Critical illness cover is not usually designed to pay out for mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety or stress. Some policies include one severe mental illness, among them Zurich's optional Critical Illness Enhanced upgrade and Royal London's Personal Menu Plan, but each definition needs a consultant psychiatrist's diagnosis and sets a very high bar.

If this is a hard subject for you at the moment, Mind's Infoline is on 0300 123 3393, open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday except bank holidays; Mind's helplines operate in England and Wales. Samaritans answer any time, day or night, on 116 123, free from any phone.

The sections below set out what the lists say, how two insurers word their mental illness definitions, and what the forms ask. The wider picture of what these policies pay for is in our guide to critical illness cover.

Should you want your mental health history weighed up for critical illness cover, an FCA-authorised broker will ring and talk it over with you, free of charge; you can request that conversation through the form on this page.

Is stress or depression on a critical illness policy's list of conditions?

A claim on this type of policy depends on the policy's list. The trade body's guide to minimum standards for critical illness cover, from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), says a payment "is triggered upon the insured person meeting the definition of one of the specified conditions within the policy". It names "the three core conditions covered by all critical illness insurance policies" as cancer, heart attack and stroke, and adds that beyond those a policy "can cover a wide variety of other conditions, or just a few". A mental illness is not one of the three.

Aviva, in an article on the difference between income protection and critical illness cover (last updated 9 July 2025), puts the everyday version this way: "If you have a bad back or experience depression, for example, you may find these common conditions aren’t covered by critical illness cover." Its point is that income protection works on a broader idea of illness, because it pays when you cannot work rather than when a named condition is diagnosed. Time off with stress or depression is the territory of income protection and stress, and the contrast between the two products is in critical illness cover and income protection compared.

Mental health can also come up in a definition that is not about mental health at all. The ABI's model wording for a permanent neurological deficit, which sits behind several named conditions, says "Symptoms of psychological or psychiatric origin" are not covered, and Royal London's plan details repeat that for its own definitions. Under those wordings, numbness, tremor or weakness of psychological origin does not count towards such a claim.

Which critical illness policies name a mental illness?

Two insurers' wordings show how narrow the door is. Zurich's terms (PW720480017 04/26), sold through financial advisers, include a mental health condition of specified severity only under Critical Illness Enhanced, an upgrade to its critical illness cover that can be added only when the policy starts; the condition is one of the extra conditions listed for the upgrade, on top of the standard list, and it pays the full sum assured. The definition reads:

A severe mental health condition diagnosed by a consultant psychiatrist that has resulted in all of the following: • an admission to a psychiatric ward, on the advice of a consultant psychiatrist, where treatment was provided for at least 14 consecutive nights, or continuous home care by a Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team for at least 14 consecutive days, requiring at least 2 visits per day; and • chronic unremitting symptoms; and • no response to comprehensive management and treatment, under the supervision of a consultant psychiatrist, for which the person has completed on best clinical practice for more than 1 year; and • the inability to perform any type of work for payment or reward for a period of at least one year or if not in employment at the time of diagnosis, in the opinion of the treating consultant , the life assured will be unable to perform any type of work for payment or reward for a period of at least one year.

All four limbs must be met, and an illness linked to or worsened by drug or alcohol misuse is excluded. It describes a long, severe illness that has not responded to treatment, rather than a diagnosis that could be made at a first appointment.

Royal London's July 2025 booklet for its Personal Menu Plan takes a different route. Its definition, which the person covered has to meet before a claim is paid, names the diagnoses:

A definite diagnosis by a consultant psychiatrist of any of the following: • bipolar affective disorder; • delusional disorder; • schizo-affective disorder; or • schizophrenia. The diagnosis has resulted in at least two of the following occurring within 12 months of each other: • symptoms lasting at least a year or requiring continuous therapy or medication to control them; • in-patient admission to a psychiatric ward, on the advice of a consultant psychiatrist, for at least 14 consecutive nights, or continuous home care by a Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team for 14 consecutive days, requiring at least 2 visits per day; or • a court order being made by the Court of Protection under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (England & Wales), Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 or the Mental Capacity Act (NI) 2016 (Northern Ireland).

