NatWest critical illness cover review 2026
A look at NatWest’s critical illness cover: who can apply, the conditions it covers, what it costs, its key terms and how to claim.
- Entry age
- 18–64
- Cover ends before 76
- Conditions
- 52
- 41 critical, 11 additional
- Maximum cover
- £1,000,000
- Level, decreasing or increasing
- Defaqto
- 3–4 stars
- Critical illness ratings
In a nutshell
NatWest’s Critical Illness Plan is provided, underwritten and administered by Aviva. It pays a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with, or have surgery for, one of 52 critical illnesses and survive for 10 days, and you can only buy it together with NatWest life insurance.
- It’s issued as a separate policy from your life insurance, and it has no death benefit.
- You can apply between the ages of 18 and 64 for up to £1,000,000 of level, decreasing or increasing cover. The policy lasts 5 to 50 years and must end before the oldest person covered turns 76.
- The policy summary lists 41 critical illnesses, including terminal illness, that pay the full cover amount, and 11 additional critical illnesses that pay a smaller amount without ending the policy.
- Children’s benefit pays the lower of £25,000 or 50% of your cover if a child is diagnosed with a covered critical illness, plus £5,000 if a child dies during the policy term.
- Premiums are guaranteed on level and decreasing cover. The policy has no cash-in value.
- Defaqto rates the NatWest Life Insurance Plan 4 stars for critical illness (direct with life cover) and 3 stars in its level term and decreasing critical illness categories.
Who can apply for NatWest critical illness cover?
NatWest’s critical illness insurance, the Critical Illness Plan, is only sold alongside its life insurance. You add it to your Life Insurance quote on Aviva’s website, where NatWest transfers you to complete the quote, and if you’re accepted it’s issued as a separate policy.
- Age to apply
- 18 to 64
- Joint policies
- The maximum age applies to the oldest person covered
- Policy term
- 5 to 50 years, in full years
- Cover must end
- Before the oldest person covered turns 76
- Maximum cover
- £1,000,000
- Type of cover
- Level, decreasing or increasing
- Who it covers
- One person, or two on a joint policy
- Conditions covered
- 52: 41 critical illnesses and 11 additional critical illnesses
- Where you live
- In the UK with a legal right to live there, and your main home in the UK
- How to buy
- Added to a NatWest life insurance quote, online
- Defaqto rating
- 3 to 4 stars: 4 for critical illness direct with life cover, 3 for level term and decreasing critical illness
For this policy the UK doesn’t include the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar, and you must have no current intention of moving anywhere else permanently.
You won’t get advice or a personal recommendation for the Critical Illness Plan, and Aviva says it can’t offer financial advice, so you make your own choice about the cover. Aviva pays NatWest commission for introducing it.
You must answer all the application questions completely, truthfully and accurately. If you don’t, Aviva may change or cancel your policy, reduce the amount of a claim or not pay it.
If you need help with a quote, you can call Aviva free on 0800 092 5369, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm.
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What does NatWest critical illness cover pay out for?
The plan pays out if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness that meets its definition and you survive for 10 days. It only covers the critical illnesses defined in the policy, and it doesn’t pay out if you die.
Depending on the definition, it may pay on diagnosis alone, once the condition has reached a specified severity, or when a named treatment or surgery is carried out. For some illnesses you need to have permanent symptoms to claim.
A critical illness claim pays the full cover amount once, and the policy then ends. A joint policy only pays out once: when a claim is accepted for one person, the policy ends. If one person dies without being eligible to claim, the policy can continue for the other.
- Level cover pays a lump sum that stays the same throughout the policy term.
- Decreasing cover goes down each month, broadly in line with a repayment loan such as a mortgage, using a fixed interest rate of 8%.
- Increasing cover rises each year in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), by up to 10% a year. You won’t be asked more health and lifestyle questions for the yearly increase, and you can choose not to take it.
