Zurich critical illness cover review 2026
A look at Zurich’s critical illness cover: who can apply, the conditions it covers, how it pays out, what affects the cost, its terms and how to claim.
- Entry age
- 18–69
- Cover ends by age 74
- Policy term
- 5–40 years
- Online or through an adviser
- Conditions
- 39 + 2
- Full and additional payment
- Premiums from
- £5 a month
- Minimum through advisers
In a nutshell
Zurich sells critical illness cover as two policies: Zurich Life Protection, which you can buy online as a Life Insurance and Critical Illness policy, and Zurich Personal Protection, sold through financial advisers with or without life cover, at three levels.
- Covers 39 Full Payment conditions, plus 2 Additional Payment conditions that pay the lower of £25,000 or 25% of your cover and leave the policy in place.
- Through an adviser, Critical Illness Enhanced covers 52 Full Payment and 33 Additional Payment conditions, and Enhanced Plus adds larger Additional Payments and a Benefit Uplift for 16 conditions diagnosed before 55.
- You can apply from 18 to 69, for 5 to 40 years, and the cover must end by age 74.
- Premiums are guaranteed, except in a few cases such as choosing increasing cover or changing your cover, and the policy has no cash-in value.
- Zurich paid 93.8% of critical illness claims in 2025: 1,426 claims worth £125.4m.
- Buy online with the promo code ZOFFERS100 and you can get up to £100 in gift vouchers.
Who can apply for Zurich critical illness cover?
The age and term limits are the same whether you buy online (Zurich Life Protection) or through a financial adviser (Zurich Personal Protection).
- Age to apply
- 18 to 69
- Cover must end by
- Age 74
- Policy term
- 5 to 40 years
- With the Renewal Option (advisers)
- Start by age 64; cover ends by age 69
- Who it covers
- You, or you and a partner jointly
- How to buy
- Online with life cover, or through an adviser
- Conditions
- 39 Full Payment + 2 Additional Payment
- Premiums from
- Around £5 a month online; minimum £5 a month or £50 a year through advisers
- Residence
- UK resident, with a UK doctor for 6 months
In Zurich’s age tables, an age shown as 83 means before your 84th birthday. On the same basis, a maximum age of 69 at the start date means the policy must start before your 70th birthday, and the cover must end before your 75th.
A joint policy covers two people but pays out once, when the first person has a critical illness or terminal illness or dies, depending on the cover. Through an adviser, critical illness cover can be single life or joint life first event.
Bought online, the critical illness amount can’t be more than your life cover. If both amounts are the same, a full critical illness claim ends the policy. If you choose more life cover than critical illness cover, the rest of the life cover is held in a separate policy, which continues after a full critical illness claim.
Zurich’s Life Protection key features also describe Critical Illness Cover on its own, but its website says that, bought directly, critical illness cover only comes as part of a Life Insurance and Critical Illness policy. Standalone critical illness cover, and the Enhanced and Enhanced Plus levels, are sold through financial advisers. If you don’t have an adviser, Zurich says you can speak to LifeSearch for free on 0800 804 6810.
You need to be a UK resident and registered with a UK doctor when the policy starts and for six months before you apply. Through an adviser, both the person covered and the policyholder must be UK residents.
When you apply, Zurich says you’re responsible for fully disclosing your medical information and shouldn’t assume it will contact your doctor. You also need to let it access your medical records for up to six months after the policy starts.
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What does Zurich critical illness cover pay out for?
Critical illness cover pays your chosen cover amount, called the sum assured, if you’re diagnosed with a defined critical illness condition during the policy term. The policy then ends. Life Cover and Critical Illness also pays the sum assured if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness during the term.
Depending on the condition’s definition, Zurich pays when the condition has reached a specified severity, when you’re diagnosed, or when you have a named treatment or surgery. The full definitions and the criteria for a claim are in the terms and conditions.
Less severe conditions are covered as Additional Payment conditions. At the standard and Enhanced levels, Zurich pays the lower of £25,000 or 25% of the sum assured for these, and your policy continues unchanged. Each person covered can claim once for each Additional Payment condition.
- Critical Illness, online and the standard level through advisers: 39 Full Payment and 2 Additional Payment conditions.
