Terminal illness cover: how it works on a life insurance policy
Terminal illness cover lets you claim on your life insurance early if your life expectancy is under 12 months. MoneyHelper says many good policies have it. At Legal & General, LV= and Zurich, it's an early payment of the life cover, not an extra one. Some policies won't pay it in the last 12 months of the term.
In short
- Terminal illness benefit lets you claim early on a life policy if you're diagnosed with an illness and your life expectancy is under 12 months. MoneyHelper says many good policies include it.
- Legal & General (on terms of at least two years), LV= and Zurich include it at no extra cost, and Aviva's Life Insurance Plan includes it too.
- At Legal & General, LV= and Zurich, it's an early payment of the life cover, not an extra one. LV= and Zurich say the policy ends once it's paid, so nothing more is paid when you pass away.
- Critical illness cover pays out for conditions listed in the policy. Terminal illness cover depends on your life expectancy being under 12 months instead. Aviva, Royal London and Zurich need an illness that can't be cured and that your consultant expects to lead to death within 12 months.
- Beagle Street, Forester Life, National Friendly and Virgin Money won't pay a terminal illness claim in the last 12 months of the term. Aviva's Life Insurance Plan covers the whole policy term.
- Under the special rules for end of life, you might get Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit more quickly and at a higher rate. They apply if your illness gets worse over time and a doctor or medical professional has said you might have 12 months or less to live. Different rules apply in Scotland.
What is terminal illness cover?
Terminal illness cover lets you claim on life insurance early if your life expectancy is under 12 months. It's also called terminal illness benefit, and MoneyHelper says many good policies have it.
The policy can pay out on the diagnosis while you're still alive. Legal & General's life insurance, for example, pays out if you pass away while covered, or if you're told you have a terminal illness and less than 12 months to live.
Several insurers include it with life cover rather than selling it as an extra. Legal & General adds it automatically at no extra cost on life cover with a term of at least two years.
LV= and Zurich also include it at no extra cost, and Aviva's Life Insurance Plan includes terminal illness benefit too.
Term life insurance isn't the only place you'll find it. Whole of life policies frequently include a terminal illness benefit too, paying the full death benefit as a lump sum if your life expectancy is under 12 months.
Is it paid on top of the life cover?
Not at Legal & General, LV= or Zurich, where it's an early payment of the life cover. Legal & General calls its Terminal Illness Cover an advanced payment of the death benefit. It's worked out when the definition is met, so it can be less than would have been paid at death.
On LV='s decreasing cover for a mortgage, a claim normally pays the mortgage balance left on the date you're diagnosed, plus interest built up since then. The policy's mortgage conditions must be met.
It pays once
A terminal illness payout uses up the policy. LV= won't pay again on death, and Zurich ends the policy once it pays the sum assured (the amount you're covered for). If you survive to the end of the term, Legal & General says you won't have to pay it back.
At Legal & General, a terminal illness claim can't be made after the person insured has passed away. The life insurance then pays out on the death instead, if it happens while they're covered.
- Term life insurance: cover for a set number of years
- Whole of life insurance: cover that lasts for the rest of your life
- Types of life insurance
What is the difference between terminal and critical illness cover?
Critical illness cover pays out for conditions listed in your policy. Terminal illness cover depends instead on your life expectancy being under 12 months.
Both can pay a lump sum while you're alive. Every critical illness policy must cover cancer, heart attack and stroke to at least the Association of British Insurers (ABI) model wordings.
| Terminal illness benefit | Critical illness cover | |
|---|---|---|
| Pays out when | You're diagnosed with an illness and your life expectancy is less than 12 months | You're diagnosed with one of the conditions specified in the policy |
| Conditions covered | Any illness that meets the policy's definition (Guardian's Life Protection adds four named conditions) | A list that varies by insurer: the most comprehensive policies cover 50 or more conditions, others far fewer |
| How you get it | Part of many good life policies | As a stand-alone policy, or combined with life insurance |
| After it pays | The policy ends at insurers such as Aviva, LV= and Zurich | The policy ends: it only pays out once |
If you have both in one policy, such as a combined life and critical illness policy, it still pays only once. Terminal illness benefit and critical illness cover can't both be paid, because they're lump sums and the policy ends after a payment.
Royal London's Life or Critical Illness Cover, for example, pays out once, apart from payments for additional conditions during the term.
Terminal illness can also sit on a critical illness policy's condition list. Aviva's Critical Illness Plan, LV='s Life and Critical Illness cover and Zurich's Personal Protection all list 'terminal illness – where death is expected within 12 months'.
