Legal & General critical illness cover review 2026
A look at Legal & General’s Critical Illness Cover: who can apply, the conditions it covers, what it pays, its key terms, claims record and how to claim.
- Entry age
- 18–67
- Cover ends before 75
- Policy length
- 2–50 years
- Added to L&G life cover
- Conditions
- 36
- Plus 2 under additional cover
- Children’s cover
- Included
- Up to £25,000 a claim
In a nutshell
Legal & General’s Critical Illness Cover pays a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with, or have a medical procedure for, one of the conditions it covers and you survive for 14 days. Bought directly from L&G, it can’t be taken on its own: you add it to Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance for an extra cost, as a separate policy that can pay out separately from your life cover.
- Apply from age 18 to 67, for 2 to 50 years. The policy must end before you’re 75.
- The policy summary lists 36 conditions that pay your full amount of cover, including many types of cancer, heart attack and stroke. Carcinoma in situ of the breast and low grade prostate cancer pay 25% of your cover, up to £25,000, without reducing it.
- Children’s Critical Illness Cover is included, paying the lower of 50% of your cover or £25,000 a claim. The Accident Hospitalisation, Childcare and Family Accommodation benefits come at no extra cost, and a £4,000 Child Funeral Benefit is included.
- Premiums are guaranteed to stay the same unless you change the policy. Your critical illness cover can be less than your life cover, but not more.
- L&G paid 92.9% of critical illness claims in 2025, with an average payout of £71,755.
- Through a financial adviser, L&G also sells Critical Illness Extra, with more conditions and higher additional payouts, and Total and Permanent Disability cover, each for an extra cost.
- When we checked on 25 September 2026, L&G offered a £100 gift card, with restrictions, to customers who buy directly online or by phone.
Who can apply for Legal & General critical illness cover?
To take out L&G’s Critical Illness Cover directly, you need to be a UK resident and to take out L&G Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance at the same time.
- Age to apply
- 18 to 67
- Policy length
- 2 to 50 years
- Policy must end
- Before age 75
- Earliest end date
- Not before your 29th birthday
- Residence
- UK resident, in the UK for at least 183 days in the last tax year
- Bought with
- L&G Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance, for an extra cost
- Amount of cover
- Your choice, up to your life cover amount
- Single or joint
- Either
- Conditions covered
- 36 for a full payout, plus 2 for additional cover
- Children’s cover
- Included automatically: the lower of 50% of your cover or £25,000 a claim
- Premiums
- Guaranteed, paid monthly or annually
- How to apply
- Online (L&G says a quote takes 2 minutes) or by phone on 0800 316 5591
You choose how much cover you want and how long it lasts. The amount can be less than your Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance cover, but not more.
You can still apply if you’ve already been diagnosed with a health condition. Each application is looked at individually: some conditions may be excluded from your cover, and in some cases L&G can’t offer cover at all. You’re told about any exclusions during the application.
Answer every application question fully and accurately. L&G’s policy summary says you’re not covered if you don’t, and tells you not to assume it will contact your doctor for your full medical details.
Through a financial adviser, the maximum age to apply with critical illness cover is 67 with Life Insurance but 64 with Decreasing Life Insurance, and the policy must end by your 75th birthday. With Life Insurance, the maximum cover when critical illness cover is added is £3 million where the specified work tasks definition of Total and Permanent Disability applies, or £2 million where the own occupation definition applies.
Age and term limits from L&G’s Critical Illness Cover page and policy summary, checked on 25 September 2026.
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What does Legal & General critical illness cover pay out for?
Critical Illness Cover pays your full amount of cover if you’re diagnosed with, or have a medical procedure for, one of the conditions it covers during the policy and you survive for 14 days from diagnosis. The policy then ends.
Your illness must meet L&G’s definition of the condition, confirmed by a verified UK consultant in a relevant specialism. L&G won’t pay if the condition doesn’t meet its definition or if death occurs within 14 days of diagnosis. Some types of cancer aren’t covered, and some conditions need permanent symptoms before you can claim.
