Average cost of critical illness cover UK
6 min
What’s the average cost of critical illness cover and how…
We’ve studied and compared critical illness cover policies provided by UK insurers to find you the best critical illness cover in the UK today.
According to our findings, these are the top 10 best critical illness cover policies:
Read here how we calculated our top 10 critical illness cover list detailed above.
In this 2024 guide, we compare the main features and benefits of each of these policies to help you decide which option may best suit your needs.
Reassured provide free quotes for life insurance with added critical illness cover, starting from just £10 per month º .
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Key points:
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 32 (or 47 if you opt for their upgraded cover) |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 2 (or 24 if you opt for their upgraded cover). Claim 25% of sum assured (up to £20,000) |
Age eligibility | 18 - 75 |
Maximum cover amount | £1 million |
Survival period | 10 days |
Child critical illness cover | Free children’s critical illness cover Pays out 25% of sum assured (up to £25,000). Also includes free child life cover & free children’s hospital benefit |
Optional extras | Increasing cover option, waiver of premium, upgraded children’s cover |
Free benefits | Aviva DigiCare+ app 24/7 health and wellbeing services |
Claims paid [2023] | 91.6% (totalling £362 million)[6] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 82% |
Trustpilot score | 4 - ‘Great’ |
Key points:
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 36 Includes total permanent disability |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 2 Claim 50% of sum assured (up to £25,000) |
Age eligibility | 18 - 67 |
Maximum cover amount | £3 million |
Survival period | 14 days |
Child critical illness cover | Free child critical illness cover Pays out 50% of sum assured (up to £25,000). Also includes Child Accident Hospitalisation Benefit, Child Funeral Benefit, Family Accommodation Benefit and Childcare Benefit |
Optional extras | Increasing cover option, waiver of premium |
Free benefits | Wellbeing Support Phone-based service provided by RedArc registered nurses. Care Concierge Advice and support on later life care Accident hospitalisation benefit |
Claims paid [2023] | 93% (totalling £255 million)[9] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 75% |
Trustpilot score | 4 - ‘Great’ |
Key points:
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 62 (or 74 if you opt for enhanced cover). Claim up to 100% of cover amount depending on the severity of the condition. Includes total permanent disability as standard |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 52 (or 100 if you opt for enhanced cover). Claim between 5% and 75% of cover amount depending on the severity of the condition. Includes pregnancy cover up to £5,000 |
Age eligibility | 18 - 74 |
Maximum cover amount | Depends on your personal circumstances You can secure any amount up to the maximum monthly premium which is £60 |
Survival period | 14 days |
Child critical illness cover | Option to add child critical illness cover for an additional cost. Covers up to 115 conditions |
Optional extras | Later life cover for dementia, alzheimer’s and frailty, increasing cover option, waiver of premium |
Free benefits | Vitality rewards programme Policyholders can access discounts and savings for a wide range of health and fitness partners Waiting list benefit Covers up to 24 conditions, depending on your cover level. Pays out if you’re placed on the NHS waiting list for one of these conditions |
Claims paid [2023] | 87.8% (totalling £32.7 million)[12] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 77% |
Trustpilot score | 4.3 - ‘Excellent’ |
Key points:
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 23 (or 30 conditions if you opt for enhanced cover) |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 2 (or 18 additional conditions if you opt for enhanced cover which also includes pregnancy cover). Claim 25% of sum assured (up to £25,000). Or, for enhanced cover, claim the full sum assured (up to £35,000) |
Age eligibility | 18 - 75 |
Maximum cover amount | Not specified |
Survival period | 10 days |
Child critical illness cover | Option to add child critical illness cover for an additional cost. Choose between core cover for 23 conditions or enhanced cover for 45 conditions |
Optional extras | Waiver of premium, total permanent disability, increasing cover option |
Free benefits | Smart Health Award-winning 24/7 health and wellbeing services app |
Claims paid [2023] | 95% (totalling £38 million)[15] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 75% |
Trustpilot score | 2.8 - ‘Average’ |