Conditions covered
The policy summary lists 52 conditions: 41 critical illnesses and 11 additional critical illnesses. Aviva says the list is only a guide to what’s covered, and the policy conditions give the full definition of each illness and when you can claim.
| Condition | What’s covered |
|---|---|
| Critical illnesses: the full cover amount | |
| Aorta graft surgery | For disease or trauma |
| Aplastic anaemia | |
| Bacterial meningitis | |
| Benign brain tumour | Resulting in permanent symptoms or requiring invasive surgery |
| Benign spinal cord tumour | |
| Blindness | Permanent and irreversible |
| Cancer | Excluding less advanced cases |
| Cardiac arrest | With insertion of a cardiac defibrillator |
| Cardiomyopathy | Of specified severity |
| Coma | With associated permanent symptoms |
| Coronary artery by-pass grafts | |
| Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease | |
| Deafness | Permanent and irreversible |
| Dementia | Of specified severity |
| Devic’s disease | With persisting clinical symptoms |
| Encephalitis | |
| Heart attack | Not angina, or heart muscle injury, without a heart attack |
| Heart valve replacement or repair | |
| Intensive care | Requiring mechanical ventilation for 10 consecutive days |
| Kidney failure | Requiring permanent dialysis |
| Liver failure | |
| Loss of hand or foot | Permanent physical severance |
| Major organ transplant | From another donor |
| Motor neurone disease | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Multiple sclerosis | Where there have been symptoms |
| Multiple system atrophy | |
| Paralysis of a limb | Total and irreversible |
| Parkinson’s disease | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Pneumonectomy | Removal of a complete lung |
| Primary pulmonary hypertension | Of specified severity |
| Progressive supranuclear palsy | |
| Pulmonary artery surgery | |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | Of specified severity |
| Severe lung disease | Of specified severity |
| Spinal stroke | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Stroke | Not a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or eye stroke |
| Structural heart surgery | |
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | Of specified severity |
| Terminal illness | Where death is expected within 12 months (not covered for children) |
| Third degree burns | Covering at least 20% of the body’s surface area, or at least 20% of the face or head |
| Traumatic brain injury | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Additional critical illnesses: the lower of £25,000 or 25% of your cover | |
| Carcinoma in situ of the breast | Requiring surgery to remove the tumour |
| Low-grade prostate cancer | With specified treatment |
| Additional critical illnesses: the lower of £20,000 or 20% of your cover | |
| Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) of the brain | With specified treatment |
| Bladder removal | |
| Carcinoma in situ of the cervix | Requiring treatment with hysterectomy |
| Carcinoma in situ of the testicle | Requiring surgical removal of one or both testicles |
| Cerebral aneurysm | With specified treatment |
| Crohn’s disease | Treated with intestinal resection |
| Non-malignant pituitary tumour | With specified treatment |
| Removal of an eyeball | |
| Ulcerative colitis | Treated with total colectomy |
The definitions in the policy conditions (AL21002) are the ones Aviva uses when it assesses a claim.
The cancer definition doesn’t cover cancers classed as pre-malignant, non-invasive, in situ, of borderline malignancy or of low malignant potential. It also leaves out prostate tumours unless they have a Gleason score of 7 or above or have reached a specified stage, melanoma confined to the outer layer of the skin, and non-melanoma skin cancers unless they’ve spread to the lymph nodes or distant organs.
Some less advanced cancers are on the additional critical illness list instead, with a smaller payment: carcinoma in situ of the breast treated with surgery, low-grade prostate cancer with specified treatment, and carcinoma in situ of the cervix or testicle treated with the specified surgery.
Each person covered can claim once for each additional critical illness. The policy carries on after the claim, and it doesn’t change what the plan pays for any other benefit later.
NatWest critical illness cover benefits & extras
The Critical Illness Plan includes additional critical illness benefit and a children’s benefit, and joint policies can include separation benefit. New customers also get the Aviva DigiCare+ app.