- Critical Illness Enhanced, through advisers at extra cost: 13 more Full Payment and 31 more Additional Payment conditions, so 52 and 33 in total.
- Critical Illness Enhanced Plus, through advisers at extra cost: the Enhanced conditions, with Additional Payments raised to the lower of £50,000 or 50% of the sum assured, and a Benefit Uplift for 16 conditions diagnosed before age 55.
- Advanced payments, through advisers: 7 conditions pay out when you’re placed on an NHS waiting list, or 10 with Enhanced and Enhanced Plus.
Conditions covered
The online Life Protection policy and the standard adviser level cover the same 39 Full Payment and 2 Additional Payment conditions. Critical Illness Enhanced and Enhanced Plus add 13 Full Payment and 31 Additional Payment conditions. The table lists all of them, grouped as Zurich’s key features documents group them.
The second column is based on each condition’s heading and definition in Zurich’s Personal Protection terms and conditions (April 2026), the adviser policy. For the online policy, the full definitions are in the Life Protection terms and conditions, which Zurich sends when the policy starts, or earlier if you ask.
| Condition | What’s covered |
|---|---|
| Full Payment conditions: online and all adviser levels | |
| Aorta graft surgery | For disease and trauma |
| Aplastic anaemia | With permanent bone marrow failure |
| Bacterial meningitis | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Benign brain tumour | Resulting in permanent symptoms or specified treatment |
| Blindness | Permanent and irreversible |
| Brain injury | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Cancer | Excluding less advanced cases |
| Cardiac arrest | With insertion of a defibrillator |
| Cardiomyopathy | Of specified severity |
| Coma | With associated permanent symptoms |
| Coronary artery bypass graft | Surgery, or inclusion on the NHS waiting list for surgery, on a consultant cardiologist’s advice |
| Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease | A definite diagnosis by a consultant neurologist |
| Deafness | Permanent and irreversible |
| Dementia including Alzheimer’s disease | Of specified severity |
| Encephalitis | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Heart attack | Of specified severity |
| Heart surgery | With thoracotomy |
| Heart-valve replacement or repair | Surgery, or inclusion on the NHS waiting list for surgery, on a consultant cardiologist’s advice |
| Interstitial lung disease | Diagnosed by a consultant respiratory physician, with pulmonary fibrosis and a specified loss of lung function |
| Kidney failure | Requiring permanent dialysis |
| Liver failure | End stage |
| Loss of hand or foot | Permanent physical severance |
| Loss of speech | Total permanent and irreversible |
| Major organ transplant | From another donor, including inclusion on an official UK waiting list |
| Motor neurone disease and specified diseases of the motor neurones | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Multiple sclerosis | A definite diagnosis by a consultant neurologist, with specified impairment of motor or sensory function |
| Paralysis of limb | Total and irreversible |
| Parkinson plus syndromes | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Parkinson’s disease | Resulting in permanent symptoms |
| Pneumonectomy | For disease or trauma |
| Pulmonary artery replacement | With surgery |
| Pulmonary hypertension | Of specified severity |
| Removal of an eyeball as a result of injury or disease | Permanent physical severance |
| Respiratory failure | Of specified severity |
| Spinal stroke | Death of spinal cord tissue, resulting in specified neurological symptoms |
| Stroke | Resulting in specified symptoms |
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | Of specified severity |
| Terminal illness | Where death is expected within 12 months |
| Third-degree burns | Covering 20% of the body’s surface area or 20% of the face’s surface area |
| Additional Payment conditions: online and all adviser levels | |
| Less advanced cancer of the breast | With surgical removal |
| Less advanced cancer of the prostate | Requiring specified treatment |
| Extra Full Payment conditions with Critical Illness Enhanced and Enhanced Plus | |
| Benign spinal cord tumour | Resulting in permanent symptoms or specified treatment |
| Brain abscess | Drained via craniotomy |
| Cauda equina syndrome | With permanent symptoms |
| Heart failure | Of specified severity |
| Intensive care | Ten days continuous duration |
