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Serious Illness Cover

What is Serious Illness Cover?

Serious Illness Cover pays out a tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed with a serious illness or permanent disability that's specified in our Protection Plan Provisions.

Get more from our 5-star rated Serious Illness Cover with the PruProtect Plan.

More conditions covered so you're more likely to get a payout
While traditional critical illness policies cover an average of 32 conditions, our Comprehensive Plan covers 161 and our Primary Plan covers 100. So you'll be covered for serious illnesses and partial disabilities, not just critical ones.

More cover at an earlier stage, so you get paid sooner
The amount we pay to you is based on the severity of the illness and its impact on your lifestyle. This means we can make a payout to you at an earlier stage of your illness, even if it's not life-threatening.

More cover if you need to claim again
If you don't claim your full sum assured your remaining cover will continue, allowing you to make further claims. So if your illness progresses or you're diagnosed with a new illness you could receive another payout. Traditional critical illness policies pay out once and then end, leaving you unprotected.

More reassurance with continuous cover
Our unique Minimum Protection Account option tops up your Life or Serious Illness Cover immediately after a claim, with no further underwriting, exclusions or premium increases.

More with our Vitality programme
You get membership to our proven health and wellness programme, Vitality. We give you a range of tools and discounts to help you live a healthy lifestyle.

Plus if you have a PruProtect Plan Vitality can even reduce your premiums*
We're the only protection insurer that can reward you with lower premiums* each year, without reducing your cover, if you look after your health with our Vitality programme.

* Premiums are not reduced for Unemployment Cover, Health Cover or Vitality Plus. Also premium discounts do not apply to the Essentials Plan.


 

The need for Serious Illness Cover

Thanks to early detection and improved treatments, what were once life-threatening illnesses can now often be managed by medical experts and patients so that even with a chronic condition you can still live a long and fulfilling life.  However, without the right financial support the stress of suffering a serious illness could be compounded by concerns over how to pay the mortgage, bills or even the treatment itself.

Why do customers need protection?

  • More than 15 million people in England have a chronic or long-term disease ranging from asthma to heart-failure.
  • One in three people in Britain will have a cancer diagnosed at some time during their life.
  • Of those women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, 62% survive five years or more .
  • Less than 10% of all strokes are fatal.
  • The possibility of surviving a critical illness before age 65 is almost twice as great as dying.
 
 

Fast facts

Min term5 years
Max termReviewable premiums 50 years
Guaranteed premiums 40 years
Min sum assured£10,000 subject to minimum premium
Max sum assuredThe total combined Serious Illness Cover and Disability Cover from us cannot exceed £1,000,000*
Min entry age next birthday17
Max entry age next birthday65
Max expiry age/date
(not applicable to whole of life)		Age 70 exactly

* The total combined Serious Illness Cover and Disability Cover from us or any other provider cannot exceed £2,000,000

 
more information

   Explaining our severity payments approach

 
 

A summary of our Primary and Comprehensive Cover

 PrimaryComprehensive
Number of conditions covered100161
Severity level A - pays 100% of the benefit
Severity level B - pays 75% of the benefit
Severity level C - pays 50% of the benefit
Severity level D - pays 25% of the benefit
Severity level E - pays 15% of the benefit
Severity level F - pays 10% of the benefit
 

Other benefits and Vitality

Additional benefits and optionsVitality

 

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PruHealth is a trading name of Prudential Health Limited and Prudential Health Services Limited. Registered numbers 05051253 and 05933141 respectively. PruProtect is a trading name of Prudential Health Services Limited and Prudential is a trading name of The Prudential Assurance Company Limited, registered number 00015454. The Prudential Assurance Company Limited provides and manufactures benefits under the PruProtect Plan. Prudential Health Limited provides and manufactures benefits under the PruHealth product. Prudential Health Services Limited distributes and services the PruHealth and PruProtect product and issues the documentation. Companies registered in England and Wales. Registered offices at Laurence Pountney Hill, London EC4R 0HH. All companies authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
The companies are not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc, a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America.