| Benefit | What it does | Available with |
|---|---|---|
| Additional critical illness benefit | Pays the lower of £25,000 or 25% of your cover for carcinoma in situ of the breast or low-grade prostate cancer, and the lower of £20,000 or 20% for the other nine additional critical illnesses. The policy carries on after a claim. | Available with: All policies |
| Children’s critical illness benefit | Pays the lower of £25,000 or 50% of your cover if a child is diagnosed with a covered critical illness or additional critical illness, except terminal illness. It covers natural, step and legally adopted children aged 30 days to 18, or 21 in full-time education. It isn’t paid for an illness present at birth, or if the child had symptoms before they were covered. | Available with: All policies |
| Children’s death benefit | Pays £5,000 if a child dies during the policy term, on top of any children’s critical illness payment. Both children’s benefits are paid once for each child, and a claim doesn’t end your policy. | Available with: All policies |
| Separation benefit | If you separate, or move your mortgage into one name, you can split a joint policy into new single policies with up to the same cover and no extra health questions. The new policy must be taken out before the eldest person covered turns 55 and within 180 days of the separation, and it has to end before you turn 70. | Available with: Joint policies accepted on standard terms |
| Aviva DigiCare+ | An app provided by Square Health with unlimited 24/7 digital GP consultations, a second opinion service, mental health support, nutritional support and personal training. It isn’t part of the insurance contract, and Aviva can change or withdraw it at any time. | Available with: New Critical Illness Plan customers |
How much does NatWest critical illness cover cost?
We didn’t find typical prices published for this cover, so we don’t show a price guide or estimate one. Critical illness cover usually costs more the older you are, and depends on your health, whether you smoke, the amount of cover and how long it lasts.
The average pricing table on NatWest’s life insurance page is for life-only cover, so it doesn’t show what critical illness cover costs.
Aviva’s example of increasing cover
The policy summary gives one worked example, to show how increasing cover changes each year: Eve, 30, and Joel, 33, have £50,000 of increasing cover to last 25 years and pay £25 a month.
| Example | Monthly premium | Cover |
|---|---|---|
| At the start | £25.00 | £50,000 |
| After a 2.5% rise in the CPI in the first year | £25.94 | £51,250 |
An example from Aviva’s policy summary, not a quote.
- Your age
- Your health and lifestyle
- Whether you smoke
- The type, amount and length of cover
Premiums are paid monthly by Direct Debit. On level and decreasing cover they’re guaranteed to stay the same unless you make a change. On increasing cover they go up each year by 1.5 times the CPI increase, by no more than 15% a year.
After underwriting, Aviva may only be able to offer cover at a higher premium than first quoted, with certain benefits excluded, or both.
Key policy terms
| Term | Critical Illness Plan |
|---|---|
| Survival period | You must survive for at least 10 days after diagnosis |
| Death benefit | None: the plan doesn’t pay out if you die |
| When it won’t pay out | An illness the policy doesn’t define, a diagnosis that doesn’t meet the definition or comes outside the policy term, not surviving 10 days, unpaid premiums, a cancelled policy, or application questions not answered completely, truthfully and accurately |
| Claims | The full cover amount is paid once and the policy ends; additional critical illness and children’s claims don’t end it |
| Premiums | Monthly by Direct Debit; guaranteed on level and decreasing cover |
| Missed premiums | 60 days from each due date to pay; after that the policy is cancelled, you can’t claim and premiums already paid aren’t returned |
| Cooling-off period | 30 days, with a refund of premiums paid |
| Cancelling later | You can still cancel after 30 days, but you won’t get any money back |
| Cash-in value | None at any time |
| Changing your cover | From six months after the start date. Aviva may ask health and lifestyle questions, and increasing the cover means a new policy alongside the original |
| Writing in trust | Aviva’s trust page says Aviva Trusts aren’t available for a Critical Illness Plan |
| Tax | Payouts are currently normally free from UK personal income tax and capital gains tax |
| FSCS protection | The scheme may cover up to 100% of a successful claim if Aviva becomes insolvent |
Making a claim on NatWest critical illness cover
Claims are handled by Aviva, which provides and administers the Critical Illness Plan. The figures below are Aviva’s published figures for all its critical illness, children’s benefit and total and permanent disability claims, not only claims on plans sold through NatWest.
- Aviva critical illness, children’s benefit and TPD claims paid, 2025
- 90.7%
- Aviva critical illness, children’s benefit and TPD claims paid, 2024
- 91.5%
- Aviva critical illness, children’s benefit and TPD claims paid, 2023
- 91.6%
Aviva says that most of the claims in this category it couldn’t pay in 2025 were because the customer’s diagnosis didn’t meet the policy definition for their condition.
To claim, call Aviva’s claims department on 0800 015 1142, or +44 1603 603 277 from outside the UK. Aviva assesses the claim against the definition of the condition in the policy conditions.