It’s a separate policy from your life insurance, so it can pay out separately. L&G says it won’t pay out your amount of cover if you die, and on a single life policy the critical illness cover ends when you die. If you were diagnosed with a covered condition and survived 14 days, the claim may still be paid to your estate after you die.
L&G says the money could help with childcare costs, household bills or keeping up your standard of living if you have to take time off work to recover.
- Full payout: your amount of cover, once, for any of the 36 conditions listed below.
- Additional cover: 25% of your cover, up to £25,000, for carcinoma in situ of the breast or low grade prostate cancer. It doesn’t reduce your cover or premiums, and each person on a joint policy can claim once per condition.
- Children’s cover: the lower of 50% of your cover or £25,000 if a child is diagnosed with a covered condition, without reducing your cover or premiums.
Conditions covered
L&G’s policy summary lists 36 conditions that pay the full amount of cover and 2 that pay additional cover. Total and Permanent Disability is only covered if your Policy Schedule includes it. Children are covered for all these conditions apart from Total and Permanent Disability.
| Condition | What’s covered |
|---|---|
| Full payment: your amount of cover | |
| Aorta graft surgery | Requiring surgical replacement |
| Aplastic anaemia | With permanent bone marrow failure |
| Bacterial meningitis | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Benign brain tumour | Resulting in either surgical removal or permanent symptoms |
| Blindness | Permanent and irreversible |
| Cancer | Excluding less advanced cases |
| Cardiac arrest | With insertion of a defibrillator |
| Cardiomyopathy | Of specified severity |
| Coma | With associated permanent symptoms |
| Coronary artery by-pass grafts | With surgery to divide the breastbone or thoracotomy |
| Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Deafness | Permanent and irreversible |
| Dementia including Alzheimer’s disease | Of specified severity |
| Encephalitis | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Heart attack | Of specified severity |
| Heart valve replacement or repair | With surgery |
| Kidney failure | Requiring permanent dialysis |
| Liver failure | Of advanced stage |
| Loss of hand or foot | Permanent physical severance |
| Loss of speech | Total, permanent and irreversible |
| Major organ transplant | From another donor |
| Motor neurone disease | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Multiple sclerosis | Where there have been symptoms |
| Multiple system atrophy | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Open heart surgery | With median sternotomy |
| Paralysis of limb | Total and irreversible |
| Parkinson’s disease | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Primary pulmonary hypertension | Of specified severity |
| Progressive supranuclear palsy | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Removal of an eyeball | Due to injury or disease |
| Respiratory failure | Of advanced stage |
| Spinal stroke | Resulting in symptoms lasting at least 24 hours |
| Stroke | Resulting in symptoms lasting at least 24 hours |
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | With severe complications |
| Third degree burns | Covering 20% of the surface area of the body or 20% of the face or head |
| Traumatic brain injury | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Additional cover: 25% of your cover, up to £25,000 | |
| Carcinoma in situ of the breast | Treated by surgery |
| Low grade prostate cancer | Requiring treatment |
| Only if your Policy Schedule includes it | |
| Total and Permanent Disability | Of specified severity: never again able to do your own occupation, or at least three of six specified work tasks, depending on your job. It ends when the oldest person covered reaches the policy end date or their 70th birthday, if earlier. |
| Children’s Critical Illness Cover | |
| Your children | Any condition above apart from Total and Permanent Disability: the lower of 50% of your cover or £25,000 |
Condition names as L&G’s policy summary (QGI14786) lists them; Total and Permanent Disability is from the policy terms and the Guide to Critical Illnesses Covered. The full definitions, including what isn’t covered, are in the guide and the policy terms.
Cancer. L&G’s cancer definition excludes less advanced cases. For example, cancers classified as pre-malignant, in situ, borderline or of low malignant potential aren’t covered, and prostate tumours are only covered in full with a Gleason score of 7 or above or once they’ve reached a specified stage. L&G says the cancers left out tend to be ones that haven’t spread and can usually be treated successfully, such as some skin cancers and early stage prostate cancer.
Two of these less advanced cases are covered by the additional cover instead: surgery to remove carcinoma in situ of the breast, and treatment for low grade prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 2 to 6.