| Mental health condition | Of specified severity |
| Necrotising fasciitis | Life threatening, needing immediate surgery and intravenous antibiotics |
| Neurodegenerative disorders not already covered | Of specified severity |
| Neuromyelitis optica (Devic’s disease) | With persisting clinical symptoms |
| Peripheral vascular disease | With bypass surgery |
| Primary sclerosing cholangitis | Of specified severity |
| Severe bowel disease | Treated with two intestinal resections or total colectomy |
| Syringomyelia or syringobulbia | Requiring surgery |
| Extra Additional Payment conditions with Critical Illness Enhanced and Enhanced Plus | |
| Accidental hospitalisation | An accident that means you stay in hospital for 28 days in a row or more |
| Aortic aneurysm | With endovascular repair |
| Aplastic anaemia | Of specified severity |
| Bladder removal | Complete surgical removal of the urinary bladder |
| Bowel disease | With specified surgery |
| Carotid artery stenosis | With surgical repair |
| Central retinal artery occlusion or central retinal vein occlusion (eye stroke) | Resulting in permanent visual loss |
| Cerebral or spinal aneurysm | With specified surgery |
| Cerebral or spinal arteriovenous malformation | With specified surgery |
| Coronary angioplasty | To the left main stem or two or more main coronary arteries, on a consultant cardiologist’s advice |
| Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 | Needing permanent insulin injections |
| Drug resistant epilepsy | With specified surgery |
| Facial reconstruction surgery | Le Fort III reconstruction of the maxillofacial bones for severe facial trauma |
| Guillain-Barré syndrome | With persisting clinical symptoms |
| Infective bacterial endocarditis | A definite diagnosis by a consultant cardiologist |
| Less advanced cancer of the larynx | With specified treatment |
| Less advanced cancer of the ovary | With surgical removal |
| Less advanced cancer of the renal pelvis (of the kidney) or ureter | Of specified severity |
| Less advanced cancer of the testicle | With specified surgery |
| Less advanced cancer of the urinary bladder | Of specified severity |
| Less advanced cancer of other sites | With surgical removal |
| Liver resection | Surgery to remove part of the liver (partial hepatectomy) |
| Non-malignant pituitary adenoma | With specified treatment |
| Pericarditis | Chronic constrictive pericarditis or requiring surgery |
| Permanent pacemaker or ICD insertion | For heartbeat abnormalities |
| Removal of one or more lobe(s) of the lung | Surgery due to underlying disease or trauma, on a consultant physician’s advice |
| Severe sepsis | Resulting in admission to a critical care unit for 3 days or more |
| Significant hearing loss | Permanent and irreversible |
| Significant visual loss | Permanent and irreversible |
| Skin cancer | Advanced stage as specified |
| Third-degree burns – less extensive | Less extensive – covering 5% of the body’s surface area or 19% of the face’s surface area |
The terms and conditions give the full definition of each condition, including what isn’t covered.
With Critical Illness Enhanced Plus, the Benefit Uplift pays the lower of £200,000 or 100% of the sum assured on top of your sum assured if you’re diagnosed before age 55 with one of 16 conditions: blindness, brain injury, deafness, dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, heart failure, kidney failure, liver failure, loss of two hands or feet, loss of speech, major organ transplant, motor neurone disease and specified diseases of the motor neurones, neurodegenerative disorders not already covered, paralysis of two limbs, Parkinson plus syndrome, Parkinson’s disease or respiratory failure.
Zurich’s example: with £300,000 of Life Cover and Critical Illness and Enhanced Plus, a 52-year-old diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease would receive the £300,000 sum assured and a £200,000 Benefit Uplift, £500,000 in total.
A second example from the terms: on a £130,000 Life Cover and Critical Illness policy, a claim for less advanced breast cancer with surgical removal pays £25,000 and the policy continues. A later claim for a stroke pays the full £130,000, and the policy then stops.
Through an adviser, you can choose Family Income Cover, which pays the sum assured as a monthly amount until the end of the term instead of a lump sum. Critical illness claims are then paid monthly, except Additional Payment claims, which are paid as a lump sum.