Key points:
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 46 Includes total permanent disability as standard |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 32 Claim 50% of sum assured (up to £35,000). Includes pregnancy cover up to £5,000 |
Age eligibility | 18 - 70 |
Maximum cover amount | £3 million |
Survival period | 10 days |
Child critical illness cover | Option to add child critical illness cover for an additional cost. Choose between standard or enhanced cover |
Optional extras | Waiver of premium, increasing cover option |
Free benefits | Helping Hand Wellbeing support service provided by RedArc registered nurses |
Claims paid [2023] | 90.5% (totalling £173 million)[18] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 79% |
Trustpilot score | 4 - ‘Great’ |
Key points:
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 23 (or 30 conditions if you opt for enhanced cover) |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 2 (or 18 additional conditions if you opt for enhanced cover which also includes pregnancy cover). Claim 25% of sum assured (up to £25,000). Or, for enhanced cover, claim the full sum assured (up to £35,000) |
Age eligibility | 17 - 75 |
Maximum cover amount | Not specified |
Survival period | 10 days |
Child critical illness cover | Option to add child critical illness cover for an additional cost |
Optional extras | Waiver of premium, total permanent disability, increasing cover option |
Free benefits | None specified |
Claims paid [2023] | 97% (inclusive of life and critical illness claims)[21] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 79% |
Trustpilot score | 4.3 - ‘Excellent’ |
Key points:
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 30 |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 10 Claim 50% of the sum assured (up to £30,000). Includes total permanent disability as standard |
Age eligibility | 18 - 70 |
Maximum cover amount | £3 million |
Survival period | 10 days |
Child critical illness cover | Free child critical illness cover Pays out 50% of sum assured (up to £30,000) Free child life cover Pays out £10,000 |
Optional extras | Waiver of premium, increasing cover option |
Free benefits | Scottish Widows Care Wellbeing support service provided by RedArc Premium protection (waiver of premium) |
Claims paid [2023] | 92% (totalling £93.9 million)[24] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 72% |
Trustpilot score | 4.2 - ‘Great’ |
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 38 |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 2 Claim 25% of the sum assured (up to £30,000. Plus, enhanced cover for 9 of the core conditions listed |
Age eligibility | 17 - 64 |
Maximum cover amount | Not specified |
Survival period | 14 days |
Child critical illness cover | Option to add child critical illness cover for an additional cost. If added, it also includes child funeral benefit and cost of diagnosis of cancer pay out |
Optional extras | Increasing cover option, total permanent disability |
Free benefits | None specified |
Claims paid [2023] | 85% (totalling £27 million)[25] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 69% |
Trustpilot score | 4.3 - ‘Excellent’ |
Key points:
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 52 Includes total permanent disability. |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 22 Claim between 10% and 50% of the sum assured (up to £50,000). |
Age eligibility | 18 - 64 |
Maximum cover amount | £3 million |
Survival period | 14 days |
Child critical illness cover | Option to add child critical illness cover for an additional cost. If added, it also includes child funeral cover |
Optional extras | Increasing cover option. |
Free benefits | Anytime Health and wellbeing support service HALO Specialist claims support service Waiver of premium |
Claims paid [2023] | 92% (totalling £7.5 million)[29] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | No rating available |
Trustpilot score | No rating available |
Key points:
Key features | |
---|---|
Core critical illnesses covered (for full pay out) | 39 |
Additional critical illnesses covered (for partial pay out) | 2 Claim 25% of the sum assured (up to £25,000) |
Age eligibility | 16 - 69 |
Maximum cover amount | Not specified |
Survival period | 10 days |
Child critical illness cover | Option to add child critical illness cover for an additional cost. If added, it also includes child death benefit |
Optional extras | Multi-fracture cover, increasing cover option |
Free benefits | None specified |
Claims paid [2023] | 90% (totalling £102.6 million)[32] |
Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 65% |
Trustpilot score | 4 - ‘Great’ |
Please note, Reassured can only arrange life insurance with critical illness cover for those aged 18 and over.