Heart attack and stroke. The heart attack definition doesn’t cover angina, or myocardial injury, without a myocardial infarction (heart attack). For a stroke, the symptoms must last at least 24 hours, and the definition doesn’t cover a transient ischaemic attack or an eye stroke.
Permanent symptoms. Where a definition needs permanent symptoms, L&G means symptoms expected to last for the rest of your life, whenever the cover ends or you retire.
L&G won’t pay additional cover when there’s more than one diagnosis in the same period of investigation and treatment and you’re eligible for a full critical illness claim.
Through a financial adviser. L&G’s adviser policy summary has its own list of Critical Illness Cover conditions, worded differently from the direct one: for example, it lists aplastic anaemia “categorised as very severe”, where the direct policy summary says “with permanent bone marrow failure”. Advisers can also offer Critical Illness Extra at an extra cost. It includes everything in the adviser version of Critical Illness Cover, plus conditions such as heart failure and intensive care needing mechanical ventilation for 7 days, and its additional cover pays 100% of your cover, up to £35,000, for conditions such as coronary angioplasty.
Under the adviser policy summary, L&G also pays the cover in advance of surgery if you’re put on an NHS waiting list for aorta graft surgery, heart valve replacement or repair, or specified heart surgery, as long as you meet the full definition in the policy terms.
Legal & General critical illness cover benefits & extras
Adding Critical Illness Cover brings children’s cover, the hospital benefits, the Childcare Benefit and the Child Funeral Benefit, which don’t come with Life Insurance on its own. Children’s cover, the Accident Hospitalisation Benefit and the benefits for when you or your child need to go to hospital (Child Accident Hospitalisation, Childcare and Family Accommodation) are included at no extra cost. Payments under children’s cover and those three benefits don’t reduce your cover or change your premiums. Terminal Illness Cover, Accidental Death Benefit and Free Life Cover stay with your Life Insurance.
| Benefit | What it does | Available with |
|---|---|---|
| Children’s Critical Illness Cover | The lower of 50% of your cover or £25,000 if a child is diagnosed with a covered condition. It covers your natural, adopted and stepchildren from 30 days old to their 18th birthday (21st in full-time education), including children you have later. One claim per child, up to two claims in total, and no more than £50,000 for one child across all your L&G policies. It doesn’t pay for a condition present at birth or symptoms that started before the cover. | Available with: Included |
| Child Funeral Benefit | £4,000 towards the funeral if a covered child dies, for up to two children. It isn’t paid if the child’s condition was present at birth, if the cause of death arose before the child was covered, or if a children’s critical illness claim has already been paid for the same child. | Available with: Included |
| Accident Hospitalisation Benefit | £5,000 if you’re in hospital with physical injuries for at least 28 consecutive days straight after an accident. One claim per person, and it isn’t paid once a valid critical illness claim has been made. | Available with: Included |
| Child Accident Hospitalisation Benefit | £5,000 if a covered child is in hospital with physical injuries for at least 28 consecutive days straight after an accident. | Available with: Included |
| Childcare Benefit | Up to £1,000 towards childcare with a registered childminder after a critical illness claim, if you have a child under 5. It covers childcare in the 18 months after diagnosis and is paid against receipts. | Available with: Included |
| Family Accommodation Benefit | £100 a night, up to £1,000, while a covered child is in hospital in the three months after diagnosis of a covered illness. | Available with: Included |
| Wellbeing Support | Phone support from RedArc’s registered nurses for you and your immediate family living at home, from day one of the policy. You don’t need to make a claim to use it. | Available with: Included |
| Care Concierge | Free, confidential and impartial phone guidance on finding adult and later life care, for you, your partner, children and parents. | Available with: Included |
Through a financial adviser, L&G offers these options for an extra cost. Its adviser policy summary says optional benefits may not be available to everyone: it depends on your personal circumstances.
