Critical illness cover pays a single lump sum on diagnosis of a listed condition at qualifying severity and then the policy ends. Serious illness cover pays based on the impact the condition has on your life, ranging from 5% to 100% of your cover amount, and can pay out multiple times. With serious illness cover, if a condition worsens or you later develop a different condition, you can claim again, up to the total cover amount. This is particularly important given IFS data showing most serious illnesses last years, not months.

More likely than most people assume. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) reports that approximately one in five working-age adults in the UK, around 8 million people, report having a longstanding illness, disability or impairment of more than 12 months that limits daily activities. The IFS also found that 83% of incapacity benefit claimants are out of work for more than two years, and nearly two-thirds have been claiming for five years or more. Serious illness is a common, long-term event, not a rare edge case.

Standard high-street insurers may apply significant loadings, exclusions, or outright declines for combat roles and hazardous postings. Absolute Military works exclusively with a specialist panel, Vitality, Aviva, Legal & General and Guardian, who have experience underwriting armed forces personnel and understand the occupational risk involved. Any loadings, exclusions or qualifying conditions will be explained clearly before you take out a policy. Nothing is hidden.

Only if those conditions can be directly attributed to your military service. The AFCS covers injuries and illnesses caused or significantly worsened by service duties. A cancer diagnosis, heart attack, stroke, or other condition occurring independently of your service is not covered. These conditions represent the vast majority of serious illness claims in the UK, and for them, a personal policy is the only protection available to you and your family.

Yes, this is one of the most significant advantages of severity-based serious illness cover over traditional critical illness cover. With Vitality’s serious illness cover, you receive a percentage payout based on the impact of each condition, and the policy continues paying until the total cover amount is exhausted. You could receive a 50% payout on a cancer diagnosis, for example, and a further payment if that cancer progresses or if you later suffer a heart attack. The policy does not end after the first claim.

Your personal serious or critical illness policy is yours, it is not tied to your MOD employment. When you leave service, the policy continues on exactly the same terms, at the same premium, regardless of what civilian job you move into. This is a significant advantage of taking out cover during service. If you wait until after leaving, premiums will be higher due to your age, any health changes, and the loss of military-specific underwriting. Taking cover now locks in lower rates for the long term.

Yes. Absolute Military is a trading style of Just Advice Solutions Ltd (Company Registration No. 11008004), authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA Reference No. 796907. You can verify this at any time on the FCA Register. As an FCA-regulated broker, we are bound by strict conduct rules, giving you important consumer protections including the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if needed.