Critical illness cover gives you financial protection against certain illnesses and medical conditions of a specific severity.
Your cover will provide you with a tax-free lump sum cash payment which can be used to help you and your family. For example, it could help you pay off your mortgage, pay for treatment to help you recover or pay your household bills.
All critical illness policies cover the following illnesses
Providing they are of a certain severity
Cancer
Heart attack
Stroke
Cover varies between insurers and some policies include additional medical conditions, so check the details of your policy with your insurer.
Resources
Discover our guides, reports, free-to-use tools and download our data release schedule
The new guide to minimum standards for critical illness cover was released on 16 September 2022, following the last review in 2018. The revisions were made with the support of our Critical Illness Working Group, our Health and Protection Board, and approved by our Board.