We’ve looked at the key features and benefits of each critical illness policy, as well as reviews and claims data of each insurer, to determine our top 10 shortlist.
The information we’ve compared includes:
Please note, our top 10 best critical illness cover policies are each rated 5 stars by at Defaqto. This means they are considered the best in the market according to industry experts.
The table below shows a simple comparison of the critical illness policies in our top 10 list to help you easily compare the best options.
Insurer | Ranking | Total number of illnesses covered | Free children’s cover | Survival period | Free benefits | Claims paid in 2023 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 34 | Yes | 10 days | Aviva DigiCare+ | 91.6% | ||
2 | 38 | Yes | 14 days | Wellbeing Support & Care Concierge | 93% | ||
3 | Up to 174 | No | 14 days | Vitality rewards programme | 87.8% | ||
4 | Up to 48 | No | 10 days | Smart Health | 95% | ||
5 | 78 | No | 10 days | Helping Hand | 90.5% | ||
6 | Up to 48 | No | 10 days | None specified | 95% | ||
7 | 40 | Yes | 10 days | Scottish Widows Care | 92% | ||
8 | 40 | No | 14 days | None specified | 85% | ||
9 | 74 | No | 14 days | Anytime & HALO | 92% | ||
10 | 41 | No | 10 days | None specified | 90% |
The information in this table has been taken directly from the individual insurer’s websites and is correct as of 14/08/24 and is subject to change at any time
Please note, Reassured can’t arrange policies from all of the insurers listed in our top 10.
As with life insurance, how much you pay for critical illness cover varies depending on your personal circumstances and the details of the policy you choose.
The exact cost of your monthly premium will be determined based on various factors, including:
Many insurers only offer critical illness cover as part of a life insurance policy. If you wish to take out life insurance with critical illness cover combined, you’ll pay one monthly premium for both forms of cover during the set term.
The table below shows example monthly costs for a life insurance policy with critical illness cover added.
Quotes are based on a non-smoker, in good health, taking out a level term policy over 20 years with £50,000 of cover:
Age | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
20 | £8.05 | £8.75 | £8.93 | £9.16 |
25 | £11.07 | £11.56 | £11.57 | £11.35 |
30 | £14.71 | £14.90 | £16.93 | £14.66 |
35 | £20.60 | £19.87 | £20.11 | £19.46 |
40 | £28.48 | £27.92 | £27.09 | £27.87 |
45 | £40.04 | £40.51 | £41.68 | £39.52 |
50 | £61.21 | £56.07 | £61.32 | £57.63 |
How much you pay for critical illness cover will also vary between different insurers.
For this reason, comparing quotes can help you to find a policy that best suits your needs and budget.
At Reassured, we can help you compare life and critical illness insurance quotes from some of the best critical illness insurance companies, including AIG, Aviva and Legal & General.
If you need further support choosing the right policy to suit your needs, we also have a team of dedicated experts on hand to answer your questions.
Our award-winning broker service specialises in helping UK families find affordable cover to protect their home and lifestyle if the worst happens.
Critical illness cover with life insurance starts from just £10 a month through us. Simply click through to our online form and fill in your details for our best quotes.
What is critical illness cover?
Critical illness cover provides you with a lump sum pay out if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness (that’s covered by your policy).
It’s designed to help you manage financially while you’re in recovery, and can be used towards mortgage costs, bills and/or private medical treatment.
Critical illness cover is often taken out as part of a life insurance policy, but it’s also possible to buy critical illness cover without life insurance through some insurers.
Please note, at Reassured, we only offer critical illness cover as part of a life insurance policy.
Which is the best critical illness cover according to Martin Lewis?
According to Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, the main rule when choosing the best critical illness cover for you is to compare quotes from different insurers[34].
He advises that using a broker is the best way to do this, as you can benefit from their industry expertise and knowledge of the different policies available.
At Reassured, we offer an FCA-regulated broker service that helps to compare critical illness cover quotes as well as offer expert support for those who need it.
A member of our dedicated team can provide all the information you need to make a fully informed decision.
