UK Critical Illness Cover Market Report 2025
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UK Critical Illness Cover Market Analysis
The UK critical illness insurance market has faced a decline in recent years, with a minor drop in premiums, mainly due to lower mortgage activity and economic pressures. However, standalone policies have performed well, with a significant rise in sales in 2024.
The market is expected to recover slowly for a foreseeable future, with over 9% increase in premiums driven by rising demand and greater product flexibility. Future growth will depend on targeting underserved groups, like renters, with simplified and affordable coverage options.
UK Critical Illness Cover Market Consumer Trends
Consumer trends in the UK critical illness insurance market highlight growing interest, especially among non-policyholders (29%) and private renters. Standalone policies are becoming more popular, driven by affordability concerns and a preference for flexible options. Parents, particularly with young children, value health benefits like second medical opinions, and there’s increasing demand for simplified, affordable policies that better align with consumers’ financial pressures.
Purchasing the UK Critical Illness Insurance Market Report offers valuable insights into consumer behaviours, market dynamics, and emerging trends, enabling you to refine strategies and stay ahead in the competitive UK insurance landscape.
About The Report
The UK Critical Illness Insurance Market Report offers key insights into market performance, consumer trends, and growth forecasts. It covers areas such as market dynamics, sales trends, consumer attitudes, and claims experience, with a focus on demographics like homeowners, renters, and families. Financial service providers, insurance companies, and market analysts will benefit from this report, helping them refine strategies and stay competitive in the evolving market.
Key Topics Analysed in the Report
- Recent market performance and expected performance over the next five years, by gross written premium and volume of new critical illness (CI) sales.
- Key provider market share, competitive strategies and innovation.
- Level of product penetration, segmented by demographic.
- Policyholder confidence in understanding their policy, and whether they receive and value extra benefits, e.g. wellbeing services.
- Level of product awareness and interest among non-policyholders.
- General perceptions of critical illness insurance and attitudes towards having cover.
| Report Attributes | Details |
|---|---|
| Published Date | April 2025 |
| Data Range | 2019-2029 |
| Measurement Metrics | Revenue in £ |
| Country Focus | United Kingdom (UK) |
| Consumer Data | 1,717Â internet users aged 18+, January 2025 |
| Number of Pages | 73 |
| Market Segmentation | Standalone critical illness cover, critical illness riders with term life insurance, income protection insurance, and short-term income protection/ASU insurance |
| Leading Companies | Aviva, Legal & General, AIG, Royal London, Vitality, Beagle Street, HSBC Life, LV=, Scottish Widows, Zurich . |
Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis
This report was written by Sarah Hitchcock. Sarah has worked for Mintel since 2001, initially as a member of the UK Financial Services team before turning freelance and taking up the role of an associate consultant. As a finance specialist, she works across the full range of UK banking, insurance, investment and pension report titles.
Providers can effectively market critical illness cover to families who rent their homes and are as concerned about the financial impact of ill-health as mortgage owners.
Sarah Hitchcock
Associate Consultant – Financial Services
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Opportunities for the critical illness insurance market
- Stress product flexibility to counter affordability concerns
- Increase awareness of shorter terms to capitalise on interest among over-45s
- Change the narrative to engage those concerned about relying on the NHS for their health
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Market size & forecast
- Market predictions
- Premium income set to grow steadily over the next five years
- Aviva stretches ahead of Legal & General
- Graph 1: market share of top five providers of individual critical illness insurance, by volume sales, 2023
- Higher claims and inflation are major threats, while growth in the mortgage market is a positive driver
- What consumers want and why
- Ownership remains stable
- Protection insurance helps increase financial resilience
- Graph 2: ability to cope financially if unable to work for prolonged period*, by ownership of protection insurance, 2025
- Product perceptions vary according to ownership status
- Health and wellbeing benefits are a key selling point
- Simplify T&Cs to convert interest into uptake of cover
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MARKET DYNAMICS
- Market size
- Over 4 million UK adults have critical illness cover
- Sales volumes were stable in 2024
- Graph 3: volume of new individual critical illness insurance sales, 2019-24
- Premium income fell slightly in 2024
- Graph 4: value of new individual critical illness insurance premiums, by type, 2019-24
- Average new premiums fell in 2024 for both policy types
- Graph 5: average new annual critical illness premium, by policy type, 2019-24
- Cover and pricing flexibility can help boost demand
- Market forecast
- Gradual recovery in sales volumes expected
- The outlook is mixed and dependent on several variables
- Market segmentation
- Standalone policies are gaining in popularity
- Graph 6: proportional distribution of new individual critical illness volume sales, by type, 2019-24
- Mortgage term CI riders are less prevalent than a decade ago
- Graph 7: term assurance CI rider cross-sell rate, by policy type, 2014-24
- Channels to market
- Intermediaries dominate the sale of critical illness riders
- Graph 8: share of new CI riders sold with other term insurance, by sales channel, 2023-24
- Graph 9: share of new CI rider contracts sold with mortgage term insurance, by sales channel, 2023-24
