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Home : Insurance : Life Insurance : Critical Illness Cover :

Critical Illness Cover

Life insurance with critical illness cover

Critical illness cover is designed to help you cope financially if you are diagnosed with a critical illness. Critical illness cover can be combined with a Level Term Life Insurance policy or a Mortgage Protection Life Insurance policy. Critical illness cover provides a one-off cash payment if you are diagnosed with a critical illness covered by the policy.

Critical illness cover key features

• If you die or are diagnosed with a critical illness during the policy term your insurer will pay the amount you are covered for.
• The types of illness covered include Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Heart Attack and Stroke. The full list of illnesses covered is detailed by each insurer in their Key Features document.
• If you set up a joint policy (one policy to cover two people) the amount of cover is paid out if either person claims.
• The policy usually stops when a claim has been paid.
• These policies have no cash in value at any time.

Illnesses covered by critical illness cover

The list below is for guidance only. The exact list of covered illnesses will vary by insurer. You can find a list of covered illnesses in the insurer's Key Features document before you apply.

• Alzheimer's Disease
• Aorta graft surgery
• Aplastic Anaemia – permanent
• Bacterial Meningitis – resulting in permanent symptoms
• Benign brain tumour
• Blindness – permanent and irreversible
• Cancer – excluding less advanced cases
• Cardiomyopathy – of specified severity
• Chronic lung disease – of specified severity
• Coma – resulting in permanent symptoms
• Coronary artery bypass surgery
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) – resulting in permanent symptoms
• Deafness – permanent and irreversible
• Dementia – resulting in permanent symptoms
• Heart attack – of specified severity
• Heart value replacement or repair
• HIV infection – contracted in the European Union, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man from blood transfusion, a physical assault or work
• Kidney failure – requiring dialysis
• Liver failure – irreversible
• Loss of hands or feet – permanent physical severance
• Loss of independent existence – resulting in permanent symptoms
• Loss of speech – permanent and irreversible
• Major organ transplant
• Motor Neurone Disease – resulting in permanent symptoms
• Multiple Sclerosis – with persisting symptoms
• Paralysis of limbs – total and irreversible
• Parkinson's Disease – resulting in permanent symptoms
• Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) – resulting in permanent symptoms
• Stroke – resulting in permanent symptoms
• Third-degree burns – covering 20% of the body surface area
• Total permanent disability
• Traumatic head injury – resulting in permanent symptoms