No, critical illness cover is not the same as income protection: they pay on different events and in different shapes. Critical illness cover pays a lump sum when you are diagnosed with a condition your policy lists and the diagnosis meets its definition, while income protection pays a regular income when illness or injury stops you working. MoneyHelper (archived September 2026) says of income protection: "It’s not the same as critical illness insurance, which pays out a one-off lump sum if you have a specific serious illness."

An FCA-authorised broker can lay the two out against your own job and health; to be introduced to one, send in the form on this page. It is quick and free.

What is the difference between critical illness cover and income protection?

Aviva's consumer article on the two (updated 9 July 2025) puts the split this way: "Critical illness cover pays you a single lump sum if you’re diagnosed with, or have surgery for, a specified, potentially life-threatening illness." And: "Income protection, on the other hand, provides a percentage of your salary as a regular payment if you can’t work through illness or injury, to bridge the gap until you return."

Terms such as long-term disability, short-term disability and hospital indemnity are American names; the UK products to set against each other are critical illness cover and income protection, and how life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection pay out brings life cover in. How income protection works on its own is one of our critical illness and income guides.

What has to happen for each to pay out?

Critical illness cover is triggered by a diagnosis that meets a definition. Aviva's Life Insurance+ summary (AL50001, February 2026, from its adviser document library) states that the full cover amount is paid if, during the policy term, you are diagnosed with one of its listed critical illnesses and survive at least 10 days. Legal & General's direct summary (QGI14786, October 2026) says it will not pay out for a diagnosis or medical procedure that falls short of its definition. How those definitions and survival periods work is in our critical illness cover guide.

Income protection is triggered by the effect on your work. Aviva's Living Costs Protection summary (AL19001, October 2024, linked from its income protection page) says: "If you have a Living Costs Protection policy and an illness or injury stops you working, we’ll pay you an income." Its policy conditions (AL19002, October 2024) define incapacity as:

The inability, caused by illness or injury, to perform the duties , of each and every occupation you’ve been following in the 12 months before that illness or injury.

The conditions then set a separate test for anyone on "the first 52 weeks of maternity, parental or adoption leave". Royal London's income protection, sold through advisers (its page says "the next step is to speak to an independent financial adviser"), uses a different test. Its plan details (July 2026) define the first of its incapacity tests as:

Loss of the physical or mental ability, before age 70, through an illness or injury to the extent that the person covered is unable to do the material and substantial duties of their own occupation.

Because the income protection test looks at work rather than a list of conditions, Aviva's article says: "Of the two, income protection offers a broader definition of illness and injury." That is Aviva's view; each policy's own wording decides a claim.

Lump sum or monthly income: how much, and for how long?

Critical illness cover is one payment; income protection is a stream of payments with a ceiling.

Critical illness coverIncome protection
ShapeAviva: "Your policy will end when we pay out the lump sum."MoneyHelper: "provides regular payments that replace part of your income if you’re unable to work due to illness or an accident".
How muchAviva: the full cover amount is paid.MoneyHelper: "typically pays out between 50% and 65% of your income". Royal London: up to 65% of the first £60,000 of pre-tax earnings plus up to 50% of the remainder, to a maximum of £250,000 a year. Aviva's consumer page: "as much as 90% of your monthly take home pay, capped at £1,500".
How longOnce, then the policy ends (Aviva, above).MoneyHelper: payments continue until you can start working again, or until you retire, die or reach the end of the policy term, whichever is sooner. Aviva Living Costs Protection: at most 12 months each time you are incapacitated.

The insurers set the monthly figure differently. Aviva's consumer page puts its ceiling as a share of take-home pay; its summary describes a chosen amount, between £500 and £1,500 per month, and says "We won’t ask you what your earnings are". Royal London ties its cap to earnings, and says "this limit includes any other income protection you have in place". A 12-month limit per claim and payments that can run to the end of the term are different designs, not like for like.

Which of these shapes would suit a household is something a broker can work through with you, and the form here starts that conversation.

Deferred period or survival period: what is the wait on each?

On income protection the wait is a deferred period, which Aviva's conditions define as "The number of consecutive weeks of incapacity which must pass before you become entitled to receive the benefit." Its summary offers deferred periods of 4, 8, 13 or 26 consecutive weeks. MoneyHelper says "The most common waiting periods are 4, 13, 26 weeks and a year."

On critical illness cover the wait that matters is the survival period seen above (10 days in Aviva's summary): a short condition counted from the diagnosis, not time spent off work. Living Costs Protection also builds in waiver of premium, which has its own wait.

How do tax, sick pay and state benefits fit in?

On tax, Aviva's Living Costs Protection summary says its payments are free from personal liability to income tax and capital gains tax in the UK, and Legal & General's direct life and critical illness summary says its pay outs should be free from both, adding that the Government may change the position at any time. That is how these insurers state it, not tax advice (more in life insurance payouts and tax).

Statutory Sick Pay is separate from both. GOV.UK's rates for employers say: "The weekly rate of Statutory Sick Pay ( SSP ) for 2026 to 2027 is £123.25 or 80% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower." Its SSP guide adds: "It’s paid for up to 28 weeks." To get it you must "be classed as an employee". How an income protection payment sits alongside state benefits depends on the policy:

  • Aviva: "We also don’t include state benefits or income from your investments, so they won’t mean we have to reduce your benefit." It adds: "it may affect your eligibility for means tested state benefits."
  • Royal London: "payments from this policy may reduce your Universal Credit entitlement, unless you’re using the money to fund your regular mortgage payments."

Can you have both, and how do you choose between them?

They can be held together. MoneyHelper (archived September 2026) says: "Critical illness insurance is typically taken out alongside other types of insurance, such as life insurance or income protection." Because the two pay on different events, having one does not make the other do the same job. MoneySavingExpert (updated 28 July 2026) has a section headed "Consider income protection instead", which describes income protection as "often covering a wider range of conditions than critical illness cover". That is its own view, not a finding about any insurer.

What people weigh is the trigger, the shape of the money, the wait and cover they already have. MoneyHelper says you might not need critical illness cover if you already have some as part of an employer's employee benefits scheme, and Aviva's summary says the benefit it pays may affect a claim on other income protection policies you or your employer has. If the money is meant for a mortgage, mortgage protection and critical illness cover and income protection for a mortgage look at each from a borrower's side; how much critical illness cover is enough sets out a way to size a lump sum.

Frequently asked questions

Is income protection cheaper than critical illness cover?

MoneySavingExpert's view is that income protection is "usually more expensive". Aviva's Living Costs Protection summary says a longer deferred period means a cheaper premium. What moves a critical illness price is covered in critical illness insurance cost.

How does critical illness cover differ from group income protection through an employer?

Group income protection is arranged by an employer; Aviva's employer page says "If your employee is too ill or injured to work, we’ll cover up to 80% of their salary", after a deferred period. Critical illness cover you buy pays a lump sum on a listed diagnosis. Your employer's scheme documents give the terms.

Which insurer has the best critical illness and income protection cover?

This site does not rank insurers. The terms that differ most are set side by side in our comparison of life and critical illness cover.

An FCA-authorised broker can set out what different insurers would offer for either product, or both side by side, given your age, job and health. What you enter in the form on this page reaches that broker, who will contact you.

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