Critical Illness Cover
Get extra protection and financial peace of mind. Add our optional critical illness cover and children's cover when you take out Post Office Life Insurance
Critical illness and children’s cover: understanding the add-ons
No one wants to think of themselves or their children getting seriously ill. But it’s a possibility life insurance can help you prepare for. With our life insurance, you can pay an extra amount each month to easily add further cover.
- Critical illness cover pays out a cash sum if you develop a defined critical illness
- Children's cover pays out a cash sum if a child insured on your policy dies in an accident, is seriously injured or falls critically ill
These options can help financially in such difficult times. Whether it’s paying bills, maintaining your family's lifestyle, taking your child to medical appointments or adapting your home.
- Critical illness cover
- Children’s cover
What is critical illness cover?
Critical illness cover is an optional add-on to a life insurance policy that pays out a cash sum if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness defined in your policy.
It’s designed to help cover financial pressures such as medical costs or changes to your home, so you can focus on recovery rather than money worries.
Critical illness cover must be taken out alongside a life insurance policy and it comes with an additional cost.
Why might you need critical illness cover?
Life can change massively if you or a loved one is diagnosed with a serious illness. Adapting to a new way of living takes time, and there may be financial costs that shouldn’t be overlooked. If you’re unable to work, paying a mortgage or covering day-to-day costs becomes a lot more difficult. You may also want to make home adaptations or buy equipment which helps you navigate life with your new condition.
Choosing life insurance with critical illness cover can help in these moments, providing security and peace of mind. It can give you the space to focus on living life to the fullest instead of worrying about your finances.
Why choose our critical illness cover?
Our critical illness add-on provides extra cover for:
- Cancer (except less advanced cases)
- Coronary artery by-pass grafts (with surgery to divide the breastbone)
- Heart attack (of specified severity)
- Stroke (resulting in permanent symptoms)
And when you apply, you’ll get an instant decision and immediate cover.
How does critical illness cover work?
It’s easy to add critical illness cover to your Post Office Life Insurance:
- Add it when you apply for your main policy or once it’s started
- Pay a little extra each month for the additional cover
- It provides a minimum of £10,000 cover
- The maximum cover at the start date is either 100% of the main policy cash sum or up to £200,000, whichever is lower
To claim on your policy, you must:
- Be covered by the policy when you make the claim
- Be diagnosed with one of the four illnesses we define as critical
- Survive for at least 30 days after diagnosis (in other words, you can’t receive a critical illness payout and a life insurance payout within 30 days)
- Have held your policy for at least three months without a claim
How do critical illness payouts work?
- When a critical illness payment is made, the cover will end and your monthly premium will be reduced accordingly
- If a critical illness payment is made, your main life policy will continue until the end of the term. Its cash sum won’t change as long as you keep making your monthly payments
- On joint policies, it pays out when the first policyholder is diagnosed with a critical illness
For full definitions and details about what is and isn’t covered, please refer to the terms and conditions.
What is children’s cover?
Children’s cover is an optional add-on to your life insurance policy that pays out a cash sum if an insured child dies following an accident or suffers a specified serious illness or injury.
It's designed to help with the additional financial pressures families may face during an extremely difficult time. You can add it on to your life insurance policy for an additional cost.
Why might you need children’s cover?
It’s hard enough imagining what life would be like if you were diagnosed with a critical illness, let alone your child.
By paying a bit extra each month, you give yourself the reassurance that should the worst happen, you’ll have some financial assistance to help your family through it. Children’s cover is designed to help with extra costs such as:
- Medical or hospital-related expenses
- Taking time off work or changing jobs
- Arranging additional childcare
- Adapting your home
Why choose our children’s cover?
You can choose between £10,000 and £30,000 of cover in case a child insured on the policy:
- Dies within 90 days of an accident that occurred after the policy start date, or
- Suffers one of the following injuries or illnesses: Bacterial meningitis (resulting in permanent symptoms), Blindness (permanent and irreversible), Cancer (except less advanced cases), Deafness (permanent and irreversible), Encephalitis (resulting in permanent symptoms), Loss of hands or feet (permanent physical severance), Paralysis (total and irreversible), Traumatic head injury (resulting in permanent symptoms)
How does children’s cover work?