- Non-advised and direct channels account for one in four standalone policy sales
- Graph 10: share of new standalone CI contracts, by sales channel, 2023-24
- Claims experience
- Annual claims bill reaches a record high
- Graph 11: total cost of individual critical illness claims paid, 2019-23
- Providers must actively promote affordable options
- Graph 12: number of individual critical illness claims paid, 2019-23
- Cancer is the most common cause of a critical illness claim
- Graph 13: volume share of individual critical illness claims paid, by reason, 2023
- Market share
- Aviva is the UK’s largest provider of individual critical illness cover
- Top five control over two thirds of the market
- 2024 sees improved performance all round
- Other notable players
- Scottish Widows aims to become a top-three protection provider in 2025
- Market drivers
- Sluggish mortgage market will continue to hamper protection sales
- Graph 14: number of mortgage and property transactions, 2019-2024
- Fresh inflationary fears throw the timing of future interest-rate cuts into doubt
- Rebound in first-time buyer market fails to positively impact CI sales
- Strong potential to attract more renters
- Consumer confidence remains fragile
- Graph 15: the financial confidence index, 2016-25
- 25-34 year olds are the most optimistic and the most interested in CI cover
- Concerns about the NHS backlog is an important sales driver
- Graph 16: total number of people waiting for NHS services in England and proportion waiting longer than 52 weeks, 2019-24
- Regulatory environment
- FCA’s pure protection review will sharpen provider focus on ensuring fair value
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Product ownership
- Critical illness cover has a lower take-up rate than life insurance
- Graph 17: ownership of critical illness cover and other protection products, 2025
- Improve awareness to boost take-up
- Some consumers are confusing CI cover with other types of protection
- Mortgage holders and parents have the greatest need for protection insurance
- Scope to increase take-up among families living in the private rental sector
- There are as many former CI policyholders as existing customers
- Graph 18: whether or not non-policyholders previously had critical illness cover, 2025
- Payment and cover flexibility can mitigate policy lapses and cancellations
- Financial resilience
- Inability to work would affect the living standards of most adults
- Graph 19: ability to cope financially if they or their partner were unable to work for prolonged period*, by all adults versus those with income protection and critical illness cover, 2025
- A simplified combined CI and IP product would have strong appeal
- Private renters with children have the least confidence in their ability to cope
- Graph 20: proportion of respondents who will cope poorly if unable to work for prolonged period*, by tenure and presence of children, 2025
- Product perception
- Scope to improve product perception, especially among the non-insured
- Graph 21: [no title]
- Non-policyholders tend to view the product as unaffordable and difficult to understand
- Attitudes are much more favourable among policyholders
- Graph 22: proportion who view CI cover as reassuring versus off-putting, by those who have it and those who don’t, 2025
- Graph 23: proportion who view CI cover as essential versus unnecessary, by those who have it and those who don’t, 2025
- Renters are more inclined than mortgage holders to view the product as “essential”
- Advantages of having critical illness cover
- Health and wellbeing support and dependents’ protection are the main advantages of CI cover
- Graph 24: advantages of having CI cover that are viewed as most beneficial, by those who have CI cover versus those who don’t, 2025
- Funding private healthcare is a stronger purchase driver than paying off debt
- Policyholder understanding and intentions
- Value-added benefits can increase customer engagement and retention
- Graph 25: agreement with statements about critical illness cover, by policyholders, 2025
- Cost-of-living pressures increase the risk of cancellation
- Free cover adjustments could prevent potential cancellations
- Non-policyholder attitudes and interest
- Considerable scope to expand the market
- Graph 26: agreement with statements about critical illness cover, by non-policyholders, 2025
- Half of all private renters without cover are interested in getting it
- Urban-dwelling professionals with children most interested in critical illness cover
- Converting interest into sales will depend on product affordability and clarity
- Graph 27: non-policyholder attitudes towards CI cover, by those interested in getting CI cover in the future, 2025
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING TRENDS
- Competitive strategies and launch activity
- Consolidation activity has reduced competition in the market
- Aviva enhances cover for families and rebrands AIG Life…
- … and signs protection partnership with NatWest
- Royal London aims to make protection more accessible
- Other product developments
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Minimal above-the-line adspend centred on critical illness cover
- Graph 28: above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on life protection products, 2020-23
- Lloyds Bank uses social media to promote its CI cover
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APPENDIX
- Supplementary data
- Channels to market: underlying data
- Claims paid: underlying data
- Advertising expenditure: underlying data
- CHAID output table
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Market size: underlying data
- Market segmentation: underlying data
- Market segmentation: average premiums
- Market segmentation: cross-sell rate
- Market forecast: underlying data (value)
- Market forecast and prediction intervals (value)
- Market forecast and prediction intervals (volume)
- Forecast methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
- Other sources
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