Zurich critical illness cover benefits & extras
| Benefit | What it does | Available with |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal illness | Terminal illness is one of the 39 Full Payment conditions: the sum assured is paid on a definite diagnosis of an illness that can’t be cured and is expected to lead to death within 12 months. | Available with: All levels |
| Free cover while you apply | If Zurich can’t make an immediate decision, it may give you free critical illness cover of up to £500,000 while it assesses your application. It stops as soon as one of several events happens, such as 14 days after your application is accepted, your application being declined or postponed, or 90 days after Zurich acknowledges it. It isn’t available if you’re 55 or older when the free cover would start. | Available with: Online and adviser policies |
| Free mortgage cover | If you’re buying your main home and the policy is to cover your mortgage, Zurich may give you free critical illness cover of up to £350,000 from exchange of contracts, once your application is accepted, until completion, for up to 90 days. It isn’t available if you’re 55 or older, if you’re remortgaging, or with Family Income Cover. | Available with: Online and adviser policies |
| Milestone benefit | You may be able to increase your cover within 90 days of a significant life event, such as moving house, getting married or having a child, without answering health questions. You need to be 54 or younger, and the most you can add is the lower of your original sum assured or £200,000. Under the Personal Protection terms, you can’t use it on critical illness cover if you’ve been diagnosed with an illness or had, or are due to have, an operation listed in your policy, or are having medical investigations. | Available with: Online and adviser policies |
| Separation benefit | If you separate or divorce, you may be able to replace a joint policy with individual policies without giving more health details. | Available with: Joint policies |
| Zurich Support Services | Help available 24 hours a day, including up to six counselling sessions. It isn’t part of the insurance contract, and Zurich can withdraw it at any time. | Available with: All policies |
These cost extra. Online, you can add Children’s Benefit and Multi-Fracture Cover. The others are only available through an adviser, on the Personal Protection policy.
| Optional extra | What it does |
|---|---|
| Children’s Benefit | Online. Covers your children until their 22nd birthday for the same conditions. It pays the lower of £25,000 or 50% of your sum assured for a Full Payment condition, the lower of £25,000 or 25% for an Additional Payment condition, and £5,000 if a child dies after they’re 30 days old. |
| Children’s Cover | Through advisers. Choose £10,000 to £100,000 of cover for your children until their 22nd birthday. Children’s Enhanced Cover adds the 44 Enhanced conditions and Permanent Dependence. Both pay £50 a night from the seventh night in a row in hospital, up to 30 nights per child. |
| Pregnancy cover | Through advisers, with Children’s Cover or Children’s Enhanced Cover. Pregnancy and Early Childhood Cover pays £5,000 for specified pregnancy complications and covers your children for 10 more conditions. |
| Multi-Fracture Cover | Pays £2,000, £4,000 or £6,000 for a fracture, dislocation, ruptured tendon or torn ligaments, up to £6,000 in a policy year. Injuries from some sports aren’t covered. |
| Total Permanent Disability | Through advisers. Pays your cover amount if illness or injury means you can’t do your own job ever again, or 3 of 6 listed work tasks, before your 71st birthday. It can start from 18 until the day before your 66th birthday. |
| Waiver of Premium | Through advisers. Zurich pays your premiums if illness or injury stops you doing your own job for more than six months. It can start until the day before your 55th birthday and ends the day before your 70th. |
| Zurich Accelerate | Through advisers. Medical services for diagnosing and treating cancer, cardiac and neurological conditions. Its premium can change. |
| Renewal Option | Through advisers. Take out a new policy when your cover ends without health questions. With critical illness cover, you can renew before age 70 and the new term must end before 75. It isn’t available with Family Income Cover or decreasing cover. |
How much does Zurich critical illness cover cost?
We didn’t find price examples published by Zurich for this cover, so we don’t show any. The price of critical illness cover depends on your circumstances and on the cover you choose.
- Your age, health and occupation
- Whether you use tobacco or nicotine products, or how long since you stopped
- The amount and type of cover, and any options you add
- How long you want the cover to last
Zurich says its life insurance and critical illness policies start from around £5 a month. Through an adviser, the minimum premium is £5 a month or £50 a year, and Critical Illness Enhanced and Enhanced Plus cost extra.
Zurich calls its premiums guaranteed: they stay the same unless you choose increasing cover or change your cover. They can also change if Zurich receives more information about your application and changes your terms. With increasing cover, your cover rises each year by 3%, 5% or the Retail Price Index, and your premiums rise by 1.5% for each 1% increase in cover.
