Cover details
What is critical illness cover?
It’s an insurance policy that pays out if during the policy term you’re diagnosed with, or undergo surgery for a critical illness as defined in the policy conditions. The diagnosis must meet the policy definition for you to receive the lump sum pay-out. There is usually a required survival period after diagnosis of the condition covered. This means there may be no pay-out if you die during a specific period after diagnosis or undergoing surgery. It's worth noting that there is generally no cash-in value at any time with a a critical illness policy.
I have a mortgage. Do I need critical illness cover?
You don’t have to buy a critical illness policy when you take out a mortgage. However, our Critical Illness Plan could provide a lump sum payment that could help cover mortgage repayments if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness that’s covered by the policy during the policy term. Please note there is no cash-in value at any time.
Should I have the same level of cover for my life insurance and critical illness?
Not necessarily. They’re separate policies, and you don’t have to choose the same level of cover for both.
Everyone's different, so it’s up to you to decide which policy, or combination of policies, is right for you. You could discuss your options with a financial adviser if you're unsure. If you don't have a financial adviser, you can find one at unbiased.co.uk. Please be aware that you may need to pay for this advice.
Our Critical Illness Plan pays out if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness that meets the policy definition during the term of the policy and survive for at least 10 days. Our Life Insurance Plan pays out if you die, or are diagnosed with a terminal illness and are not expected to live for longer than 12 months, during the policy term. It's worth noting that there is no cash-in value at any time with either of these policies.
If you already have a policy please check your terms and conditions.
Changing circumstances
How do I notify Aviva of a change of name?
If your name has changed, please contact us. Dependent upon the circumstances, we may need to see evidence of the change in the form of an original or certified legal document. If your policy was previously with Friends Life, please contact us.
I've stopped or started smoking – do I need to tell you?
No. Your cover is based on your smoker status when you applied.
I've moved house. How do I update my address details for my critical illness policy?
If you've moved house, please contact us or write to Aviva Life, Norwich BCC, PO Box 520, Norwich, NR1 3WG.
If your policy was previously with an insurer that is now part of Aviva, please contact us.
Cancellations
Can I cancel my critical illness policy at any time?
Yes. You have a 30-day cooling-off period from your policy start date, or from when you get your policy documents (whichever is later), to change your mind. If you want to cancel within this time, we'll refund any premiums you've paid.
If you want to cancel the policy after the cooling-off period ends, your premiums won’t be refunded. There is no cash-in value at any time, and if you cancel your policy, you won't be able to make a claim.
If you're thinking about cancelling your policy please contact us, or write to Aviva Life, Norwich BCC, PO Box 520, Norwich, NR1 3WG.
If your policy was previously with an insurer that is now part of Aviva, please contact us.
Payouts and claims
Can I make a critical illness claim over the phone?
Yes. You can make a claim over the phone by calling 0800 015 1142. Our UK-based claims team will discuss your claim and can complete the claim form for you. This tends to be the quickest way to get the claim process started.
If you're considering making a claim, see our claims process. If your policy was previously with an insurer that is now part of Aviva, please contact us.
For our joint protection, telephone calls may be recorded and/or monitored.
How long will it take to get a payout on a claim?
Once a claim is accepted, we will aim for the payment to be with you as soon as possible. If 10 working days has passed and you haven’t received your payment, please contact us on 0800 015 1142.
For our joint protection, telephone calls may be recorded and/or monitored.
How will you consider my critical illness claim?
We'll request reports from your doctors to confirm details of your illness and/or treatment. If you've been provided with detailed medical letters already, giving us a copy of these can help us to assess the claim more efficiently. You'll be asked to provide contact details for your GP and for any specialists responsible for your care. For cancer claims, if you have a cancer nurse specialist, they may also be able to help us verify your claim. We'll let you know along the way what evidence we've requested and anything that is still outstanding before we can accept your claim.
How will you pay the money if my claim is accepted?
We’ll pay the money for a claim electronically by Faster Payment, BACS or by a telegraphic transfer.
Why would you decline a claim?
If the condition you're claiming for isn't covered by your policy, or if the policy wasn't in place when what you're claiming for happened, we would decline the claim.
We carefully consider all claims and aim to be as transparent as possible with our customers. In 2024, we paid 98.8% of all life insurance and terminal illness claims. This includes life insurance, terminal illness, over 50s life insurance and whole of life insurance claims combined. We also paid 91.5% of critical illness claims across all of our critical illness products, which is a combination of critical illness, children's benefit and total permanent disability.*
When you apply for cover, it's important that you make sure your answers are true, full and accurate, or this could impact any future claim.
If you're unsure about anything when applying or claiming, please contact us.
*Source: Individual Protection Claims data from Aviva for the period January to December 2024, including from Aviva Protection UK Limited (formerly AIG Life Limited) from 9 April to December 2024.
Premium protection
What if I have premium protection on my critical illness policy?
If you have this benefit, you can find your policy’s deferred period in your policy schedule. If you think you’re entitled to claim, continue paying the premium until you’ve contacted us and we’ve confirmed the claim is accepted. You can call us on 0800 015 1142. If your policy was previously with an insurer that is now part of Aviva, please contact us to see if this applies to you.
For our joint protection, telephone calls may be recorded and/or monitored.
Children's benefit
What is children's benefit?
Children's benefit may be automatically included in a personal policy that includes critical illness cover. Policies tend to pay £25,000, or 50% of the main critical illness benefit (whichever is lower), if any of your natural, step or legally adopted children are diagnosed with one of the children's critical illnesses or conditions we cover during the term of the policy.
If one of your children dies during the term of the policy, most policies will pay a lump sum of £5,000. Children are covered from 30 days old until their 18th birthday (or their 21st birthday, if they’re in full-time education).
Aviva only pay out one critical illness claim for each child under the policy. We'll pay a death claim for a child, even if we've previously paid out on a critical illness claim for them. If we pay out under children's benefit, the policy will continue to provide cover for you and any other eligible children you have.
If you already have an existing policy with us, check your policy documents to see what cover is included. If your policy was previously with an insurer that is now part of Aviva, please contact us to see if this applies to you.
Access needs
How can I contact you if I'm deaf or a British Sign Language (BSL) user?
If you have an Aviva Critical Illness Plan, you can get in touch with us using a qualified BSLinterpreter for free as part of our partnership with online video interpreting service SignLive. Find out more about how to use the SignLive service.
You can contact us using this service if you need to talk about setting up a new policy, making a claim or have a customer service query.
If this service does not meet your needs, there are other ways to contact us, including using one of our online forms or liveChat. You may also be able to to resolve your query by logging into your MyAviva account. For all the ways to get in touch with use, see our contact us page.