Adding critical illness cover doesn't remove terminal illness cover from the life policy. Legal & General still includes Terminal Illness Cover with its Life Insurance when Critical Illness Cover is added, and Aviva's Life Insurance+ adds critical illness benefit alongside its death and terminal illness benefits.
Children's cover is different
Aviva's children's critical illness cover pays for the conditions in its Critical Illness Plan if the child survives at least 10 days. Terminal illness isn't one of them: Aviva doesn't cover children for it.
- Critical illness cover: a lump sum on diagnosis of a listed condition
- Critical illness cover conditions
- Standalone critical illness cover
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How do insurers define terminal illness?
The definitions we checked are close: an incurable illness expected to lead to death within 12 months. Each insurer writes its own wording, and Aviva, Royal London and Zurich use the same two-part test.
First, the illness has no known cure, or has progressed so that it can't be cured. Second, your attending consultant expects it to lead to death within 12 months.
The ABI no longer has a model terminal illness definition. It deleted its wording from the critical illness minimum standards because it was seldom used, though insurers can still include their own.
| Insurer | Definition in its documents |
|---|---|
| Aviva (Life Insurance Plan) | An illness with no known cure, or that can no longer be cured, which the attending consultant expects to lead to death within 12 months |
| Beagle Street | Diagnosed with a terminal illness and expected to live less than 12 months; no claim is paid if there is a known cure or its medical officer considers life expectancy to be more than 12 months |
| Guardian (Life Protection) | A terminal illness expected to lead to death within 12 months, and also incurable stage 4 cancer, motor neurone disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or Parkinson-plus syndromes even if you're expected to survive more than 12 months |
| Legal & General | No known cure, or progressed so that it cannot be cured, and expected to lead to death within 12 months in the opinion of your hospital consultant and L&G's medical officer |
| LV= | An incurable illness where LV='s chief medical officer and your medical specialists agree you're not expected to live for more than 12 months after diagnosis |
| Royal London (Personal Menu Plan) | No known cure, or progressed so that it cannot be cured, and expected by the attending consultant to lead to death within 12 months |
| Vitality | Diagnosed with a terminal illness, with a life expectancy of no more than 12 months |
| Zurich (Personal Protection) | A definite diagnosis by the attending consultant of an illness that has no known cure or cannot be cured, which the consultant expects to lead to death within 12 months |
Summarised from each insurer's own policy documents and product pages, accessed between 24 September and 3 October 2026. The conditions of your own policy are what count.
Who has to agree
At Legal & General and LV=, the insurer's own medical officer must agree with your hospital consultant or specialists. Beagle Street won't pay a claim if its medical officer considers your life expectancy to be more than 12 months.
Where the diagnosis is confirmed
LV= covers death anywhere in the world, but it only pays a terminal illness claim if a doctor practising in one of its listed places confirms the diagnosis. These include the UK, many European countries, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and the USA.
Wider definitions
Guardian's Life Protection goes beyond the 12-month test for the four conditions in the table. Its 2025 claims report says 34% of the terminal illness claims it paid wouldn't have met the industry standard definition.
When won't terminal illness cover pay out?
Some insurers won't pay a terminal illness claim in the final 12 months of a term policy. These four say so on their websites or in their policy terms:
| Insurer | What its documents say |
|---|---|
| Beagle Street | You can make an early claim if you're diagnosed with less than 12 months to live before the last 12 months of your policy |
| Forester Life | No terminal illness claim is paid if the life insured is diagnosed as terminally ill within 12 months before the expiry date |
| National Friendly (Friendly Life Cover) | Terminal illness cover is not available in the final 12 months of the policy term |
| Virgin Money | You cannot make terminal illness claims in the last 12 months of your policy |
Other insurers may word this differently, or not have the rule. Check the conditions of your own policy.
At Forester Life, the death cover carries on in that final year: it still pays out if you die within the cover period.
Other policies cover the whole term. Aviva's Life Insurance Plan pays terminal illness benefit if you're diagnosed with a terminal illness at any point during the policy term.
Other times terminal illness cover may not pay
- Very short policies: Legal & General only includes Terminal Illness Cover on life cover with a term of at least two years. See short-term life insurance.
- Over 50s plans in their first two years: OneFamily's Over 50s Life Cover only pays terminal illness benefit once the policy has been held for two years. National Friendly's Over 50s Life Cover lets you claim half the payout on a diagnosis after two years.
