The conditions covered by critical illness cover start with cancer, heart attack and stroke, which the Association of British Insurers (ABI) requires on every policy; beyond those three, each insurer picks its own list. What decides a claim is the definition written under each heading, not how many headings there are.

Wondering how an illness that worries you is defined on the policies an FCA-authorised broker works with? Leave a phone number on the form on this page; they can talk it through when they phone you back, free of charge.

The three conditions every list starts with

The ABI's guide to minimum standards (the September 2022 edition, updated in April 2023) sets the baseline. It names cancer, heart attack and stroke as the core three that every critical illness policy covers, and each must be covered at least as generously as the guide's own model wording for it.

Even these three are not paid on any diagnosis. The model headings read "Cancer – excluding less advanced cases", "Heart attack – of specified severity" and "Stroke – resulting in permanent symptoms". Angina without a heart attack falls outside the heart attack wording, and a transient ischaemic attack falls outside the stroke wording. An insurer that covers a condition with a model wording has to keep to that wording and may not cut it back, though it may widen it.

Cancer is also where most claims come from: the ABI's press release of 29 June 2026 put cancer at almost two-thirds (65%) of critical illness claims. Separate guides look at critical illness cover for cancer, heart attack claims and stroke claims, and the ABI minimum standards are explained in full elsewhere.

Which other illnesses do insurers add?

The ABI guide also offers optional model wordings for other conditions that were common in policies at its last full review, and each insurer decides which of them, if any, to take up. In practice the longer lists overlap a good deal. Aviva's policy summary and Legal & General's policy terms both name, for example, benign brain tumour, dementia, kidney failure needing permanent dialysis, major organ transplant, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, each with its own qualifying words.

Some headings are less expected. Aviva's summary includes "Intensive care – requiring mechanical ventilation for 10 consecutive days", and Royal London's plan details for its adviser-sold Personal Menu Plan (July 2025) list an additional condition for an accident that needs a hospital stay of 28 consecutive days. Readers often look for dementia, mental health conditions and surgery on these lists, and each has its own guide.

How many conditions does each insurer list?

Each insurer counts in its own way, so the figures below are what each one states, not a like-for-like ranking.

Insurer and where it says soWhat it states
Aviva: critical illness cover page (footer code WC05362 09/2026, read 22 October 2026)Cover for "52 listed conditions", plus 11 additional critical illnesses that pay a lower amount.
Legal & General: policy terms QGI14872 (October 2026), direct versionEach condition is set out with its full definition in the terms; check the terms sent with your quote.
Vitality: Serious Illness Cover page (Internet Archive capture, 23 August 2026)114 conditions at the standard level, and up to 174 on upgraded cover, which the page says you can only add through a financial adviser.
Royal London: literature for financial advisers (adviser-only, read 22 October 2026)46 main definitions paying the full sum assured and 32 additional conditions paying 50%, up to £35,000.

Royal London's consumer page says its cover is available through an independent financial adviser, so the adviser figures above are the ones it publishes.

A longer list is not automatically the right one for you. If you would like the lists on offer compared against your own health history, a broker can do that when they ring; the form on this page only asks for a few contact details.

Smaller payouts for early-stage and additional conditions

Not every listed condition pays the full amount. Aviva's page puts it this way: "Some conditions will pay out on diagnosis, while for others, your condition must have reached a certain level or you’ve had named treatments." Many lists also carry conditions that pay a set fraction. In the ABI's terms, an additional payment leaves the rest of the cover untouched, while a partial payment reduces it.

  • Aviva's summary (DA09001, May 2023) pays 25% of the cover or £25,000, whichever is lower, for carcinoma in situ of the breast requiring surgery and for low-grade prostate cancer with specified treatment, and the lower of £20,000 or 20% for its other additional illnesses, such as Crohn's disease treated with intestinal resection. The policy continues after such a claim.
  • Legal & General's page gives the lower of 25% of cover or £25,000 for the same two early cancers, and its terms say a claim of that kind does not reduce the cover or change premiums.
  • Royal London's consumer page describes 50% of the cover amount, up to £35,000, for additional illnesses including some early forms of cancer.
  • Vitality's page says each claim pays between 25% and 100% of the cover amount, and you can claim again for another illness up to the 100% limit.

Which of the conditions you are worried about would pay in full on a given plan is a question the broker can answer for the quotes you are shown, free. Severity-based cover has its own guide, and breast cancer claims show the effect on one common diagnosis.

Why does the definition matter more than the heading?

A heading names a condition; the definition decides whether a diagnosis qualifies. Aviva's summary warns that "This list is only a guide to what’s covered", and Legal & General gives the same warning about its headings.

Liver failure is a good example. Aviva's summary heading is simply "Liver failure", with the definition left to its policy conditions. Legal & General's terms head it "Liver failure - of advanced stage" and require cirrhosis with permanent jaundice, ascites and encephalopathy all present, and they exclude liver disease secondary to alcohol or drug intake. Legal & General also requires the diagnosis to come from a verified UK consultant whose specialism it considers appropriate to the condition.

None of that shows in a count of headings, which is why two policies with similar-looking lists can pay out on quite different diagnoses.

When is a listed condition still not paid?

Being on the list is not the end of it. Aviva's summary gives several cases where its plan will not pay, among them an illness its policy does not define, a diagnosis that does not meet the definition in the policy conditions, premiums that have stopped, and not surviving 10 days after diagnosis. Legal & General's terms likewise say a policy that has lapsed through missed payments before a claimable event pays nothing.

Exclusions vary from policy to policy. The ABI leaves the choice of exclusions to each insurer while offering model wording for common ones, such as alcohol or drug abuse and living abroad. Legal & General says any exclusions on your own cover will appear in the Policy Schedule you receive once it starts.

How a health condition you already have is treated when you apply is covered in our guide to pre-existing conditions. If a claim has been turned down, refused critical illness claims have their own guide, and critical illness and terminal illness cover are compared on a separate page, as are children's critical illness benefits.

Frequently asked questions

Does critical illness cover blindness or hearing loss?

Aviva and Legal & General both list blindness and deafness, each qualified as permanent and irreversible. Legal & General's definitions set the bar at vision of 6/60 or worse in the better eye with visual aids, and hearing loss greater than 70 decibels across all frequencies in the better ear.

Does critical illness cover the loss of a limb?

Both lists include loss of hand or foot, and paralysis of a limb. Legal & General defines the first as permanent physical severance at or above the wrist or ankle joint, and the second as total and irreversible loss of muscle function to the whole of any limb.

Is lupus covered by critical illness insurance?

Aviva's summary heads it "Systemic lupus erythematosus – of specified severity". Legal & General requires a definite diagnosis by a consultant rheumatologist resulting in either permanent neurological deficit with persisting clinical symptoms or permanent impairment of kidney function, with a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) below 30 ml/min. A lupus diagnosis without one of those would not meet that wording.

Are sepsis, long Covid or gallbladder removal covered?

None of them appears as a heading in Aviva's summary list or Legal & General's definitions table, and both insurers say their headings are only a guide. Whether a named condition could fall under a wider definition on the plans available to you is something the broker can check against the full wordings when they ring.

When you are ready to see how real policies would treat the illnesses on your mind, ask through this page and an FCA-authorised broker will phone to talk it over, free; more guides sit in critical illness and income.

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