. Many other insurers cover more than this. | 
| Policy Overview |
Maximum Benefit | £1 million |
Conditions Covered | Core Cover (Critical Illness)
Upgraded Cover (Critical Illness+)
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ABI+ Definitions | 19 |
Survival Period | 10 days |
Children’s Cover | Standard Children’s Critical Illness Included as standard for children from 30 days old until their 18th birthday (21st birthday if in full-time education), paying:
Upgraded Children’s Critical Illness
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Claims Paid | 93.5% paid in 2022, totalling more than £334 million | Additional Benefits |
Aviva DigiCare+ Free as standard, Aviva DigiCare+ is a health and wellbeing service offering:
You can also opt to pay an extra £36 annually for three Digital GP appointments per year. | The Drewberry Verdict |
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| Aviva DigiCare+ is a great suite of additional benefits available for free |
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| Great selection of additional benefits to add for an extra cost, such as a Digital GP service, Fracture Cover, Global Treatment and Extra Care Cover |
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| Uses 19 ABI+ definitions, one of the highest in the market |
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| While Aviva offers a digital GP service via Aviva DigiCare+, which not every insurer does, it’s at extra cost and limited to three appointments per year. |
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| Waiver of Premium and Total Permanent Disability come at an extra cost |
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| Children’s cover starts when children are 30 days old, but many other providers commence cover from birth | 
| Policy Overview |
Maximum Benefit | £3 million |
Conditions Covered |
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ABI+ Definitions | 18 |
Survival Period | 14 days |
Children’s Cover | An optional add-on for an extra premium covering children from birth to age 23 for:
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Claims Paid | £4.9 million paid out in Critical Illness claims in 2022 | Additional Benefits |
| The Drewberry Verdict |
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| TPD is included as standard — for many insurers, this is an optional add-on for an extra premium |
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| All cancer diagnoses are guaranteed to receive a payout, regardless of type or severity |
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| Claims for cancer, heart attacks, or strokes are paid out after a clinical diagnosis, with no need to meet a specific definition, and less medical evidence is required |
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| When Guardian improves their critical illness definitions, all existing customers benefit from the increased coverage |
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| If you pay for child cover, you choose a payout of £10,000-£100,000 (up to 100% of your benefit), meaning a children’s claim could pay out more than with other insurers |
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| The optional paid-for child cover covers children from birth up to age 23, regardless of education status. This is the longest term in the market. It also provides a high child death benefit of £10,000. |
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| Claims statistics don’t include the percentage of claims paid, so there’s a lack of transparency here | 
| Policy Overview |
Maximum Benefit |
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Conditions Covered | Core Critical Illness
Critical Illness Extra
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ABI+ Definitions | 17 |
Survival Period | 14 days |
Children’s Cover | Standard Children’s Critical Illness Included as standard, covering children between 30 days and 18 years old (21 if in full-time education) for:
Children’s Critical Illness Extra
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Claims Paid | 93.4% of all Critical Illness claims in 2022, totalling £224 million | Additional Benefits |
Legal & General provides policyholders with umbrella benefits under Wellbeing Support. This includes:
| The Drewberry Verdict |
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| Standard children’s cover includes some unique features, such as a £5,000 hospitalisation benefit, £1,000 childcare support and a family accommodation benefit if your child is hospitalised overnight |
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| Good selection of optional add-ons available when you buy through an adviser, such as Private Diagnostics, Fracture Cover, and Waiver of Premium |
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| Advanced claim payment for certain surgeries once you’re on the NHS waitlist |
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| Minimal free benefits included when you take out a policy | 
| Policy Overview |
Maximum Benefit | Unlimited |
Conditions Covered | Enhanced Critical Illness Cover
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ABI+ Definitions | 18 |
Survival Period | 14 days |
Children’s Cover | Standard Children’s Cover Included as standard, covering children from birth to age 23 without a survival period. It pays:
Your child can convert their cover into an adult policy without medical underwriting if they do it within 6 months of their 23rd birthday. The maximum cover available if they convert the cover is the lower of £25,000 or 50% of your benefit. Enhanced Children’s Cover
The maximum cover available if your child converts their cover to an adult policy increases to £35,000, or 50% of your benefit, whichever is lower. |
Claims Paid | 88% of Critical Illness claims paid in 2022, totalling £28.3 million | Additional Benefits |
LV’s main additional benefits offering is LV Doctor Services. This offers:
| The Drewberry Verdict |
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| Standard child cover protects children from birth to age 23, regardless of education status. This is the longest coverage for children in the market. |
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| Enhanced payments of up to £200,000 for critical conditions that will have a significant financial effect on your life |
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| £1,000 paid on top of your claim if you’re diagnosed with cancer |
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| Good range of additional benefits, including a remote GP service |
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| 88% payout rate in 2022 is on the low side |
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| Waiver of Premium and Total Permanent Disability cover are only available as add-ons and cost extra | 
| Policy Overview |
Maximum Benefit | £3 million (£1.2 million with increasing cover) |
Conditions Covered |
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ABI+ Definitions | 14 |
Survival Period | 10 days |
Children’s Cover | Standard Children’s Cover
Enhanced Children’s Cover
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Claims Paid | 93.6% of Critical Illness claims paid in 2022, totalling £132 million | Additional Benefits |
Royal London’s main additional benefits offering is Helping Hand. This offers:
| The Drewberry Verdict |
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| Children’s cover includes pregnancy complications and Total Permanent Disability, which most other providers exclude |
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| Free rehabilitation after a critical illness, with access to cardiac, oncology and stroke nurses to support your recovery |
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| Advanced surgery payments once you’re on the waiting list for 1 of 14 approved surgeries |
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| Waiver of Premium and Total Permanent Disability cover are only available as add-ons, which cost extra | 
| Policy Overview |
Maximum Benefit | £3 million (capped at £1.5 million for TPD claims) |
Conditions Covered |
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ABI+ Definitions | 14 |
Survival Period | 10 days |
Children’s Cover | Included as standard, covering children from birth to age 22. It pays:
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Claims Paid | 93.3% of Critical Illness claims paid in 2022, totalling £86.2 million | Additional Benefits |
Scottish Widows Care is Scottish Widows’ main additional benefits offering. It centres around a team of dedicated nurses available on a telephone helpline, offering support with:
| The Drewberry Verdict |
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| Booster payments of up to £200,000 if you’re diagnosed with a degenerative neurological condition before age 45 |
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| Advanced claim payments once you’re on a UK waiting list for certain surgeries |
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| £10,000 child death benefit as standard, one of the highest available in the market |
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| Scottish Widows covers one of the lowest overall number of conditions in the market |
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| While TPD cover is standard (many insurers require you to add it for an extra premium), Scottish Widows caps it at £1.5 million. | 
| Policy Overview |
Maximum Benefit | £5 million (£2 million with TPD cover) |
Conditions Covered | Standard Critical Illness
Critical Illness Select
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ABI+ Definitions | 18 |
Survival Period | 10 days |
Children’s Cover | Standard Children’s Benefit
Enhanced Children’s Benefit
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Claims Paid | 90% of claims in 2019, totalling £76.4 million | Additional Benefits |
Included free as standard, Zurich’s main additional benefits offering is Zurich Support Services. This offers support in four key areas:
| The Drewberry Verdict |
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| Additional payment of up to £100,000 if you suffer from a life-altering condition |
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| Advanced claim payment if you’re on an NHS waitlist for one of Zurich’s approved surgeries |
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| Optional multi-fracture cover, which also covers certain dislocations, ruptured tendons, and cruciate ligament tears |
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| Children’s cover is an optional add-on for an extra premium. While this does mean you don’t pay for a benefit you won’t use if you don’t have children, with many providers it’s free as standard. |
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| Waiver of Premium and Total Permanent Disability aren’t included as standard and will cost extra |
Most people understandably want to choose a policy by picking the insurer that’s the most likely to pay a claim when they need it the most.
However, it’s actually fairly hard to distinguish one provider from another in this area. Payout rates across the industry are not only higher than many people assume but are also fairly uniform.
As you can see in the table below, in 2019 almost all insurers paid out on more than 90% of the claims they received.
Insurer | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
AIG | 95% | 98% | N/A |
Aviva | 92.7% | 92.4% | 93.5% |
Guardian | £1.4 million | £2.8 million | £4.9 million |
Legal & General | 92% | 93% | 93.4% |
Liverpool Victoria | 92% | 93% | 88% |
Royal London | 92.4% | 91.7% | 93.6% |
Scottish Widows | 94% | 93% | 93.3% |
Zurich | 87% | 87% | N/A |
Ultimately, this depends on your needs and circumstances, as well as your point of view.