- Some over 50s plans held in trust: National Friendly says you can't claim the terminal illness benefit if its Over 50s Life Cover is held in trust.
- Free cover before the policy starts: Aviva's free house purchase cover includes the death benefit, not terminal illness benefit. Vitality's Immediate Cover, given up to £500,000 while it assesses your application, doesn't pay out for terminal illness.
- The second person on a first-event joint policy: Zurich's joint policy pays once when the first person is diagnosed with a terminal illness or dies, then stops. LV= says its joint policy won't pay out twice. See joint or single life insurance.
- Over 50 life insurance: how guaranteed over 50s plans work
- Joint or single life insurance
How do you make a terminal illness claim?
If you've had a terminal diagnosis, or someone you love has, you claim directly with the insurer that holds the policy. These are the steps insurers' claims pages and policy terms set out.
- Tell the insurer early LV= asks you to tell it straight away after a diagnosis, so it can start looking at the claim. Virgin Money says you or your registered representative must contact it within six months of diagnosis.
- Start the claim Aviva, and Royal London for plans bought through an adviser, let you start a terminal illness claim with an online form. Aviva can also take the details at a day and time that suit you.
- Have the details ready Aviva suggests having your contact details, basic information about your condition and your policy number to hand, plus your GP's and consultant's contact details. Legal & General's terms say it needs details of the illness and diagnosis.
- The insurer checks the medical evidence LV= needs a report from the doctor who diagnosed or is treating the illness, to check it meets the policy definition. It might also ask you to see a doctor it chooses, and pays all the costs if it does.
- Keep paying premiums until told otherwise Royal London asks you to keep paying premiums until it says you can stop. Virgin Money says a declined terminal illness claim may not stop a future one being accepted, so it's important to keep the policy in force while a claim is assessed.
- Payment, and the policy ends Once Zurich has paid the sum assured, its cover stops and the policy ends. On plans bought through an adviser, Royal London says funds usually clear in 3 to 5 working days once it has accepted the claim and received all information.
If you're too unwell to deal with it
LV= says you can give a friend or relative permission to act on your behalf. Usually only you can agree to LV= getting your medical information, though.
For plans bought through an adviser, Royal London arranges for a dedicated RedArc nurse to call the person claiming. The nurse can give practical help and advice, and bereavement counselling.
If the person insured passes away during the claim
Zurich says it carries on with the case and pays the proceeds of any valid claim to whoever is legally entitled to receive it.
At LV=, if the person insured passes away before it has reviewed the medical evidence and approved the claim, it ends the terminal illness claim and starts a death claim straight away. If it had already approved the claim, it continues to pay it as a terminal illness claim.
| Insurer | What it published for 2025 |
|---|---|
| Aviva | Largest terminal illness claim £2.7m; 0.3% of its life and terminal illness claims were declined because the definition was not met (1% for misrepresentation) |
| Guardian | 92% of terminal illness claims paid: 35 paid and 3 not paid, £7,660,194 in total |
| Legal & General | 94.8% of terminal illness claims paid: 1,283 claims paid, £161m in total, average £125,641 |
| Royal London | Average terminal illness payout £133,238 (£326m paid across term life and terminal illness); terminal illness claims up 17% on the year before |
| Vitality | 99.4% of Life Cover claims paid; 0.5% declined because the terminal illness definition was not met |
| Zurich | 90.6% of terminal illness claims paid: 203 claims paid, £29.9m in total |
Each insurer's own 2025 figures for its own products and definitions, in alphabetical order. They are not directly comparable and not a ranking.
If a claim is turned down
FCA rules say insurers mustn't reject a claim unreasonably. If you disagree with the decision, make a formal complaint to the insurer first. If you're unhappy with its final response, or don't get one within eight weeks, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
- How to make a life insurance claim
- How long life insurance takes to pay out
- Reasons life insurance won't pay out
- Insurer reviews: claims figures and policy details for each insurer
Who gets the payout, and what if your policy is in trust?
At LV=, an approved terminal illness claim is paid to the legal owner of the policy. That's usually the policy owner named on the schedule, or both owners jointly on a jointly owned policy. If the policy is in trust, LV= pays the trustees.
