What's covered
Critical Illness Cover is designed to pay out if you were diagnosed with, or undergo a medical procedure for one of the specified conditions that we cover and are eligible to claim during the length of your policy
Below is a complete list of the conditions that the policy covers.
These headings typically use medical terms to describe the illness, but in some cases the cover may be limited. For example, some types of cancer are not included and to make a claim for some illnesses, you need to have permanent symptoms.
For full definitions and when you can claim for these illnesses, please refer to our Guide to critical illness cover (PDF: 1016KB) and Policy Booklet (PDF: 1.74MB)
| CRITICAL ILLNESSES | DEFINITION |
|---|---|
| Aorta graft surgery | requiring surgical replacement |
| Aplastic anaemia | with permanent bone marrow failure |
| Bacterial meningitis | resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Benign brain tumour | resulting in either surgical removal or permanent symptoms |
| Blindness | permanent and irreversible |
| Cancer | excluding less advanced cases |
| Cardiac Arrest | with insertion of a defibrillator |
| Cardiomyopathy | of specified severity |
| Coma | with associated permanent symptoms |
| Coronary artery by-pass grafts | with surgery to divide the breast bone or anterolateral thoracotomy |
| Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) | resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Deafness | permanent and irreversible |
| Dementia including Alzheimer’s disease | resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Encephalitis | resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Heart attack | of specified severity |
| Heart valve replacement or repair | with surgery |
| HIV infection | caught from a blood transfusion, physical assault or accident at work |
| Kidney failure | requiring permanent dialysis |
| Liver failure | of advanced stage |
| Loss of hand or foot | permanent physical severance |
| Loss of speech | total permanent and irreversible |
| Major organ transplant | from another donor |
| Motor neurone disease | resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Multiple sclerosis | where there have been symptoms |
| Multiple system atrophy | resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Open heart surgery | with median sternotomy |
| Paralysis of limb | total and irreversible |
| Parkinson's disease | resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Primary pulmonary hypertension | of specified severity |
| Progressive supranuclear palsy | resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Removal of an eyeball | due to injury or disease |
| Respiratory failure | of advanced stage |
| Spinal stroke | resulting in symptoms lasting at least 24 hours |
| Stroke | resulting in symptoms lasting a least 24 hours |
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | with severe complications |
| Third degree burns | covering 20% of the surface area of the body or 20% of the face or head |
| Total and permanent disability* | of specified severity |
| Traumatic brain injury | resulting in permanent symptoms |
Additional cover options
We provide additional cover for carcinoma in situ of the breast and low grade prostate cancer. This means if you meet our definitions we'll pay out 25% of your amount of cover up to a maximum of £25,000. This benefit does not affect your amount of cover or the premiums you pay.
Terminal Illness Cover
The policy will pay out if you're diagnosed with a terminal illness before the last 12 months of the policy. Read more about the terms and conditions.
*Total and Permanent Disability
There are two definitions of total and permanent disability - Own Occupation and Specified Work Tasks. The full definitions and details on when you can claim are in our Guide to critical illness cover (PDF: 1016KB) and Policy Booklet (PDF: 1.74MB)
Exclusions and Limitations
- The critical illnesses covered include heart attack, cancer and stroke. However, some types of cancer are not included and to make a claim for some illnesses, your illness needs to meet a specified severity or result in permanent symptoms
- Above is a list of specified critical illnesses covered by our current policies. If the person covered has a critical illness it has to be verified by a medical specialist who holds an appointment as a consultant at a hospital in the UK and whose specialism we reasonably consider is appropriate to the critical illness.
- Please remember that the heading of each critical illness is only a guide to what is covered. Further details of how we will consider your claim, including the full definitions we will use and the evidence we will need, are given in your Policy Booklet, which will be sent to you when your policy starts.
- If you already have critical illness cover with us, please refer to your original policy document for full terms and conditions and definitions available to you. The illnesses you're already covered for may be different from those listed above. If you want to discuss this further or are unsure about what illnesses apply to you, please contact your financial adviser or Legal & General. You can call us on 0800 0720 4894 between 8:00am and 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturday. Call charges will vary. We may record and monitor calls.