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

Get your quote now

Did you know?

Did you know?

Infographic visualising level cover

are diagnosed before retirement with a critical illness each year

Source: criticalillness.org.uk

 

 

Get a £100 gift card when you buy a policy online.

To receive your gift card, you must make at least 6 monthly payments and pay at least £100 in total.

When you’ve done that, you’ll be able to choose a gift card from over 140 retailers.

Terms and Conditions apply

 

 

 

Gift card logo

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.

 

Infographic visualising level cover

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 2021. That’s £207m 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. 
98% of claims paid in 2021 with umbrella image

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.
 

With critical illness cover you can:

  • get a cash lump sum if you are diagnosed with an illness covered by your policy before your policy ends
  • choose an amount and duration that are right for you
  • cancel at any time, free of charge.

With critical illness cover you can’t:

  • get any money back unless you make a claim
  • change your policy after it has started
  • keep your cover if you miss your monthly payments.

What critical illnesses are covered?

body image with circles numbered one to five

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.

 

Get a quote today

Get a quote today

Take a look at how you can apply for a quote using our App.

Get your quote now Get your quote now

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

Graph showing cover remaining at same level

How does level cover work?

Level cover means that the cash pay-out stays the same until your policy ends. You'll pay the same amount each month.

What’s the benefit of level cover?

With level cover, the amount that gets paid out if you die won't change. So you and your loved ones will always know how much cover you'll have in case the unexpected happens.

How can I apply for level cover?

Apply for a quote in our mobile banking app.

Get your quote now Get your quote now

Decreasing cover

Cover reduced but payments stay the same

Graph showing cover decreasing over time.

How does decreasing cover work?

Decreasing cover means that the cash pay-out goes down each month until your policy ends. You'll pay the same amount each month.

What’s the benefit of decreasing cover?

Decreasing cover is usually a cheaper kind of cover. It's often used to protect a repayment mortgage. As you pay off your mortgage, the outstanding amount will go down. So the amount that your cover pays out when you die or fall seriously ill will go down, too. If you mainly need cover for your mortgage, you could get the support you need and pay less each month than level cover.

How can I apply for decreasing cover?

We don’t currently have an online quote journey for decreasing cover, but we want to make sure you have the support you need.  That’s where our mortgage and protection advisors or Cavendish Online can help.

Learn about mortgage cover

Should I get life cover?

Should I get life cover?

Life cover pays out a cash lump sum if you die before your policy ends. It could help your loved ones cope financially after you're gone.

More about Life cover
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Lloyds Bank plc. Registered office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales No. 2065. Lloyds Bank plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 119278.