You can use a Critical Illness Insurance payout to repay your mortgage, keep up with your bills or adapt your home to meet a new disability.
Unfortunately, none of us know what life has in store for us. A serious illness could strike at any time. Statistics show the risk of many critical illnesses is rising in the UK, even among younger people of working age.
Critical Illness Insurance and Income Protection both pay a benefit if you become ill. It can therefore be hard to tell them apart or know which one would work best for you.
Find out the difference between Critical Illness Cover and Income Protection here →
However, in brief the main differences are in the:
Critical Illness Insurance pays a lump sum of your choosing, while Income Protection pays a monthly benefit of a proportion of your earnings.
With Critical Illness Cover, to claim you must develop a critical condition in the policy at a severity your insurer dictates.
On the other hand, Income Protection pays out simply if you can’t do your job after any accident or sickness.
The most common conditions Critical Illness Insurance providers pay out for are serious illnesses such as cancer, heart attacks and strokes. Income Protection, meanwhile, pays out for anything that medically stops you working, from cancer to a bad back.
If you claim for a full payment condition with Critical Illness Cover, the policy ends. You get your lump sum but nothing further, even if you can never work again.
This is opposed to Long Term Income Protection, which continues paying a monthly benefit until you retire if you can’t ever return to work.
Terminal Illness Insurance is usually included free with Life Insurance. It pays the policy benefit early if the policyholder becomes terminally ill (where a doctor has said they have less than 12 months to live).
Critical Illness Insurance, on the other hand, pays out if you develop a critical illness of a specified severity, such as cancer, heart attack or stroke.
The two options sound similar but are in fact very different and not interchangeable. It’s possible to recover from a critical illness, for example, whereas that’s not the case after a terminal prognosis.
Total Permanent Disability Cover (TPD) pays out if you are left totally and permanently disabled and unable to work due to illness or injury.
To make a TPD claim, you must suffer a severe life-changing disability that has no medical prospect of improvement. There are fairly strict criteria to make a total permanent disability claim.
No, you don’t typically pay tax on a Critical Illness Insurance payout.
This is because you usually pay premiums from income you’ve already paid tax on, i.e. your wages. That means HMRC has already effectively taxed you once and therefore allows you to receive a Critical Illness Insurance claim tax-free.
You have two options to set up Critical Illness Cover. You can either go direct to an insurer or buy cover through an adviser, such as Drewberry. It’s important to recognise the difference as one provides you with far more protection than the other.
Going direct is a non-advised sale. You personally make the decision to buy a policy, which means there’s no financial protection if it’s inappropriate. The responsibility is on your shoulders.
Not only this, but going direct often involves more work. To get the best Critical Illness Insurance, you’ll need to approach every insurer and compare quotes from all of them to get the best deal.
And it doesn’t stop there. You’ll then have to compare critical illness policies by number of illnesses covered and the definitions of those illnesses. This involves a lot of reading of fine print and interpretation of medical and insurance jargon.
On the other hand, an adviser offering a whole of market advised sale, such as an expert from Drewberry, is fully responsible for any policy they arrange. This offers you more protection than going it alone.
An adviser will consider your circumstances fully to make sure you get the best cover for your needs. We’re here to compare every insurer on your behalf so you can be sure you’ve got the best deal.
We also take all the heavy lifting off your desk, looking through insurers, their policies and their definitions to find you the best terms.
We’re proud of the service we provide and are delighted that our clients love it as well. We have 3017 and growing independent reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5.
With around ten major UK Critical Illness Insurance providers to compare, this involves sifting through a lot of information.
We search for the best Critical Illness Insurance providers for our clients day in, day out. We know the market like the back of our hand, so we’re happy to lend you a hand.
We started Drewberry™ because we were tired of being treated like a number.
We all deserve a first class service when it comes to issues as important as protecting our health and our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to talk to us.
For help and fee-free advice on comparing the UK’s best insurance companies, don’t be afraid to pop us a call. We’re here on 02084327333, or drop us an email on help@drewberry.co.uk.