Zurich says decreasing cover, which reduces over time in line with a repayment mortgage, is typically cheaper than level and increasing cover, and its premiums stay the same.
You pay by direct debit, monthly or annually. If you give up smoking, you can ask Zurich to review your premium.
Zurich gift voucher offer
Note: Free gifts are offered by select brokers only, our life insurance brokers do not offer free gifts.
Zurich gives up to £100 in Amazon, John Lewis & Partners or Love2shop gift vouchers on Zurich Life Protection plans, which include Life Cover and Critical Illness, taken out online with the promo code ZOFFERS100. Plans taken out by phone through LifeSearch on 0800 008 3020 or 0800 008 3021 also qualify.
- Gift
- Up to £100 in gift vouchers
- Voucher value
- Your first six months’ premiums, rounded down to the nearest £5, up to £100
- £17 a month or more
- £100 voucher
- Promo code
- ZOFFERS100, entered online no later than the quick quote stage
- When you get it
- Register after your 6th monthly payment
In the month after your 6th monthly payment, Zurich emails you instructions, and you have 28 days to register. No vouchers are given if you cancel within the first six months, if you cancelled another Zurich life insurance or income protection plan in the last 12 months, or for plans bought through comparison or cashback sites or other advisers.
Zurich can change the terms, including withdrawing the offer.
Offer checked on 25 September 2026.
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 | Zurich critical illness cover |
|---|---|
| Cooling-off period | 30 days, with a refund of any premiums paid |
| Cancelling later | Possible at any time, but premiums aren’t refunded after the first 30 days |
| Cash-in value | None |
| Premiums | Guaranteed, unless you choose increasing cover or change your cover, or Zurich changes your terms after receiving more information about your application |
| If you stop paying | Your cover ends and premiums aren’t refunded; under the Personal Protection terms, the policy ends if a premium isn’t paid within two months |
| Type of cover | Chosen at the start and can’t be changed later |
| Enhanced and Enhanced Plus | Added only at the start; can be removed at any time |
| Additional Payment claims | One claim for each condition for each person; the policy continues |
| Full and Additional Payment together | Only the Full Payment claim is paid (Personal Protection terms) |
| Survival period | 10 days after diagnosis (Personal Protection terms) |
| Living abroad | No claim is paid if you live abroad and aren’t diagnosed in a country Zurich accepts (Personal Protection terms) |
| When Zurich may not pay | If the illness isn’t covered or doesn’t meet the definition exactly, if your answers weren’t full, honest and accurate, or if premiums are unpaid |
| Exclusions for you | Shown on your Confirmation of terms |
| Suicide (life cover) | No life cover payout for suicide or intentional self-inflicted injury within 12 months of the start or an increase; the Personal Protection terms refund the premiums instead |
| Changing your cover | Increase or reduce the cover or the term; Zurich may ask about your health, and premiums are likely to change |
| Tax | No income tax or capital gains tax on payouts |
| Compensation scheme | The FSCS covers 100% of the claim for this type of policy |
Does Zurich pay out on critical illness claims?
Zurich publishes claims figures for its individual protection policies, with separate figures for critical illness claims.
- Critical illness claims paid in 2025
- 93.8%
- Paid on 1,426 critical illness claims in 2025
- £125.4m
- Critical illness claims paid in 2024
- 90%
Zurich’s published critical illness payout rate was over 90% in 2019, 87% in 2020, 91% in 2022, 90% in 2024 and 93.8% in 2025. In 2024 it paid 1,352 critical illness claims worth £109.7 million.
Cancer was the main reason for critical illness claims in 2025 (64%), followed by cardiovascular conditions (14%) and cerebrovascular conditions, which include stroke (8%). Zurich also paid 93.4% of children’s cover claims that year: 71 claims worth £1.7m.
In 2019, Zurich declined 10% of critical illness claims. Most of those (63%) were for conditions the policy didn’t cover, and over a third (36%) were because of misrepresentation on application forms. All 189 critical illness claims made by smokers that year were paid, because they had told Zurich they smoked when they applied.
Zurich says the quickest way to tell it about a critical illness claim is its online claims form. Have your policy number, details of your diagnosis and details of your doctor or consultant to hand: Zurich asks for your consent to contact them.