Aviva may ask for proof that the person covered has become critically ill. If it asks third parties for information, it pays for it. If any of the information it’s given is untrue or incomplete, that could affect whether the claim is paid.
- Claims
- 0800 015 1142
- Claims from outside the UK
- +44 1603 603 277
- Questions about your policy
- 0800 285 1098
TPD is total and permanent disability. Since 2024 Aviva’s figures also include claims on former AIG Life policies, now Aviva Protection UK.
NatWest critical illness cover ratings
Defaqto is an independent financial research company.
It rates products from 1 to 5 stars. It lists NatWest’s critical illness ratings under the Life Insurance Plan: 4 stars for critical illness (direct with life cover) and 3 stars for level term and decreasing term critical illness.
| Policy | Range | Defaqto rating |
|---|---|---|
| Critical illness (direct with life cover) | Life Insurance Plan | 4 out of 5 stars |
| Critical illness (level term) | Life Insurance Plan | 3 out of 5 stars |
| Critical illness (decreasing) | Natwest Life Insurance Plan | 3 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 NatWest critical illness cover good?
NatWest’s Critical Illness Plan is provided by Aviva and covers 52 listed conditions: 41 critical illnesses that pay the full cover amount and 11 additional critical illnesses that pay a smaller amount, with children’s benefit included. You can only buy it with NatWest life insurance, it has no death benefit and it must end before the oldest person covered turns 76.
Whether it suits you depends on the conditions you want covered, how the policy defines them and how long you need the cover to last, so read the definitions in the policy conditions before you buy.
Pros
- 52 conditions, including 11 additional critical illnesses that pay out without ending the policy
- Children’s critical illness benefit and a £5,000 children’s death benefit included
- Guaranteed premiums on level and decreasing cover
- Up to £1,000,000 of cover
- Separation benefit on joint policies accepted on standard terms
- 4 stars from Defaqto for critical illness (direct with life cover)
Cons
- Only available together with NatWest life insurance
- No death benefit and no cash-in value
- You must be 64 or younger to apply, and cover must end before the oldest person covered turns 76
- 3 stars from Defaqto for level term and decreasing term critical illness
- No advice or personal recommendation
- Aviva’s trust page says Aviva Trusts aren’t available for a Critical Illness Plan
NatWest critical illness cover documents
The Critical Illness Plan policy summary (AL21001) and policy conditions (AL21002) are both dated February 2026 and name National Westminster Bank Plc as the distributor. Read them before you buy.
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Critical Illness Plan policy summary (AL21001) (opens in a new tab)
The conditions covered, additional critical illness benefit, children’s benefit and when the policy won’t pay out.
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Critical Illness Plan policy conditions (AL21002) (opens in a new tab)
The full terms and the definition of every covered illness, including what isn’t covered.
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About our services and costs (GN14048) (opens in a new tab)
The service you get, including that you won’t receive advice or a personal recommendation, and the commission Aviva pays NatWest.
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Insurance: important information about us (opens in a new tab)
NatWest’s arrangement with Aviva and the products it refers customers to.
Documents checked on 25 September 2026.
How NatWest critical illness cover compares
Critical illness policies differ in the conditions they cover, how they define them, whether they make smaller payments for less serious conditions and whether children are covered, so compare the definitions as well as the price.
When you compare, the points to check on NatWest’s plan are that it’s only sold with NatWest life insurance and issued as a separate policy, it lists 52 conditions, children’s benefit is included, and cover must end before age 76.
Our critical illness calculator can help you work out how much cover you might need.
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
- Legal & General critical illness cover
- Royal Bank of Scotland critical illness cover
- Vitality critical illness cover
- Zurich critical illness cover
Read our full NatWest life insurance review, or see all our insurer reviews.
NatWest critical illness cover FAQs
Yes, and that’s the only way to buy it: NatWest’s Critical Illness Cover can only be bought together with a Life Insurance policy. You add it to your life insurance quote, and if you’re accepted it’s issued as a separate policy with no death benefit.
52. The policy summary lists 41 critical illnesses that pay the full cover amount and 11 additional critical illnesses that pay a smaller amount: the lower of £25,000 or 25% of your cover for two of them, and the lower of £20,000 or 20% for the rest.
Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited provides, underwrites and administers the Critical Illness Plan, and National Westminster Bank Plc distributes it. Read our Aviva review.