When a policy is in trust, the trust wording decides whether a terminal illness payout can still go to you or belongs to the beneficiaries. Insurers' own trusts handle this in different ways. See life insurance in trust for how trusts work.
| Insurer | What its trust documents say |
|---|---|
| Aviva | Its Discretionary Gift Trust doesn't affect the policyholder's right to keep any terminal illness benefit |
| Guardian | Its trust keeps the terminal illness benefit for you unless you give it away, and if you give it away that decision can't be changed |
| Legal & General | Its trusts are all split trusts, so Terminal Illness Cover can still benefit the original policyholder (the settlor) |
| National Friendly (Over 50s Life Cover) | If the policy is held in trust, the terminal illness benefit can't be claimed |
| Royal London | In its discretionary trust, life and terminal illness benefits are always given to the trustees to pass on to the beneficiaries |
Check the wording of the trust you signed.
Inheritance Tax
Inheritance Tax is a tax on the estate (the property, money and possessions) of someone who has died. MoneyHelper says a policy written under a trust deed isn't treated as part of your estate and can be paid outside probate and Inheritance Tax.
Scottish Widows' Protection Flexible Split Trust form adds a warning: if a policy includes terminal illness benefits, not claiming them has Inheritance Tax consequences. It says to seek appropriate specialist advice.
Trust registration
Zurich's Personal Protection terms say a policy in trust may need to be registered on HMRC's Trust Registration Service (TRS). HMRC may charge a penalty if a trust isn't registered correctly.
Under Zurich's terms, if a terminal illness claim is paid to the trustees, they have 90 days to register the trust on the TRS. The 90 days start on the date the payment reaches the trustee bank account.
What benefits can you get if you're terminally ill?
Under the 'special rules for end of life', you might get certain benefits more quickly and at a higher rate. These rules apply if you're nearing the end of life, for example because of a life-limiting illness.
If you've reached State Pension age, you can apply for Attendance Allowance. If you're under State Pension age, you can apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit.
This fast track is separate from any life insurance claim. Marie Curie says the special rules vary between benefits.
You qualify if your illness gets worse over time and a doctor or medical professional has said you might have 12 months or less to live. You must still meet each benefit's own eligibility rules.
If a medical professional hasn't talked to you about how long you might live, you can still ask whether they'll support a claim under the special rules.
| Benefit | Who can claim | Under the special rules |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance Allowance | People who have reached State Pension age | The higher rate of £114.60 a week |
| Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) | People under State Pension age who have paid enough National Insurance contributions, usually in the last 2 to 3 years | Up to £145.90 a week after you're assessed |
| Personal Independence Payment (PIP) | People aged 16 or over; under State Pension age if you've not had PIP before | The higher daily living part of £114.60 a week, with no face-to-face assessment |
| Universal Credit | People under State Pension age with £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments | Might be paid more quickly, with an extra amount; no Work Capability Assessment or Claimant Commitment |
Rates as shown on GOV.UK on 3 October 2026. Different rules apply in Scotland.
- Apply for the benefit Apply saying that you're claiming under the special rules for end of life. For PIP, call the PIP claims line and ask to start a 'special rules for end of life' claim.
- Ask for an SR1 form Ask your doctor or medical professional to fill in an SR1 form confirming you're nearing the end of life. You only need one SR1 form, even if you apply for more than one benefit.
- Let someone help Someone else can claim Attendance Allowance for you, and they don't need your permission. The award letter won't mention 'special rules'.
Marie Curie says that if you live longer than 12 months after the claim, you can carry on claiming under the special rules. Disability benefit awards under the special rules are normally made for three years.
Will a payout affect your benefits?
It can affect Universal Credit, which has a savings limit. Under the special rules you need £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments, so a lump sum paid to you could take you over it.
Living in Scotland
Different rules apply in Scotland, where you may need to apply for Adult Disability Payment (ADP) instead of PIP. Marie Curie says the definition of terminal illness is different there too: your illness must get worse over time and be expected to cause your death, but healthcare professionals don't have to say how long you might live.
Where to get support
- Macmillan Support Line: 0808 808 00 00, Monday to Sunday, 8am to 8pm. It offers free, confidential support to people living with cancer and their loved ones, and Macmillan provides practical and emotional support at the end of life.
- Marie Curie Support Line: 0800 090 2309, for general information about benefits and finances. Marie Curie also offers care and support at the end of life.
- Citizens Advice for financial advice and support, and MoneyHelper for advice on money and benefits.
What to check on your policy
Check your policy schedule, terms and any trust deed to see how terminal illness cover works on your plan, whichever type of life insurance you have.
- Whether it's included: look for terminal illness cover or benefit in your policy summary. Legal & General (on terms of at least two years), LV= and Zurich include it at no extra cost.
- Final-year and waiting rules: Beagle Street, Forester Life, National Friendly and Virgin Money won't pay a terminal illness claim in the last 12 months of the term. On over 50s plans, OneFamily and National Friendly require you to have held the policy for two years.
