Critical illness cover FAQs.

You must be a UK resident at the time of applying to be eligible. 

Age limits

If applying for Level Term Assurance or Mortgage Term Assurance with Critical Illness Cover you must be aged between 17 and 67. 

If applying for Mortgage Decreasing Term Assurance with Critical Illness Cover you must be aged between 17 and 64. 

Our Critical Illness Cover is designed to help cover critical illnesses which could have a severe impact on your lifestyle. We provide cover for 41 conditions, that’s 18 more than the most recent guidelines published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). 15 of our conditions exceed ABI model definitions.

If you choose guaranteed premiums your premiums will not change for the length of the policy, unless you alter your policy.

If you choose reviewable premiums, your premium is guaranteed for the first five years of the policy and then reviewed to determine whether the premium will be changed at the fifth anniversary and every five years after that.

If you apply for our critical illness product, we provide Level Term Assurance with Critical Illness Cover included or Mortgage Term Assurance with Critical Illness Cover included. For Level Term Assurance with Critical Illness Cover you can choose a term between 2 and 40 years and the policy must end before your 70th birthday.

For Mortgage Decreasing Term Assurance with Critical Illness Cover the term must be between 5 and 40 years, and again it must end before your 70th birthday.

Yes, we offer this benefit at no extra cost on all of our policies that include critical illness cover.

Read more about children's critical illness cover. There are some conditions that apply, so please read the Key Features Document PDF.

Sometimes, when you apply for life insurance we may not be able to give you an immediate decision and may need to ask for more information.

During this time we know it’s important that you’re still protected. So, we provide you with free Accidental Death Benefit whilst we process your application. We provide this free of charge and without the need for any underwriting – giving you peace of mind that you’re covered in case of an accident.  There are some terms and conditions that do apply, and these can be found in the Key Features Document PDF.

No, our policies pay out once, either on death, terminal illness or diagnosis of a critical illness. Once a valid claim has been made the policy ends.

However, if a claim for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast or low grade prostate cancer is made or a claim under children's critical illness cover, the policy continues until the end of the term.

Our polices include different options that allow your cover to adapt with you, because you have the freedom to:

• change the term of your policy
• increase or decrease the amount of cover under your policy
• remove a life from a joint policy where cover is no longer required for that person
• change from monthly to annual premiums

There is also a 'joint life policy separation' option. This means a joint policy can be split into two new single policies if a couple divorce, dissolve their registered civil partnership or change a joint mortgage into a new name. 

If you have a ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast or low grade prostate cancer, and are eligible to claim, we'll pay out 25% of your amount of cover up to a maximum of £25,000. This benefit is in addition to your main amount of cover so your cover will not end after this benefit is paid. Your cover and monthly premium will remain the same.

All our trust forms are suitable for policies that include life and critical illness cover, because they’re classed as ‘split trusts’. This means that in the event of a critical illness  or terminal illness claim, the benefit is paid to the policy owner. In the event of a death claim, the benefit is paid in accordance with the trust.

Find out what you need to know about trusts and download a form.

We recognise that your pregnancy weight is not a fair reflection of your usual weight. When asked, please state what your weight was immediately prior to this pregnancy.

Another couple of popular questions that cause confusion are:

Have I smoked in the last 12 months?
Even if you have given up smoking during the term of your pregnancy, if you have smoked any tobacco products in the last 12 months you must declare it.

What is my weekly consumption of alcohol in units?
This question asks about your current level of alcohol consumption, which may have reduced during pregnancy. However, as you progress through the application, subsequent questions ask if the level of alcohol consumption has changed over the previous five years and whether you've been medically advised to reduce your level of alcohol consumption.

You can call our claims team, Monday to Friday between 9am and 5.30pm. The telephone number you need is 0800 068 0789. Ideally you need to have your policy number to hand, as well as details of the illness, including the diagnosis. Calls may be monitored and recorded. Call charges will vary.

You can also use the same telephone number to make a claim under children’s critical illness cover or additional cover for the ‘ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast’ or 'low grade prostate cancer' definitions.

Each claim is treated individually and your claims handler will explain everything to you in detail if you ever come to make a claim.