| Optional extra | What it does |
|---|---|
| Critical Illness Extra | Everything in the adviser version of Critical Illness Cover, plus extra conditions such as heart failure and intensive care needing mechanical ventilation for 7 days, and additional cover paying 100% of your cover, up to £35,000, for conditions such as coronary angioplasty. |
| Children’s Critical Illness Extra | Upgrades children’s cover, chosen at the start: 100% of your original cover, up to £40,000 a valid claim, for children from birth to their 23rd birthday. |
| Total and Permanent Disability | Pays if an illness or injury means you can never again do your own occupation, or at least three of six specified work tasks. It ends when the oldest person covered reaches the policy end date or their 70th birthday, if earlier. |
| Waiver of Premium | You don’t have to pay premiums once you’ve met L&G’s definition of incapacity for 26 consecutive weeks. |
How much does Legal & General critical illness cover cost?
We didn’t find published price examples for this cover, so we don’t show any. Critical illness cover usually costs more the older you are, and the price depends on your health, whether you smoke, the amount of cover and how long it lasts.
- Your age
- Your health
- Whether you smoke
- The amount of cover
- The length of the policy
L&G’s Critical Illness Cover is added to Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance for an extra cost. Premiums are guaranteed to stay the same unless you change the policy, and you can pay monthly or annually.
Through a financial adviser, premiums can be guaranteed or reviewable when critical illness cover is added. With reviewable premiums, L&G checks every five years, from the fifth policy anniversary, whether they’re enough to keep your cover at the level you chose.
L&G says you can get a quote online in 2 minutes, or you can call 0800 316 5591 (8.30am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm on Saturday).
To work out how much cover you might need, try our critical illness calculator.
Legal & General critical illness cover offers
Note: Free gifts are offered by select brokers only, our life insurance brokers do not offer free gifts.
When we checked on 25 September 2026, L&G was offering a £100 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card or M&S e-Gift Card to customers who take out Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance, with or without Critical Illness Cover, directly online or by phone.
The offer isn’t available through a financial adviser, a comparison site or a cashback site, or to anyone who has held and cancelled an L&G Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance policy in the last 18 months. L&G can change or withdraw it at any time.
- Gift
- £100 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card or M&S e-Gift Card
- When it’s available
- Six months after the policy starts, if it’s still in force and paid up
- Claim it within
- 12 months of the policy start date
- Limit
- One e-gift card per policy sold
Offer terms checked on 25 September 2026. They may change.
See other insurers’ offers and their conditions in our guides to life insurance with a free gift and over 50 life insurance with a free gift.
Key policy terms
| Term | Critical Illness Cover (bought directly) |
|---|---|
| What it pays | Your amount of cover in full, once; the policy then ends |
| Survival period | 14 days from diagnosis; nothing is paid if death occurs within 14 days |
| Diagnosis | Must meet L&G’s definition and be confirmed by a verified UK consultant |
| On death | Death itself isn’t covered, and a single life policy ends; a covered illness you survived by 14 days may still be paid to your estate |
| Additional and children’s claims | Don’t reduce your cover or premiums, and don’t end the policy |
| Personal exclusions | L&G may restrict cover based on your application answers; you’re told about any exclusions during the application |
| Premiums | Guaranteed; paid monthly or annually |
| Cooling-off period | 30 days, with a refund of premiums paid |
| Cancelling later | No refund if you pay monthly; a proportionate refund if you pay annually |
| Missed premiums | Cover ends 60 days after the first missed premium, with no refund |
| Cash-in value | None: nothing is paid if the policy ends without a valid claim |
| Trust | Can’t be written in or assigned into trust |
| Tax | Payouts should be free from UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax |
| Living abroad | You’re covered if you live in the UK, the EU, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands; claims from elsewhere accepted if L&G can confirm they’re valid |
| Increasing cover | If your Policy Schedule includes the option: after some life events, without more medical information, if the policy started before you were 55 and you tell L&G within six months. Not available after your 55th birthday. All increases together: up to 100% of the original cover or £200,000, whichever is lower |
| Joint policies | Pays out once; after a critical illness claim, the other person can ask for a new single life policy within six months |
| Wrong information | If given deliberately or recklessly, L&G can cancel the policy and refuse to pay |
Does Legal & General pay out on critical illness claims?