You must be aged 18 to 64 when you apply. The policy lasts 5 to 50 years and must end before the oldest person covered turns 76. For a joint policy, the maximum age applies to the oldest person.
No. The Critical Illness Plan has no death benefit. The Life Insurance Plan you take out with it is a separate policy, which pays out if you die or are diagnosed as terminally ill while insured.
Yes. Children’s benefit pays the lower of £25,000 or 50% of your cover if a child aged 30 days to 18 (or 21 in full-time education) is diagnosed with a covered critical illness, and £5,000 if a child dies during the policy term. Children aren’t covered for terminal illness.
Cancer is covered, excluding less advanced cases. The definition doesn’t cover cancers classed as pre-malignant, non-invasive or in situ, among others. Carcinoma in situ of the breast treated with surgery and low-grade prostate cancer with specified treatment are additional critical illnesses, paying the lower of £25,000 or 25% of your cover.
When you apply for cover you will be asked questions about your health and lifestyle, and based on this and the amount of cover requested, the insurer will decide if a medical is required or not.
Yes. You have 30 days to change your mind and get a refund of any premiums you’ve paid. You can still cancel after that, but you won’t get any money back, and the policy has no cash-in value.
The gift card offer on NatWest’s life insurance page is run by Aviva. Its terms name two plans: a new Aviva Life Insurance Plan or Aviva Over 50s Life Insurance Plan bought through the NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank website or app. The card’s value is based on the monthly premium paid for that plan: £50 for £5 to £11.99 a month, or £100 for £12 or more, once you’ve paid the first six consecutive monthly premiums. NatWest says the offer can be withdrawn or changed at any time.
Call Aviva’s claims department on 0800 015 1142, or +44 1603 603 277 from outside the UK. To be paid, your diagnosis must meet the policy’s definition and you must survive for at least 10 days.
Aviva’s own trust page says Aviva Trusts are available if you have a Life Insurance Plan or Over 50s life insurance, but not for a Critical Illness Plan.
Sources
The facts on this page come from these sources.
- Aviva (for NatWest) — Critical Illness Plan policy summary, NatWest version (AL21001 02/2026) (opens in a new tab), static.aviva.io, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Aviva (for NatWest) — Life Insurance Plan page on NatWest's Aviva quote site (AL22014) (opens in a new tab), natwest.aviva.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- NatWest — NatWest Life Insurance page (Life Insurance, Guaranteed Over 50s, gift card offer, Aviva DigiCare+) (opens in a new tab), natwest.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Aviva (for NatWest) — Critical Illness Plan policy conditions, NatWest version (AL21002 02/2026) (opens in a new tab), static.aviva.io, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Defaqto — Defaqto Star Ratings (Life & Protection) for NatWest (opens in a new tab), defaqto.com, accessed 24 September 2026.
- Aviva (for NatWest) — About our services and costs, Life Insurance Plan and Critical Illness Plan via NatWest (GN14048 02/2026) (opens in a new tab), static.aviva.io, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Aviva — Aviva Trust page (writing a Life Insurance Plan or Over 50s policy in trust) (opens in a new tab), aviva.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Aviva plc — Underwriter claims statistics 2025 - Aviva (underwriter of NatWest Life Insurance) paid nearly £2 billion in protection claims in 2025; 98.7% of individual life and terminal illness claims accepted (opens in a new tab), aviva.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Aviva plc — Underwriter claims statistics 2024 - Aviva (underwriter of NatWest Life Insurance) paid out £1.89bn to support protection customers in 2024; 98.8% of life claims paid (opens in a new tab), aviva.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Aviva plc — Underwriter claims statistics 2023 - £1.18bn paid out on more than 50,600 Aviva individual protection claims in 2023; 99.3% of life claims paid (Aviva underwrites NatWest Life Insurance) (opens in a new tab), aviva.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Aviva (for NatWest Group) — Life Insurance Plan Gift Card Promotion terms, web version (NW10064 05/2026) (opens in a new tab), thank-you.aviva.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
Related pages
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Critical illness cover
A lump sum on diagnosis of a serious illness your policy covers.
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Best life insurance
What to compare when you choose a policy.
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Term life insurance
Cover for a set number of years, with level or decreasing cover.
