Critical illness insurance cost depends on who is covered and what the policy is built to do, so no honest monthly figure applies to everyone. What can be said is what pushes a premium up or down, from insurers' own documents, and how to turn that into a price for you.

For a figure that is yours, the form on this page sets up a call with an FCA-authorised broker, who can set offers from several insurers side by side and check how each would treat your answers. There is no charge.

Why there is no single price for critical illness cover

Insurers price on the details they ask for, and how much any one factor adds shows only in a quote, so a monthly figure that applied to everyone would mislead. An average would blend a young non-smoker buying a small sum over a short term with an older smoker buying a large sum over a long one, and tell neither what they would be offered.

A critical illness price also turns on things a plain life-cover price does not: how many conditions the policy pays for, whether the cover sits inside a life policy or beside it, and which optional extras are added. Two quotes for the same sum can differ for any of those reasons, so the sections below take them one at a time.

How age, smoking, health, amount and term affect the price

Scottish Widows Protect offers life cover, critical illness cover, or life with critical illness cover, and its policy summary (January 2026, from Scottish Widows’ adviser site) sets out what decides the monthly price. It says what you pay “is shown on your quote” and depends on:

  • “your age at the start of your policy,”
  • “if you smoke, smoked, or have ever used nicotine replacements,”
  • “the amount you want to be covered for,”
  • “how long you want the policy to last,”
  • “the type of cover you choose,”
  • “any additional features you have chosen,”
  • “your answers to the application questions.”

Aviva’s Life Insurance+ summary (AL50001, February 2026, from Aviva’s adviser library) adds “occupation” and “lifestyle” to the personal factors. Smoking or nicotine use generally costs more, by an amount only a quote will show; age is taken up under later life below.

Health is where a first price can move. Scottish Widows’ summary says that when you apply it may add limits or exclusions to the policy and could also change the premium. Legal & General’s critical illness page says you can still apply after a diagnosis, but “Each application is considered on an individual basis, but some conditions may be excluded from your Critical Illness Cover”. So someone with a condition may be offered cover at a different price, or with that condition left out, which changes what the price buys. More is on critical illness cover with pre-existing conditions and, for relatives’ illnesses, family medical history.

The amount and the term are both on Scottish Widows’ list, and a bigger sum or a longer term generally costs more each month. What sum a household might choose is a different question, taken up in how much critical illness cover you need.

The shape of the cover decides whether the monthly cost stays put. Scottish Widows says that with level or decreasing cover the cost of the policy will never change, while with increasing cover the premium rises each year. On an increasing policy, then, the first monthly figure is not the one you will be paying in later years.

How the way the cover is built changes the price

On top of life cover, critical illness cover is an extra charge: Legal & General’s critical illness page says you can add it to its life policies “for an extra cost”. How the two parts pay out is on life and critical illness cover; for price, the build matters too. MoneySavingExpert’s critical illness guide (updated 28 July 2026) takes the view that additional cover, which can pay on a diagnosis and again on a death, tends to cost more than combined cover, which pays once (combined and additional cover compared). Not every insurer offers every build: Scottish Widows Protect lists critical illness cover as a policy you can choose by itself, while Legal & General sells it only alongside life cover (buying critical illness cover on its own).

Then there is whether the price can change. Aviva’s summary offers guaranteed or reviewable premiums on life and critical illness cover, and of the reviewable kind says the premium is reviewed every five years to check the price is right for the cover you chose, and that things such as your age and health are not looked at in that review. Legal & General’s page says that, for its own policies, premiums are guaranteed not to change unless you change the policy. A reviewable quote and a guaranteed one are therefore prices for different promises, not two prices for the same thing.

Lining up offers that match on amount, term, build and premium type is the part a broker can do for you across several insurers; leave your details in the form here if you would like that done.

Paying for a longer list of conditions and optional extras

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) guide to minimum standards for critical illness cover (September 2022, updated April 2023) counts the breadth of conditions covered among the things a policy’s price and terms reflect. A cheaper quote may simply pay out for fewer illnesses; which ones a policy pays for is on conditions covered.

Some of that breadth is sold separately. Aviva’s summary says “At an extra cost you can upgrade your life and critical illness cover so you have some financial protection against even more critical illnesses.” Scottish Widows says of the optional Total Permanent Disability cover on its Protect policy: “There is an extra cost for this which you can see on your quote.” Cover for children comes as standard with the Aviva and Legal & General policies, with Aviva’s upgraded version “available but it costs more” (child critical illness cover has the terms).

Can you get critical illness cover in later life?

From your 50s on, age decides whether you can buy critical illness cover at all, not only what it costs, and each insurer sets its own starting limit. Legal & General’s critical illness page says: “The maximum age limit for taking out Critical Illness Cover is 67, and the minimum term length is two years.” Aviva’s Life Insurance+ summary gives 64 as the maximum age at the start for life and critical illness cover. Scottish Widows’ Protect summary allows applications up to age 64 for critical illness cover or life with critical illness cover, while its Plan & Protect Body Cover summary (October 2025) says “When you apply you must be a UK resident and aged between 18 and 59.” Of these four limits, only Legal & General’s goes past 64. When the cover has to end is a separate limit, on the critical illness cover age limit.

Inside those limits, starting later generally means a higher premium for the same cover, since age at the start is one of the things the price is set on.

What over-50s life plans cost is a separate page, over-50s life insurance costs. If you hold or are considering one and want critical illness cover as well, ask the plan’s provider whether it can be added or would have to be a separate policy.

Getting a critical illness quote you can compare

Whichever route you use, expect to be asked for details like those on Scottish Widows’ list above, and, as its summary warns, the premium can still change while the application is assessed. A first figure is a starting point until the insurer has weighed your answers.

When two critical illness quotes sit side by side, the questions that separate them are mostly ones a life-cover comparison never asks. Does each pay for the same conditions, or is one an upgraded list? Is one an additional policy and the other combined? Is total permanent disability or upgraded children’s cover included in one price and not the other? Is either premium reviewable? A quote that differs on any of these is pricing different cover. Providers’ policies are set side by side on life insurance with critical illness cover compared, and whether the cost is justified for a household is weighed on is critical illness cover worth it; both sit in our critical illness and income guides.

When you want an actual price, the next step is the short form on this page, after which an FCA-authorised broker will contact you, gather critical illness quotes on matching terms and explain where they differ. It is free and takes a few minutes.

Frequently asked questions

How much does critical illness cover cost per month?

There is no monthly figure that would be honest for everyone, and an average across buyers would mostly reflect who happened to buy. The price you would pay is the one quoted on your own age, smoking status, amount, term and health answers.

How much does Aviva critical illness cover cost, and how do I get a quote?

Aviva’s Life Insurance+ summary says premiums depend on the type and amount of cover and on factors including “your age, occupation, health, lifestyle, and smoking habits”, so an Aviva figure comes from a quote on those details; a broker can tell you whether Aviva is among the insurers they quote.

What is the cheapest way to buy critical illness cover?

No route is cheapest for everyone. The parts you control are the ones above: the amount, the term, level or increasing cover, the premium type and the extras, and each also changes what the policy does. Comparing several insurers on identical terms, yourself or through a broker, shows the lowest price for the cover you actually want.

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