L&G publishes yearly claims statistics by product. For critical illness cover, its 2025 Retail Protection figures show:
- Critical illness claims paid in 2025
- 92.9%
- Number of critical illness claims paid in 2025
- 4,051
- Average critical illness payout in 2025
- £71,755
- Paid on critical illness claims in 2025
- £291m
L&G paid between 92.9% and 93.4% of critical illness claims in each year from 2022 to 2025. Its largest critical illness payout in 2025 was £1.2m. The average age at claim was 49, and policies had been running for 9 years on average when a claim was made, the shortest just 5 days.
Cancer accounted for 64.5% of L&G’s critical illness claims in 2025, followed by heart-related conditions (12.3%) and neurological conditions (9.2%).
For children’s critical illness cover, L&G paid 95.3% of claims in 2025: 245 claims worth £4.7m in total, with an average payout of £19,252 and a maximum of £40,000.
L&G says most of the critical illness claims it turns down fail because the condition doesn’t meet the specified severity definition. Its figures are based on claims finalised in 2025, with fraudulent claims removed.
How to claim. L&G says the easiest way to start a critical illness claim is online through My Account, where you can submit the claim, upload documents and track its progress from any device, 24/7. You can also call the claims team on 0800 068 0789, which also takes children’s and additional cover claims.
Have your policy number (it’s on your direct debit), details of the diagnosis and contact details for your GP or consultant ready; for a child’s claim you may also need a birth certificate or legal guardianship evidence. L&G then checks the policy, may ask your GP or consultant for letters, and sends you forms to sign by email or post.
Keep paying your premiums while the claim is assessed. The diagnosis must come from a verified UK consultant. Under the policy terms, you and your children are covered if you live in the UK, the EU, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, and L&G will also accept a claim from elsewhere if it can confirm the claim and supporting documents are valid.
Claims are paid as a lump sum in pounds to a UK bank account. If you pay annually, L&G refunds the premium for the rest of that year when it pays a full claim. In May 2025, L&G said its online claim submissions had cut follow-up requests for additional documents on critical illness claims by more than 25%, because more complete information arrives at the start.
- Critical illness claims phone
- 0800 068 0789
- Opening hours
- Mon–Fri, 9am–5.30pm (the Critical Illness Cover page says 9am–5pm)
- Claims email
- health.claims@landg.com
- Start a claim online
- My Account (opens in a new tab)
- Claims address
- Claims Department, City Park, The Droveway, Hove BN3 7PY
Claims statistics from L&G’s 2025 claims figures. Phone numbers and hours as published by L&G when we checked on 25 September 2026.
Legal & General critical illness cover ratings
| Review site | Rating | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Money People | 3.49 / 5 · Average | Smart Money People’s rating for Legal and General critical illness cover, based on 9 reviews when we checked on 25 September 2026. View on Smart Money People (opens in a new tab) |
Defaqto ratings
Defaqto rates each product from 1 to 5 stars, and it can rate the same product in more than one category. It rates L&G’s Level Term Assurance 5 stars as a direct critical illness policy with life cover, but 3 stars in its level term critical illness category, and Decreasing Term Assurance 3 stars for decreasing critical illness cover. Defaqto also rates another L&G product, Multi Protection, 5 stars for level term, decreasing term and standalone critical illness cover, and Multi Protection + CI Extra and Multi Protection + CI & Children’s Extra 5 stars for level term critical illness cover.
| Policy | Range | Defaqto rating |
|---|---|---|
| Critical illness (direct with life cover) | Level Term Assurance | 5 out of 5 stars |
| Level term with critical illness | Level Term Assurance | 3 out of 5 stars |
| Level term with critical illness | Multi Protection | 5 out of 5 stars |
| Level term with critical illness | Multi Protection + CI Extra | 5 out of 5 stars |
| Level term with critical illness | Multi Protection + CI & Children's Extra | 5 out of 5 stars |
| Decreasing term with critical illness | Decreasing Term Assurance | 3 out of 5 stars |
| Decreasing term with critical illness | Multi Protection | 5 out of 5 stars |
| Critical illness (standalone) | Multi Protection | 5 out of 5 stars |
Ratings checked on 24 September 2026 and may have changed since. Defaqto ratings: defaqto.com (opens in a new tab)
Is Legal & General critical illness cover good?
