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Critical illness cover

Only available as an add-on when you take out life insurance, for an extra charge.

Provides a lump sum if you or your child become ill with a condition covered by the policy.

Our life insurance is provided by our trusted partners Legal & General.

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Get a £75 gift card for M&S or Amazon

Take out life insurance through Nationwide online and receive a £75 M&S e-Gift Card or Amazon.co.uk gift card*.

You will receive your chosen gift card 6 months after your policy start date, provided your payments are up to date and you have not cancelled your policy.

*Terms and Conditions apply

Why add critical illness cover to your life insurance policy?

Critical illness cover can help lessen your financial worries by paying out a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness. Or suffer a significant injury.

You could use the money to help pay the mortgage or rent. Or it could go towards other bills and everyday expenses. It could also allow you to make lifestyle changes or modifications to your home if needed.

Information:

Terms, limits and exclusions that apply are explained in the Policy Summary document.

Includes cover for your children

Children’s critical illness cover will be included in your policy. This could help if you need to take time off work to focus on their health.

  • Pays out a lump sum
    Up to £25,000 or 50% of your amount of cover - whichever is lower - if your child is diagnosed with one of the conditions covered.

  • £5,000 Accident Hospitalisation Benefit
    If your child is in hospital with physical injuries for 28 days or more, directly after an accident.

  • Family Accommodation Benefit
    Pays up to £100 per night for each night your child spends in hospital in the 3 months following their diagnosis, up to a maximum of £1,000.

  • Covers your children until adulthood
    Your child is covered from when they’re 30 days old until their 18th birthday. Or their 21st if they are in full time education.

If the unthinkable should happen, this cover could offer financial help of up to £4,000 towards the cost of a funeral.

Life insurance with critical illness cover offers you:

  1. 5 Star rated cover

    The life insurance with critical illness cover we offer online is 5 Star rated from the experts at Defaqto. Meaning it’s among the most comprehensive cover you can buy.

  2. A policy you can build your own way

    Choose a level of cover to suit your needs and budget.

  1. 2 separate policies

    Critical illness cover will be separate from your life insurance policy. So both could be claimed on.

  2. An advance payment up to £5,000

    The Early Days Advance Payment gives some financial relief while claims are being assessed.

  1. No price rises

    Unless you make a change, your payments will stay the same for the length of your policy.

  2. Cover for your children

    Pays out a lump sum if your child is diagnosed with one of the conditions covered, or hospitalised by an accident.

How critical illness cover works

  1. You need to take out a life insurance policy

    Critical illness cover is only available as an optional add-on when you take out a life insurance policy through us. You’ll then pay an extra cost on top of your life insurance premium.

    We’ll ask if you want to add critical illness cover when you get your life insurance quote. If you say no and go on to apply, you won’t be able to add it later if you change your mind.

    Keep in mind life insurance and critical illness cover are separate policies and can have different term lengths. Life insurance can cover you up to your 90th birthday. Critical illness cover can cover you up to your 75th birthday.

  2. Choose the amount of cover you need

    Like with life insurance, you choose the amount you’ll be covered for. This will depend on your budget, and expenses you think you might have while you recover or get treatment.

    This amount will then be fixed for the length of the policy.

  3. If you claim, your life insurance policy won’t be affected

    Life insurance and critical illness cover are separate policies.

    That means you can claim if you’re diagnosed with one of the illnesses covered, and your life insurance policy could still pay out later.

Information:

Life insurance is not a savings or investment product. It will only pay out if a valid claim is made.

Before you start your quote

Make sure you understand our eligibility criteria and have read our important documents.

To apply for critical illness cover

You need to be:

  • Between 18 and 67 years old.

Information:

Terms, limits and exclusions that apply are explained in the Policy Summary document (PDF, 228KB - opens in a new window).

Get a life insurance with critical illness cover quote

If you know what cover you need, you can get a quote and apply for life insurance and critical illness cover online.

But if you’d like some advice, you can book a free appointment to speak to an adviser at Legal & General.

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