Understanding what your critical illness policy covers you for could offer peace of mind, when you need it most.
Published: 10 Aug 2022 Last updated: 28 Jul 2025
Being ill or injured isn’t something we tend to think about until it happens. Have you ever thought about the costs you'd need to cover if you became ill and were unable to work? That's when critical illness cover could benefit you, by helping you keep paying the bills. Find out more in this article about critical illness, to see if it's the right product for you.
Critical illness explained
Critical illness cover pays out a lump sum if you're diagnosed with, or undergo surgery for, a critical illness that meets the policy definition during the policy term. Most policies have a survival period that you need to meet before you can claim. This tends to be 10 or 14 days dependent on the product. Policies only cover the critical illnesses defined in the policy conditions and no others. Critical illness is designed to help support you and your family financially while you deal with your diagnosis - so you can focus on your recovery without worrying about how the bills will be paid.
Our Critical illness Plan pays out provided that the policyholder is a UK resident, is aged between 18 and 64, that their critical illness meets our policy definition and that they have survived at least 10 days post-diagnosis. We only cover the critical illnesses we define in our policy and no others. There is no cash-in value at any time. The full cover amount will only be paid out once. Also, if payments stop, the policy will end. Our critical illness video explains more about how this product works.
Conditions covered in our Critical Illness Plan
The conditions we cover are listed in alphabetical order. You can find more information in our policy conditions.
Bring to life your cover options with Aviva. Critical illness cover pays out a lump sum if you're diagnosed with or undergo surgery for a critical illness we cover and survive for at least 10 days. It’s designed to help you and your family deal with the illness. Bear in mind, there’s no cash in value with this plan at any time.
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