26 Mar 2026

What’s the difference between critical illness and terminal illness?

Some of the language in the insurance world can be confusing, and many people ask us about the difference between critical and terminal illness. So we thought we’d take the opportunity to explain what these mean.

Reviewed by Lisa Redman

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Terminal illness vs. critical illness

Both terminal and critical illnesses refer to serious medical conditions. But the difference is that a critical illness cover covers conditions specified by the policy, whereas a terminal diagnosis means your hospital consultant expects the illness will lead to death within the next 12 months. The main differences are covered below

A table which outlines the differences between Critical Illness Cover and Terminal Illness Cover.

Critical Illness Cover

Our Critical Illness Cover can be added to Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance for an extra cost. It could pay out a cash sum if you’re diagnosed with, or undergo a medical procedure for one of the specified critical illness that we cover during the length of your policy, and you survive for 14 days from diagnosis. The list of illnesses we cover include many types of cancer, heart attack and stroke.

It’s important to note that some types of cancer are not included and you need to have permanent symptoms to make a claim for some illnesses.

This is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made.

These are just some of the illnesses that are covered, but see the complete list of critical illnesses here, and more information is available in the Policy Terms & Conditions.

You can hear more about Critical Illness Cover from our expert Barry, in this short video.

What is critical illness cover?

22 Dec 2025 / 01:34

What is critical illness cover? Well critical illness cover pays out a lump sum on a number of conditions*. Now we don't cover them all but we aim to cover the ones that worry us the most. Okay, so think about heart attack, think about strokes and think about cancer.

Who hasn't been impacted by someone who's had cancer? Let me explain the difference between terminal illness cover and critical illness cover because it's often confused. Terminal illness cover is included in all our life insurance policies and what that means is that if you're sadly diagnosed with an illness and the doctor tells you that you've got less than 12 months to live, do you know what we'll do? We'll pay you before you die and what that allows you to do is maybe settle debts, do things for the family, just do anything you want before sadly you die. Now, critical illness cover is designed to a pay out a lump sum on a certain number of illnesses, once you're ill.

So once you're diagnosed, we'll give you the money and then you can choose to do whatever you want to do with it. Life insurance with critical illness cover is an additional extra you can have at outset of the policy but many of our customers find it absolutely essential. So if you think if you die you have a payout and that's absolutely fine but what if you're ill? We all know so many people don't want to be ill.

So how do they cope? When people are ill what do they want to do? Things they want to do maybe a different, maybe they don't want to pay off their mortgage, maybe they want to go on holiday, do things for the family, change their home. That's why so many customers choose to do it and it pays out a lump sum and you know what what's really good? You get to choose how you spend it and who you want to benefit from that. What could be better?

*Critical illness cover could pay out a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with or undergo a medical procedure for one of the specified critical illnesses that we cover during the length of your policy and survive for 14 days from diagnosis.

Terminal Illness Cover explained

Terminal Illness Cover is automatically included at no extra cost on all our Life Insurance and Decreasing Life Insurance policies with a term of at least 2 years. It could pay out the full amount of cover if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness during your period of cover.

A terminal illness is one that has no known cure or has progressed to a point where it cannot be cured, and in the opinion of your hospital consultant and our Medical Officer (a qualified doctor employed by Legal & General), it's expected to lead to death within 12 months.

Your cash sum would depend on the date the terminal illness definition is met and would be paid in the event of a valid claim and you can decide how the money is spent. Like Critical Illness Cover, it’s important to note that life insurance is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made.

You should also note that no claim for terminal illness cover can be made after the insured person has passed away.

Do I need Critical Illness or Terminal Illness Cover?

Anyone can be affected by a life-threatening illness, so having the right protection in place could help minimise stress at a difficult time. You should initially consider whether you need life insurance. If you decide that is the case and you require this type of cover for more than two years, we will automatically include Terminal Illness Cover.

A valid claim for terminal illness cover could mean you receive the cash sum earlier when you require financial assistance.

Or if you choose to add Critical Illness Cover when taking out a policy, a successful claim could help pay for childcare costs, household bills and lifestyle commitments.

Lisa Redman

Lisa Redman

Senior Propositions Manager, Retail Protection

Lisa works in UK Retail Protection Proposition Development team and is responsible for identifying and assessing new product and proposition enhancements to meet customer needs, with a strong emphasis on regulatory compliance ensuring all required governance is completed.

More about Lisa

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