It’s easy to add children’s cover to your Post Office Life Insurance:
- Pay an additional premium each month for the extra cover
- Insure each child for a minimum of £10,000 and a maximum of £30,000
- The children must be under 21 years of age and resident in the United Kingdom at the start date or, if children's cover is added to your policy later, the date when they are accepted for cover
Claiming on your policy
- The children’s cover cash sum is paid once for each insured child
- The cash sum payable is specified in your policy schedule
- You can’t make a claim within the first three months of cover, if the condition was known to be present at birth, or if the injury or illness occurred before the insured child's cover started
For full definitions and details about what is and isn’t covered, please refer to the terms and conditions.
Get life cover and a reward of your choice by getting a quote online or by phone
When you buy Post Office Life Insurance, you’ll also get a special reward. Choose a £100 gift card from a choice of retailers or an unforgettable experience by getting a quote online or by phoning 0330 123 3921^.
Gift card reward
As a thanks for getting cover with us, select a £100 gift card† from a top UK retailer
- Choose a Dining Out, M&S or Amazon.co.uk Gift Card*
- Flexible and easy to use for everyday shopping
- Great for groceries, home essentials or just treating yourself
† Qualifying period, minimum premiums and terms and conditions apply
Experience reward
Celebrate your new peace of mind with an experience worth up to £200† for you and your loved ones
- Choose a Luxury Night Away or a Family Adventure Day
- Hundreds of experiences available nationwide
- Keep it relaxed or do something different with a well-deserved break
† Qualifying period, minimum premiums and terms and conditions apply
Common questions about critical illness cover
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No, you can't take critical illness cover only. It needs to be taken out with a life insurance policy. But you can choose the amount of critical illness cover to meet your needs. The minimum amount of cover is £10,000. The maximum amount is 100% of the life insurance cash sum or £200,000, whichever is lower.
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That depends on how much you feel you would need if a critical illness prevented you from working. The critical illness cover amount available is between £10,000 and £200,000 or no more than 100% of the life insurance policy cash sum.
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No. Once we’ve paid a child or critical illness claim, only the additional cover will stop. The main policy will continue. Future monthly payments will reduce as you won’t be paying for your critical illness cover. As long as you keep paying, your life cover cash sum will stay in place for the life of your policy.
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No. Your critical illness cover is separate. It’s not deducted from your main life cover cash sum. Keep making your monthly payments and you'll still get 100% of your life cover cash sum if you die during the life of your policy.
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Yes. You can add the critical illness cover after the policy start date.
- Read more
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You can’t add critical illness cover to your policy after you’ve been diagnosed. The illness must occur after your cover starts, outside the 3‑month waiting period, and you must survive 30 days after diagnosis.
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You can remove, increase or decrease critical illness cover (subject to policy limits) from your life insurance. If you cancel your policy, the critical illness cover is also cancelled.
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The cash sum you receive from a critical illness cover or children's cover is currently tax-free. Tax rules may change in future.
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There is no maximum number of children you can cover. We can pay one claim per child.
- For more FAQs visit our life cover support page
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If you want to leave your loved ones financial protection for your home, even if you’re not there to help pay the mortgage, you may want to take out mortgage life insurance.
What are the benefits of life insurance?
Life insurance can give your family financial support if you pass away during the policy term. As well as providing peace of mind, it can help cover debts and everyday costs so life can go on.
What is whole of life insurance?
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About our life insurance
Post Office Life Insurance is underwritten and administered by Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited. Neilson Financial Services Limited assist in the administration. If you buy Post Office Life Insurance over the telephone or online via the Post Office website, it is arranged and sold by Neilson Financial Services Limited, following an introduction by Post Office Limited. If you buy Post Office Life Insurance online via a price comparison website, it is arranged and sold by the firm that provides the price comparison website services.
Post Office Limited is an appointed representative of Post Office Management Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 630318. Registered in England and Wales. Registered numbers 2154540 and 08459718 respectively. Registered office: 100 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7ER.
Offer terms and conditions
† Gift card or Experience offer ends 30 April 2027. Minimum premiums and 180-day qualifying period applies.
* Restrictions apply, see amazon.co.uk/gc-legal
Things you need to know
Post Office Life Insurance is for customers who are UK residents aged 18-70 at the start of the policy. The minimum term is 5 years and cover must end before your 90th birthday.
We won’t pay a claim if you don’t keep your payments up to date as you will no longer be covered under the policy. If you don’t tell us something or give us incorrect answers to our application questions that affects your cover, we may reduce the amount we pay for a claim or at worst cancel your cover and not refund your monthly payments.
Footnote
^ Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9am - 8pm, Saturday: 9am - 5pm, closed on Sundays and bank holidays. Call charges: Calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calling a standard UK number starting with 01 or 02 from your fixed line or mobile and may be included in your call package. Calls may be monitored or recorded for training and compliance purposes.