- Who confirms the diagnosis: check whether the insurer's own medical officer must also agree, as at Legal & General and LV=. Guardian's Life Protection also covers four named conditions even if life expectancy is over 12 months.
- Joint cover and trusts: a joint policy at LV= or Zurich pays out only once. If your policy is in trust, check whether the trust keeps terminal illness payouts for you or pays them to the trustees for your beneficiaries.
- Claim deadlines and premiums: LV= asks to be told straight away, and Virgin Money requires contact within six months of diagnosis. Royal London and Virgin Money ask you to keep paying premiums while your claim is assessed.
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Terminal illness cover FAQs
MoneyHelper says many good life insurance policies include a terminal illness benefit, but check your own policy summary or key facts document. Legal & General includes it at no extra cost on life cover with a term of at least two years. LV= and Zurich include it at no extra cost, and Aviva's Life Insurance Plan includes it too.
Not at Legal & General. It says you won't have to pay the money back if you survive to the end of the term after your claim was accepted. If you claimed Attendance Allowance, PIP, ESA or Universal Credit under the special rules for end of life, Marie Curie says you can carry on claiming if you live longer than 12 months.
Not from the same policy, under the insurer terms we checked. LV= won't pay out again on death after a terminal illness claim, and Aviva and Zurich end the policy once it pays out.
Then a 12-month definition isn't met yet. Beagle Street, for example, won't pay if its medical officer considers your life expectancy to be more than 12 months. Virgin Money says a declined claim may not prevent a future claim being accepted, so it says it's important to keep the policy in force while a claim is assessed. Guardian's Life Protection also pays for incurable stage 4 cancer, motor neurone disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Parkinson-plus syndromes even with a longer life expectancy.
Some plans allow it after a two-year qualifying period (a set time the policy must have run). OneFamily lets you claim 100% of the sum assured if you have less than 12 months to live and have held the policy for at least two years. National Friendly lets you claim half your payout on a terminal illness diagnosis two years or more after taking out the policy, unless the policy is held in trust.
Yes. LV= says you can give a friend or relative permission to act on your behalf, though usually only you can agree to LV= getting your medical information. Under the special rules for end of life, someone else can also claim Attendance Allowance for you without your permission.
A first-event joint policy pays once, on the first claim. At Royal London and Zurich, it pays out when the first person dies or meets the terminal illness definition, and Zurich says the policy then stops. Royal London also offers joint life second event cover, which pays out after both people have died or met its terminal illness definition.
It can affect Universal Credit. Under the special rules for end of life, you need £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments to get it. For help with benefits and finances, call the Marie Curie Support Line on 0800 090 2309, or contact Citizens Advice or MoneyHelper.
Check whether your life policy includes terminal illness cover and tell the insurer early. LV=, for example, asks to be told straight away so it can start looking at your claim. Depending on your age, you can also apply for Attendance Allowance, PIP, ESA or Universal Credit under the special rules for end of life using one SR1 form from your doctor or medical professional. For support, call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00 (Monday to Sunday, 8am to 8pm) for free, confidential cancer support, or the Marie Curie Support Line on 0800 090 2309 for general information on benefits and finances.
Sources
The facts on this page come from these sources.
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- Marie Curie: Special benefit rules for people with a terminal illness (opens in a new tab) · mariecurie.org.uk, accessed 3 October 2026.
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Insurer documents:
Aviva,
Beagle Street,
Forester Life,
Guardian,
Legal & General,
LV=,
National Friendly,
OneFamily,
Royal London,
Scottish Widows,
Virgin Money,
Vitality,
Zurich.
Show the 48 documents
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- Zurich: Zurich Life Insurance product page (opens in a new tab), accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich: Make a terminal illness claim (zurich.co.uk) (opens in a new tab), accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich: Zurich critical illness cover (Personal Protection) adviser product page (opens in a new tab), accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich: Zurich Life Insurance online quote journey (step 1: your cover) (opens in a new tab), accessed 25 September 2026.
- Zurich: Zurich retail protection claims payments up 9% in 2025 (press release, 4 June 2026) (opens in a new tab), accessed 25 September 2026.
More guides
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How long does life insurance take to pay out?
How long UK life insurance claims take, what slows them down, and how a trust or a nominated beneficiary changes the wait.
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Why life insurance might not pay out
Why UK life insurance claims are declined, how the law treats honest mistakes, and how to challenge a decision.