L&G’s Critical Illness Cover is added to its direct Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance for an extra cost. The policy summary lists 36 conditions for a full payout, children are covered automatically, premiums are guaranteed, and the Accident Hospitalisation, Childcare and Family Accommodation benefits come at no extra cost. L&G has published critical illness claims figures for each year from 2022 to 2025: it paid 92.9% of claims in 2025.
The limits are that you can’t buy it on its own directly, the maximum age to apply is 67 and the cover must end before 75, the critical illness amount can’t be more than your life cover, and the policy can’t be written in trust. Through a financial adviser, L&G also offers Critical Illness Extra, Total and Permanent Disability and Waiver of Premium, each for an extra cost.
Whether it suits you depends on the conditions you want covered, how much cover you need and how long you need it for, so read the full definitions of the conditions before you apply.
Pros
- 36 conditions for a full payout, plus 2 for additional cover
- Children’s cover included, up to £25,000 a claim
- Additional cover claims don’t reduce your cover or premiums
- Guaranteed premiums
- Paid 92.9% of critical illness claims in 2025
- 5-star Defaqto rating for Level Term Assurance as a direct critical illness policy with life cover
Cons
- Can’t be bought on its own directly
- Maximum age to apply is 67, and cover must end before 75
- Can’t be written in trust
- Defaqto gives Level Term Assurance and Decreasing Term Assurance 3 stars in its level and decreasing critical illness categories
- Smart Money People rating of 3.49 out of 5, from 9 reviews
Legal & General critical illness cover documents
L&G asks you to read the key documents before you apply. These are the documents for Critical Illness Cover, which is provided by Legal and General Assurance Society Limited:
-
Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover policy summary (opens in a new tab)
How the cover works, age limits, the conditions covered, the included benefits and the main exclusions.
-
Critical Illness Cover policy terms and conditions (opens in a new tab)
The full terms, published in one PDF with the Life Insurance terms: definitions, claims, children’s cover, changes and cancelling.
-
Guide to Critical Illnesses Covered (opens in a new tab)
The policy definition of every condition, with an explanation of what it means.
-
Critical Illness Cover (opens in a new tab)
L&G’s product page: eligibility, how the cover works, FAQs and the current offer.
-
£100 gift card terms and conditions (opens in a new tab)
Who qualifies for the gift card, and when and how to claim it.
-
Adviser policy summary: Life Insurance with Critical Illness Cover and Critical Illness Extra (opens in a new tab)
For policies bought through a financial adviser: Critical Illness Extra, Total and Permanent Disability, reviewable premiums and Children’s Critical Illness Extra.
Documents are published by L&G and open on its website. We read the policy summary QGI14786 (2026/01), the policy terms QGI14872 (2026/07) and the guide QGI14860 (01/26).
How Legal & General critical illness cover compares
Critical illness policies differ in the conditions they cover, how they define them, what they pay for less serious conditions and for children, and whether you can buy them on their own, so it’s worth comparing more than the monthly premium.
For L&G’s direct Critical Illness Cover, the points to compare are the ones on this page: 36 conditions for a full payout, 25% of your cover (up to £25,000) for carcinoma in situ of the breast or low grade prostate cancer, children’s cover of up to £25,000 a claim, a 14-day survival period, applying up to age 67 with cover ending before 75, and that, bought directly, it can only be added to L&G Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance.
Look closely at how each policy defines the conditions you’re most concerned about, such as cancer, heart attack and stroke, and at what it pays for less advanced cases.
Our critical illness calculator can help you work out how much cover you might need before you compare quotes.
Our guide to critical illness cover explains how this type of cover works and lists the insurers in our reviews that offer it, alphabetically.
Other insurers’ critical illness cover guides
- Aviva critical illness cover
- NatWest critical illness cover
- Royal Bank of Scotland critical illness cover
- Vitality critical illness cover
- Zurich critical illness cover
Read our full Legal & General life insurance review, or see all our insurer reviews.
