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Critical illness cover
Support from Scottish Widows, for you and your loved ones.
Get your quote now Life insurance quote.
What is critical illness cover?
Critical illness cover can give you peace of mind by paying out a cash lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness, covered by your policy.
The lump sum you receive can go towards whatever you like, meaning you can focus on your health and wellbeing.
To be eligible for critical illness cover you need to be a UK resident, and be 18 years of age or older.
Duration: 1 min 30 secs
Watch this short video to discover how critical illness cover could support you and how easy it is to get started with a quote.
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Could receiving a lump sum relieve your financial stress if you were diagnosed with a serious illness?
Critical illness cover could help ease money worries at a difficult time and allow you to focus your energy on recovery.
Your insurance provides a tax-free lump sum if you're diagnosed by a covered condition while your policy is active.
And with your cover, you can access virtual GP appointments with real doctors, get repeat prescriptions and should you be diagnosed with an early stage cancer, you could get an early help payment of £5,000.
You choose the amount of cover you need and how long you'd like it to last, which influences your monthly payment.
It costs more as you get older, so the best time to act is now.
Over a five year period, critical illness claims paid out £432 million, helping thousands of our customers when they needed it most.
This money goes directly to you, tax free to use as you wish.
Not sure where to start?
With our quick quote tool in the app or on our website, it'll only take a few minutes to see how much your cover could cost.
You can find more information about insurance options in our app and on our website, or speak to a protection expert for free, personalised advice on Scottish Widows policies.
Enjoy 12 months of Disney+ on us!
Get 12 months of Disney+ (Standard With Ads) when you purchase a new protection policy directly with us.
With blockbuster movies, new originals, and much-loved shows, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Stream endless entertainment and relax, knowing we've got you covered.
Your subscription starts after you make your first payment.
We can amend or withdraw this offer at any time. Terms and conditions apply.
How does critical illness cover work?
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Critical illness cover might be right for you if:
- you’d struggle to keep up with day-to-day costs if you are too ill to work for some time
- you were too ill to work, and you don’t have any savings or workplace benefits to cover your day-to-day expenses
- you’d want to focus on your health and wellbeing, using the cash lump sum to relieve the financial pressures.
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The amount of cover that's right for you depends on a few factors. If you are too ill to work, what kind of support would you and your loved ones need?
Consider the amount of financial help you might need to keep up with:
- day-to-day costs of living
- mortgage payments or rent
- costs to make health-related changes to your home.
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We can offer cover from 5 to 40 years, up to age 69. If you are over the age of 59, you will need to call us to discuss your options.
Life’s milestones can help you decide how long you want cover for. It might help to think about the number of years until:
- your children turn 18
- you have paid your mortgage in full
- you reach State Pension age.
Download our policy guides:
Critical illness cover policy summary (PDF 800 KB)
Critical illness cover terms and conditions (PDF 871 KB)
What critical illnesses does it cover?
What can critical illness cover be used for?
Get covered today
The following table shows what the price might be, based on your age group. It shows how the monthly cost you pay for life insurance can be lower if you take it out sooner.
50% of our customers paid these prices or less for single level Plan & Protect critical illness cover bought online between 31 January 2023 and 31 January 2024.
Note, the sample size for18-25 critical illness is 260 and 51-59 critical illness is 215.
Prices are subject to underwriting criteria that depend on personal circumstances and are subject to change.
What type of critical illness cover do I need?
There are different types of critical illness cover available. We offer level critical illness cover online. Here's how it works:
Get protected by experts
Scottish Widows provide our life insurance policies. They're a part of Lloyds Banking Group, like us. Scottish Widows are experts, and they've been protecting what matters most for over 200 years.
Here are a few reasons why they could be the right choice to protect you and your loved ones:
Scottish Widows life insurance products have no cash-in value at any time. So if the policy ends without a claim, you won't get any money back. If you don't make payments on time, your cover will stop, your policy will end and you'll get nothing back.
Want to speak to someone?
Our Lloyds Bank protection experts are here to help find the cover that is right for you.
They'll give you advice on Scottish Widows critical illness policies.
They won't charge you for their advice and you do not need to take the product as a result of speaking to them.
Call: 0800 131 0552
Lines are open Monday to Thursday 9am - 7pm, Friday 9am - 6pm.
Or request a call-back at a time that suits you.
Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Limited provides this service, which is also part of Lloyds Banking Group.
Did you know?
21% of life insurance claims were for people aged 50 or under.
*Scottish Widows claims statistics 2022.
Existing customer support
Your questions answered
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This kind of cover could pay out a cash lump sum if diagnosed with an illness covered by your policy before it ends. It's designed to help you and your loved ones meet day-to-day costs. This can let you focus on your own health and wellbeing.
You’ll choose the size of the cash lump sum that will get paid out when you make a successful claim. You’ll also choose how long you want cover for.
You’ll pay a fixed amount each month by Direct Debit, until your policy ends. Your policy doesn’t have a cash-in value. This means that if it ends without a successful claim, then you won’t get the money back.
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Scottish Widows is here to support you, even if you have a pre-existing condition. If they are unable to provide you with a policy, they'll let you know how to get more help or advice.
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If you’d like advice, contact our Lloyds Bank protection experts. They can help find cover that’s right for you and your loved ones.
They'll give you advice on Scottish Widows critical illness policies.
They won't charge you for their advice and you do not need to take the product as a result of speaking to them.
Call:
Lines are open Monday to Thursday, 9am – 7pm, Friday 9am – 6pm.
Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Limited provides this service, which is also part of Lloyds Banking Group.
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How much cover you need, your age, and other factors such as your health history determine the cost of life insurance.
If you have a history of smoking, this can also increase your life insurance costs as the risk of death is greater. Lifestyle factors such as dangerous jobs and hazardous hobbies are also taken into consideration.
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No, your policy will only pay out if a successful claim needs to be made. If your policy expires without a claim, your cover will terminate, and you won't receive any money back.