What does critical illness insurance cover?
A critical illness policy covers a range of specified critical illnesses.
The illnesses that you’re covered for will depend on the insurer and the level of cover you choose.
A standard policy covers between 40 and 50 conditions on average.
Most insurers split their list of conditions into two groups - ‘core critical illnesses’ and ‘additional critical illnesses’. We explain the difference between these below.
Core critical illnesses
A successful claim for any core critical illnesses will provide you with a full pay out (100%) of your sum assured. After this, your cover (including any life cover) will come to an end.
Examples of critical illnesses that are usually covered in full include:
Additional critical illnesses
Additional critical illnesses often include less serious conditions and provide a smaller pay out upon a successful claim, without affecting the rest of your cover.
In this circumstance, it’s possible to make more than one claim on your policy.
Examples of additional critical illnesses that may be covered include:
Some insurers also offer an enhanced critical illness cover option. This provides cover for a wider range of conditions at an extra cost.
See our guide ‘What illnesses are covered by critical illness cover?’ for a more detailed list of conditions.
[1] https://www.macmillan.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/research/cancer-statistics-fact-sheet
[2] https://www.stroke.org.uk/stroke/statistics
[3] https://www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/for-professionals/research/heart-statistics/bhf-cvd-statistics-uk-factsheet.pdf
[4] https://static.aviva.io/content/dam/document-library/adviser/individualprotection/al50001c.pdf
[5] https://event.covermagazine.co.uk/coverexcellenceawards2024/en/page/2023-winners
[6] https://www.aviva.com/newsroom/news-releases/2024/03/1-18bn-paid-out-on-more-than-50600-aviva-individual-protection-claims-in-2023/
[7] https://www.legalandgeneral.com/insurance/life-insurance/critical-illness-cover/
[8] https://www.lifesearch.com/news-and-opinion/news-room/lifesearch-protection-awards-2024-winners
[9] https://www.legalandgeneral.com/landg-assets/adviser/protection/protection-new/adviser-toolkit/our-claims/2023-claims-statistics-infographic.pdf
[10] https://www.vitality.co.uk/life-insurance/serious-illness-cover/
[11] https://www.vitality.co.uk/about/awards/
[12] https://adviser.vitality.co.uk/media-online/advisers/literature/life/misc/life-claims-benefits-report-2024.pdf
[13] https://www.aiglife.co.uk/customers/products/personal-protection/critical-illness-cover/
[14] https://www.lifesearch.com/news-and-opinion/news-room/lifesearch-protection-awards-2024-shortlist
[15] https://www.ftadviser.com/protection/2024/06/05/aig-life-pays-out-record-394mn-in-protection-claims/
[16] https://www.royallondon.com/insurance/illness-income-protection/critical-illness-cover/
[17] https://adviser.royallondon.com/about-us/our-awards/
[18] https://www.royallondon.com/about-us/media/media-centre/press-releases/press-releases-2024/may/royal-london-paid-a-record-731-million-in-protection-claims-in-2023/
[19] https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/life-cover/term-assurance-with-critical-illness-choices/
[20] https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/news-and-stories/our-awards-and-industry-ratings/
[21] https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/contact-us/what-to-do-if-youre-facing-financial-difficulties-or-are-worried-about-the-cost-of-living/
[22] https://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/life-insurance/products/critical-illness-cover.html
[23] https://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/about-us/who-we-are/awards.html
[24] https://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/protection-claims-paid-out.html
[25] https://www.lv.com/life-insurance/life-and-critical-illness
[26] https://www.lvadviser.com/supporting-your-client/why-lv/our-awards
[27] https://guardian1821.co.uk/our-protection/critical-illness-protection/
[28] https://guardian1821.co.uk/about-us/our-awards/
[29] https://guardian1821.co.uk/about-us/news/guardian-paid-over-15-million-of-claims-in-2023/
[30] https://www.zurich.co.uk/life-insurance/critical-illness
[31] https://www.zurich.co.uk/about-us/awards
[32] https://www.zurichintermediary.co.uk/claims
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