Legal & General critical illness cover FAQs
Not if you buy directly. L&G’s Critical Illness Cover can only be added to its Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance, for an extra cost, and the critical illness amount can be less than your life cover but not more. It’s set up as a separate policy, so it can pay out separately from the life insurance.
Your full amount of cover, once, if you’re diagnosed with or have a procedure for a covered condition and survive for 14 days; the policy then ends. Carcinoma in situ of the breast and low grade prostate cancer pay 25% of your cover, up to £25,000, and a child’s claim pays the lower of 50% of your cover or £25,000, without reducing your cover.
In 2025, L&G’s average critical illness payout was £71,755 and the largest was £1.2m.
The policy summary lists 36 conditions for a full payout, including many types of cancer, heart attack and stroke, plus carcinoma in situ of the breast and low grade prostate cancer under additional cover. Some types of cancer aren’t covered, and some conditions need permanent symptoms. The full list is in the conditions table on this page.
L&G paid 92.9% of critical illness claims in 2025: 4,051 claims worth £291m in total. It paid between 92.9% and 93.4% in each year from 2022 to 2025. L&G says most of the critical illness claims it turns down fail because the condition doesn’t meet the specified severity definition.
Yes. Children’s Critical Illness Cover is included automatically. It pays the lower of 50% of your cover or £25,000 if a covered child is diagnosed with a covered condition, for natural, adopted and stepchildren from 30 days old to their 18th birthday (21st in full-time education), including children you have later. It pays one claim per child and ends after two claims.
You can still apply. L&G looks at each application individually: some conditions may be excluded from your cover, which you’re told about during the application, and in some cases it can’t offer cover at all.
The critical illness policy doesn’t pay out on death, and on a single life policy the cover ends. If you were diagnosed with a covered condition and survived 14 days, it may still pay out after you die, to your estate.
Start online through My Account, or call the claims team on 0800 068 0789. Have your policy number, details of the diagnosis and your GP or consultant’s contact details ready, and keep paying your premiums while L&G assesses the claim.
If your Policy Schedule includes the option, you may be able to increase your cover after certain life events, such as getting married, having or adopting a child, a pay rise from a promotion or new job, or a bigger mortgage when you move house, without giving more medical information. The policy must have started before you were 55, you can’t use the option after your 55th birthday (on a joint policy, once the elder of you reaches 55), and you need to tell L&G within six months of the event.
Each increase can be no more than 100% of the original cover or £200,000, whichever is lower. After a pay rise it’s also limited to the original cover multiplied by the percentage rise in your earnings, and after a bigger mortgage to the amount the mortgage goes up. All increases together can’t be more than 100% of the original cover or £200,000, whichever is lower. L&G sets up the increase as an additional policy, which ends at your 65th birthday or one year after the original policy’s end date, if earlier. The option isn’t available if you’ve been diagnosed with or are being treated for a condition the policy covers, or have symptoms of or are having tests for one.
Yes. If you cancel within the first 30 days, L&G refunds the premiums you’ve paid. After that you get nothing back if you pay monthly, while annual payers get a proportionate refund. L&G’s Critical Illness Cover page gives 0330 828 3117 for cancelling.
L&G says its payouts should be free from UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax. If the policy pays out after you die, the money goes to your estate and may be subject to Inheritance Tax.
If the policy is absolutely assigned, the payout should not form part of your estate for Inheritance Tax. The policy can’t be written in trust.
Sources
The facts on this page come from these sources.
- Legal & General — Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover Policy Summary (QGI14786) (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (QGI14872) (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
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- Legal & General — Life Insurance with Critical Illness Cover and Critical Illness Extra and Family and Personal Income Plan Policy Summary (QGI13934) (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
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- Legal & General — Life Insurance £100 gift card terms and conditions (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Guide to Critical Illnesses Covered: Definitions Explained (QGI14860) (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
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Best life insurance
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Term life insurance
Cover for a set number of years, with level or decreasing cover.