Depression, anxiety and stress are not among those four diagnoses, and the definition also leaves out delirium with no underlying psychiatric disorder and conditions caused or made worse by alcohol or drugs.

These are two insurers' definitions, from documents dated July 2025 and April 2026, and many policies may name no mental illness at all. Our guide to the conditions critical illness cover includes explains how to read a list, and severity-based critical illness cover shows why a definition rather than a label decides a claim. Whether the policy in front of you names any mental illness at all is a point a broker can look up for you when they ring back.

What do critical illness applications ask about mental health?

Adviser application forms from three insurers show the pattern. These are documents written for advisers, and a form on an insurer's own website or in a quote journey may word things differently.

  • Aviva's personal protection application (AL55001 08/2026) has two questions for every applicant: whether, within the last ten years, you have required hospital treatment for a mental health condition, been referred to or seen by a psychiatrist, or attempted suicide or self-harmed; and whether, within the last four years, you have had or been treated for any mental health condition including anxiety, stress, depression, insomnia or an eating disorder.
  • Royal London's Personal Menu Plan application form (P1A0023/24) asks about depression, anxiety, stress or any other mental health condition during the last 5 years, and a further question on whether you have ever had an eating disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or psychosis.
  • Legal & General's OLP Connect application form (W11904 02/26) asks whether you have ever been "admitted overnight to hospital or referred to a psychiatrist for mental illness, anorexia or bulimia", and about anxiety, depression or any mental illness that has needed treatment or counselling in the last five years.

Aviva's Understanding Underwriting guide for advisers (PT15357 0926) lists what it wants to know once a condition is disclosed: the diagnosis, the date symptoms began, treatment including counselling, time off work, and how often and how severe the symptoms are. Your answers on the form are what the insurer works from, so the questions are worth reading slowly. For the duty to answer with reasonable care, and what can follow from a wrong answer, see the guide to refused claims. The questions that come with life cover are listed in medical questions for life insurance.

How can a mental health history change the terms on offer?

Aviva's guide for advisers gives one insurer's approach to critical illness cover. It says "An extra premium will not usually be charged for mild mental health conditions", and that where upgraded cover has been applied for, "psychosis and bipolar disorder may be excluded depending on the diagnosis, the history, and the age of the applicant". An exclusion means the policy would not pay for that condition, so it is worth asking exactly what the wording says before accepting terms.

The same guide treats income protection differently: it says that with a history of depression or anxiety it will "usually exclude them from IP, TPD and WOP". Other insurers set their own rules, and how a past diagnosis shapes any critical illness offer is covered more broadly in critical illness cover and pre-existing conditions. For life cover alone, see life insurance with mental health issues.

Unsure what one of the questions means for your own answer? You can raise it with the broker who calls back once the short form on this page has been sent.

Frequently asked questions

Does critical illness cover stress?

Stress on its own is not a condition that the definitions in this guide pay for. Royal London's mental illness definition names four diagnoses, and Zurich's needs a severe condition with long-term effects on the ability to work. Time off for stress is more a matter for income protection.

Is depression covered by critical illness insurance?

Aviva says you may find depression is not covered by critical illness cover. Whether any policy pays for a severe form depends on its own definition, which is worth reading before you buy.

Does critical illness insurance include any mental health condition?

Some do, narrowly. Zurich includes one only in Critical Illness Enhanced, an optional upgrade, and Royal London's Personal Menu Plan names four diagnoses; both need a consultant psychiatrist's diagnosis. Other insurers' lists vary, and a broker can check a particular list for you.

What pays out if mental illness stops me working?

Income protection is the cover built for time off work, and Aviva describes it as having a broader definition of illness than critical illness cover. Our guide on whether income protection covers stress goes through how a claim is assessed.

To have a broker look at critical illness cover with your history in mind, add your name and phone number to the short form on this page; the call-back costs nothing. More on the products in the critical illness and income guide.

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