Keep paying your premiums as normal during the claim. Independent medical examinations are occasionally needed but are the exception. How long a claim takes varies, especially when Zurich is waiting for information from your GP or consultant.
Under the Personal Protection terms, medical evidence for a claim must come from a doctor in the UK, the European Union (member states as of 2021), Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland or the USA. Zurich also accepts evidence from other countries if it’s comprehensive enough and of a sufficient standard to assess the claim.
The claims line for policy numbers starting ‘PR’ is open 9am to 5pm, and the line for other policies 8:30am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.
- Policies starting ‘PR’
- 0370 240 0073
- Email, ‘PR’ policies
- zurichmulticlaims@uk.zurich.com
- Other policies
- 0370 243 0827
- Email, other policies
- technicalclaims@uk.zurich.com
Zurich critical illness cover ratings
Defaqto rates each product from 1 to 5 stars. In its critical illness categories, Defaqto gives the Zurich product it calls Life Protection 5 stars as direct critical illness cover with life cover, and 3 stars as level and decreasing term cover with critical illness. It gives 5 stars to the Zurich products it lists as Life And Critical Illness and as standalone Critical Illness, including their Enhanced and Enhanced+ versions.
| Policy | Range | Defaqto rating |
|---|---|---|
| Direct critical illness with life cover | Life Protection | 5 out of 5 stars |
| Level term with critical illness | Life Protection | 3 out of 5 stars |
| Decreasing term with critical illness | Life Protection | 3 out of 5 stars |
| Level term with critical illness | Life And Critical Illness, Enhanced and Enhanced+ | 5 out of 5 stars |
| Decreasing term with critical illness | Life And Critical Illness, Enhanced and Enhanced+ | 5 out of 5 stars |
| Standalone critical illness | Critical Illness, Enhanced and Enhanced+ | 5 out of 5 stars |
Ratings checked on 24 September 2026 and may have changed since. Product names are shown as Defaqto lists them. Defaqto ratings: defaqto.com (opens in a new tab)
Is Zurich critical illness cover good?
Zurich’s standard cover lists 39 Full Payment and 2 Additional Payment conditions, and Zurich reported paying 93.8% of critical illness claims in 2025. The key features for both its policies follow the ABI Statement of Best Practice for Critical Illness Cover.
How you buy it makes a difference. Online, it only comes with life cover, at the standard level. Through an adviser, you can have it with or without life cover, choose Enhanced for more conditions or Enhanced Plus for larger Additional Payments as well, and add extras such as waiver of premium.
Whether it suits you depends on the conditions you want covered, how much you can afford and how long you need the cover to last.
Pros
- 39 Full Payment conditions as standard, or 52 with Critical Illness Enhanced
- Additional Payments leave your cover in place
- Guaranteed premiums, except in a few cases such as choosing increasing cover or changing your cover
- 93.8% of critical illness claims paid in 2025
- Possible free critical illness cover of up to £500,000 while your application is assessed, if you’re under 55
Cons
- Bought online, it only comes with life cover
- Standalone cover, the Enhanced levels and waiver of premium need an adviser
- Cover must end by age 74
- Additional Payments are capped at £25,000 unless you have Enhanced Plus
- No cash-in value
Zurich critical illness cover documents
-
Zurich Life Protection key features (opens in a new tab)
The online policy, with the 39 Full Payment and 2 Additional Payment conditions.
-
Zurich Personal Protection key features (opens in a new tab)
The adviser policy: the three critical illness levels and the conditions each covers.
-
Zurich Personal Protection terms and conditions (opens in a new tab)
The full definition of every condition, and when Zurich won’t pay.
-
Underwriting free cover terms (opens in a new tab)
Free cover while Zurich assesses your application.
-
Mortgage protection free cover terms (opens in a new tab)
Free cover between exchange of contracts and completion.
How Zurich critical illness cover compares
Critical illness policies differ in the conditions they cover, how they define them and what they pay for less serious conditions, so compare the definitions as well as the price.
The key features for Zurich’s online and adviser policies follow the ABI Statement of Best Practice for Critical Illness Cover (March 2023). The Life Protection key features also point to the ABI’s Guide to Minimum Standards for Critical Illness Cover for more information.
