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Critical illness cover
Support when you need it most, for you and your loved ones.
What is critical illness cover?
Critical illness cover pays out a cash lump sum if you are diagnosed with an illness covered by your policy before it ends.
It could help you and your loved ones meet day-to-day costs and let you focus on your own health and wellbeing.
You might see this referred to as Body Cover. Body Cover is the name we use for our critical illness cover policy. It’s arranged by our partners, Scottish Widows.
Do I need critical illness cover?
Critical illness cover might be right for you if:
- you’d struggle to keep up with day-to-day costs if you were too ill to work for some time
- you don’t have savings or workplace benefits that could cover your costs if you were too ill to work
- you'd like to have a cash lump sum pay-out if you became seriously ill, to let you focus on your health and wellbeing
Did you know?
are diagnosed before retirement with a critical illness each year
Source: criticalillness.org.uk
What is critical illness cover?
This video will take you through more detail on critical illness cover.
How long should I get cover for?
It might help to think about life’s milestones, like the number of years until:
- your children are 18
- your mortgage is paid off
- you reach state pension age.
How much does it cost?
The amount you pay each month depends on the length of your policy and the size of the cash lump sum that gets paid out when a claim is made. The price might also change based on your age, health and lifestyle.
Let our experts take care of it
Our life insurance is arranged by Scottish Widows. They are a part of Lloyds Banking Group, like us. Scottish Widows are our life insurance experts, and they have been protecting what matters most for over 200 years.
Scottish Widows are:
- Reliable - Scottish Widows paid out 98% of claims in 2022. That’s £199m in total.
- Experienced - Scottish Widows has been protecting customers for over 200 years. So you’re in safe hands.
- Supportive - Scottish Widows works closely with partners like Macmillan. They help make sure our customers get the right help, at the right time.
What else do I need to know?
You need to be a UK resident, 18 or over, and under 60 to apply. Before you get a policy, check that it’s right for you. Make sure your loved ones will get the support they need after you’re gone.
What critical illnesses are covered?
The image highlights the illnesses we cover and when you can claim. These headings are only a guide. For full details refer to the terms and conditions.
1. Brain and Neurological System.
- Stroke.
- Brain Tumour.
- Traumatic Head Injury.
- Encephalitis.
- Bacterial Meningitis.
- Dementia.
- Multiple Sclerosis. (MS)
- Motor Neurone Disease. (MND)
- Parkinson's Disease.
- Atypical Parkinsonism/Parkinson Plus Syndrome.
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. (CJD)
- Devic's Disease.
2. Heart
- Heart Attack.
- Heart Surgery:
- Coronary artery bypass surgery.
- Heart valve replacement or repair.
- Open heart surgery.
- Aorta graft surgery.
- Inserting a defibrillator after cardiac arrest.
3. Organs
- Kidney failure requiring dialysis
- Transplant :
- Heart.
- Kidney.
- Liver.
- Lung.
- Bone marrow.
- Pancreas.
4. Cancer
- Invasive cancer.
- For some less severe, early stage cancers, we will make an early help payment of £5000.00 if you:
- Undergo surgery for early stage cancer.
- Receive treatment for early stage prostate cancer.
- Develop early stage malignant melanoma.
You can claim for the early help payment more than once for any other unrelated early stage cancer.
If you've got more than one Plan and Protect Policy, we'll only pay one early help payment across all of your policies.
Your full cover continues unchanged and you can go on to make a full claim for any of the illnesses we cover.
5. Limbs
- Paralysis of an arm or leg.
- Amputation or severance of hand or foot.
Want to speak to someone?
Cavendish Online is here to help find the cover that is right for you.
Like us they are part of Lloyds Banking Group. They'll give you guidance on Scottish Widows life insurance and/or critical illness policies.
Trustpilot rate them as 'Excellent' 4.9/5.
They won't charge you for their guidance and you do not need to take the product as a result of speaking to them.
Call:Â 0800 131 0297
Lines are open Monday to Thursday 10am-7pm, Friday 10am-6pm.
Or request a call back at a time that suits you.
Cover types explained
When you look for a policy, you might see the terms like ‘decreasing’ or 'level' cover. Let's explain what they mean.
Level cover
Cover and payments stay the same
Decreasing cover
Cover reduced but payments stay the same
