Critical Illness Cover
Surviving a serious illness is the likely outcome now. This is the money that lets you recover on your own terms.
Medicine has changed the odds, and most people now survive the heart attacks, strokes and many of the cancers that would once have been fatal. Critical illness cover pays for what survival looks like financially, whether that's months off work, a phased return, adapting your home or clearing the mortgage to cut the pressure.
It pays a tax-free lump sum on diagnosis of one of the conditions listed in the policy. And the lists genuinely differ between insurers, which is why this is the protection product where independent advice adds the most obvious value. The cheapest policy is often cheap for a reason.
What working together looks like
Quality compared, not just price
Two policies with identical premiums can define the same illness differently or cover very different condition lists. I compare what policies actually pay for (severity definitions, partial payments, children's cover), not just the monthly cost.
Sized to the real risk
Common sensible targets are enough to clear the mortgage, or two to three years of income. I help you pick a number that transforms the worst year of your life without an eye-watering premium.
Combined cleverly with other cover
Critical illness often works best alongside income protection rather than instead of it. A lump sum for the big blow, a monthly income for the long haul. I design them together.
What separates a good policy from a cheap one
Condition definitions
Insurers pay by definition, not by diagnosis alone. How a policy defines a heart attack or stroke severity determines whether a real event qualifies. This is where quality genuinely varies.
Additional and partial payments
Better policies pay smaller amounts for less severe conditions (some early-stage cancers, for example) without reducing the main cover.
Children's cover
Many policies include cover for your children automatically or as an option. It's a detail parents rarely know to ask about.
Exclusions
Pre-existing conditions and certain circumstances are typically excluded, and policies differ in how they treat them. Honest disclosure at application keeps claims clean.
Asked all the time, answered honestly
What illnesses does critical illness cover include?
Core conditions across most policies include specified cancers, heart attack and stroke. Fuller policies cover scores of conditions including MS, Parkinson's and organ failure. The detail is in the definitions, which is exactly what I compare for you.
Isn't it cheaper to just have life insurance?
Life-only cover is cheaper because you're statistically far more likely to survive a serious illness during working age than to die of one. That's the argument for critical illness cover, not against it. The risk it covers is the more common one.
Do I need a lump sum or a monthly income?
They solve different problems. A lump sum clears debt and funds one-off costs. Income protection replaces salary month after month, potentially to retirement. Many households are best served by a modest amount of both.
Will it pay out for any cancer diagnosis?
Not automatically. Policies specify cancers by type and severity, and some early-stage or low-grade diagnoses attract a partial payment or fall outside the definition. A straight answer about what is and isn't covered is part of proper advice.
Can I get cover if I've already had a serious illness?
Often yes, though that condition may be excluded or the premium loaded, and insurers differ meaningfully in their approach. This is exactly the kind of case where knowing the market's underwriting appetites lets me earn my place.
Let's talk about critical illness cover
A free, no-obligation chat is the easiest first step. Tell me what you're hoping to do, and I'll tell you honestly how I can help.