When you compare quotes, check which level a Zurich quote is for: the standard 39 conditions, or Critical Illness Enhanced or Enhanced Plus through an adviser.
To work out how much cover you might need, try our critical illness calculator.
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
- NatWest critical illness cover
- Royal Bank of Scotland critical illness cover
- Vitality critical illness cover
Read our full Zurich life insurance review, or see all our insurer reviews.
Zurich critical illness cover FAQs
Not directly from Zurich. Bought online, critical illness cover only comes as part of a Life Insurance and Critical Illness policy. Standalone critical illness cover, and the Enhanced and Enhanced Plus levels, are sold through financial advisers. If you don’t have an adviser, Zurich says you can speak to LifeSearch for free on 0800 804 6810.
The standard cover includes 39 Full Payment conditions and 2 Additional Payment conditions: less advanced cancer of the breast and less advanced cancer of the prostate. Through an adviser, Critical Illness Enhanced covers 52 Full Payment and 33 Additional Payment conditions.
A less severe condition that pays a smaller amount: the lower of £25,000 or 25% of your sum assured, or the lower of £50,000 or 50% with Enhanced Plus. Your policy continues unchanged, so you’re still covered for the Full Payment conditions.
A Full Payment claim pays the sum assured, and the policy then ends. Additional Payment claims leave the policy in place, and each person covered can claim once for each Additional Payment condition. Under the Personal Protection terms, you can claim again for a different illness the policy covers, but not for the same Additional Payment condition twice.
It comes with Critical Illness Enhanced Plus, sold through advisers. If you’re diagnosed with one of 16 life-changing conditions before age 55, Zurich pays an extra amount on top of your sum assured: the lower of £200,000 or 100% of the sum assured.
They are conditions that pay out when you’re placed on an NHS waiting list. The adviser policy includes 7, or 10 with Enhanced and Enhanced Plus. In the Personal Protection terms, the definitions of coronary artery bypass graft and heart valve replacement or repair, for example, cover the surgery or inclusion on the NHS waiting list for it.
Only if you add children’s cover, at extra cost. Online, Children’s Benefit covers your children until their 22nd birthday and pays the lower of £25,000 or 50% of your sum assured for a Full Payment condition. Through an adviser, you choose Children’s Cover of £10,000 to £100,000.
Zurich paid 93.8% of critical illness claims in 2025: 1,426 claims worth £125.4m. In 2019, most declined critical illness claims were for conditions the policy didn’t cover.
Yes. Zurich provides trust deeds. Its Discretionary Trust, for single life and joint life second death policies, means you can still benefit from your critical illness cover while you’re alive. For joint life first death policies, it has a Discretionary Survivorship Trust.
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.
Zurich says you’re responsible for fully disclosing your medical information and shouldn’t assume it will contact your doctor. You also need to let Zurich access your medical records for up to six months after the policy starts.
Sources
The facts on this page come from these sources.
- Zurich — Zurich Life Protection key features (NP720500009, 02/25) (opens in a new tab), zurich.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich — Zurich critical illness cover (Life Insurance and Critical Illness) page (opens in a new tab), zurich.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich — Key features of the Zurich Personal Protection policy (PW720494014, 04/26) (opens in a new tab), zurichintermediary.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich — Zurich critical illness cover (Personal Protection) adviser product page (opens in a new tab), zurichintermediary.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich Assurance Ltd — Zurich claims paid 2025 - individual protection claims statistics (PDF LIFTM167 6/26, Zurich Assurance Ltd) (opens in a new tab), zurichintermediary.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich Insurance UK — Zurich retail protection claims payments up 9% in 2025 (press release, 4 June 2026) (opens in a new tab), zurich.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich — Zurich Life Insurance product page (opens in a new tab), zurich.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich — Life insurance and income protection voucher offer (ZOFFERS100) terms and conditions (opens in a new tab), zurich.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich — Zurich Life Insurance online quote journey (step 1: your cover) (opens in a new tab), zurich.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich — Zurich Personal Protection terms and conditions (PW720480017, 04/26) (opens in a new tab), zurichintermediary.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich — Guide to Family Income Cover (adviser guide, LIFZJL309 12/25) (opens in a new tab), zurichintermediary.co.uk, accessed 25 September 2026.
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