Critical Illness Cover Calculator
Critical illness cover size.
Calculate critical illness cover needed based on essential expenses, recovery period, mortgage balance, and other outstanding debts.
What this tool does
This calculator estimates the total critical illness cover amount by combining three financial elements: living expenses during recovery, outstanding mortgage balance, and other existing debts. It multiplies your monthly essential expenses by the recovery period you specify to determine income replacement needed, then adds any mortgage and debt balances to calculate a combined cover figure. The result represents the lump sum that would theoretically cover ongoing household costs, debt repayment, and other obligations if a critical illness prevented income during your stated recovery timeframe. The calculation assumes expenses remain constant and does not account for income from other sources, investment growth, existing savings, or changes in circumstances. This tool provides an educational illustration of how these factors interact—actual cover needs depend on personal circumstances and should be assessed individually.
Enter Values
People also use
Financial Health
Income Protection Calculator
Calculate monthly income protection cover needed based on income, expenses, partner income, and existing cover. Free — no signup.
B2B Insurance
Life Insurance Calculator
Calculate life insurance coverage needed based on income replacement and financial obligations. Enter income replacement years to compare deductible impact.
Financial Health
Terminal Illness Cover Calculator
Calculate accessible funds during terminal illness from life cover, available savings, and your essential monthly expense level.
Formula Used
Spotted something off?
Calculations or display — let us know.
Disclaimer
Results are estimates for educational purposes only. They do not constitute financial advice. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
Critical illness cover pays a tax-free lump sum on diagnosis of listed conditions (cancer, heart attack, stroke typically top the list). This calculator sizes cover need: monthly essential expenses × recovery period (typically 24 months for most illnesses) + mortgage payoff + other debts. The idea is one-time payout replaces income and clears fixed obligations during recovery.
3,500 monthly expenses × 24 months = 84,000 income replacement. 250,000 mortgage + 10,000 other debts = 344,000 total cover. Costs a non-smoker 35-year-old approximately 25-50/month for 25-year level term policy. Cost rises sharply with age: 55-year-olds pay 4-6x premium for same cover.
Critical illness vs income protection. Critical illness: lump sum, specific conditions only, pays once. Income protection: monthly payments for any illness keeping you from work, pays until return to work. Most people benefit from both - critical illness for mortgage clearance on major diagnoses, income protection for income replacement on any illness.
Quick example
With monthly essential expenses of 3,500 and recovery period of 24 months (plus mortgage balance of 250,000 and other debts of 10,000), the result is 344,000.00. Change any figure and watch the output shift — it's often more useful to see the pattern than to memorise the formula.
Which inputs matter most
You enter Monthly Essential Expenses, Recovery Period (months), Mortgage Balance, and Other Debts. Not every input has equal weight. Adjusting one input at a time toward extreme values shows which ones move the result most.
What's happening under the hood
Income replacement = expenses × months. Total cover = income + mortgage + other debts. The formula is listed in full below. If the number looks off, you can retrace the calculation by hand — that's the point of showing the working.
What the score tells you
Headline financial numbers — income, savings, debt — each tell part of the story. This calculation stitches several together into a single read you can track over time. The value is in the direction, not the absolute number.
What this doesn't capture
The score is a composite of the inputs you provide. Life context — job security, family obligations, health, housing — doesn't appear in the math but shapes the real picture. Use the number as a prompt, not a verdict.
££3,500 × 24mo + ££250,000 mortgage + ££10,000 = 344,000.00.
Inputs
This example uses typical values for illustration. Adjust the inputs above to match a specific situation and see how the result changes.
Sources & Methodology
Methodology
The calculator computes the recommended critical illness cover amount by combining three components. First, it multiplies your monthly essential expenses by the recovery period in months to model income replacement during the time needed to return to work or resume normal activities. Second, it adds your current mortgage balance to account for ongoing housing obligations. Third, it includes any other outstanding debts. The model assumes expenses remain constant throughout the recovery period and treats all debts as due in full. It does not account for existing savings, investment returns, changes in living costs, redundancy protection, other income sources, or variations in recovery timelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which conditions are covered?
How much does it cost?
Is there any payout for minor conditions?
When to buy CI cover?
Related Calculators
Income Protection Calculator
Calculate monthly income protection cover needed based on income, expenses, partner income, and existing cover. Free — no signup.
Life Insurance Calculator
Calculate life insurance coverage needed based on income replacement and financial obligations. Enter income replacement years to compare deductible impact.
Terminal Illness Cover Calculator
Calculate accessible funds during terminal illness from life cover, available savings, and your essential monthly expense level.
More B2B Insurance Calculators
B2B Insurance
Cyber Insurance Calculator
Calculate cyber insurance expected value against breach risk. Enter premium and breach probability to compare deductible impact.
B2B Insurance
Directors & Officers Insurance Calculator
Estimate your Directors & Officers insurance premium using company revenue, coverage limit, and industry risk factor to budget D&O board liability costs.
B2B Insurance
Disability Insurance Calculator
Disability insurance calculator. Compute coverage gap based on income, existing coverage, target replacement rate, and working years remaining.
B2B Insurance
Employee Benefits Cost Calculator
Calculate total employee benefits cost and compensation package. Enter base salary and employer pension to project annual premium cost.
B2B Insurance
Export Credit Insurance Calculator
Calculate export credit insurance premium from exposure, rate, country risk, and payment term. Enter exposure value and base premium rate to size cover needed.
B2B Insurance
Key Person Insurance Calculator
Calculate key person insurance cover from profit attributable, years of impact, discount rate, and replacement cost. Free and educational.
Explore Other Financial Tools
Utilities
Gas Bill Estimator Calculator
Estimate annual gas bill from kWh usage, unit rate, and standing charge — see what your usage pattern implies for the year.
Digital Nomad & Freelance
Freelance Burnout Risk Meter
Assess freelancer burnout risk by analyzing workload, income stress, client diversity, and work-life balance metrics. Identify sustainability concerns.
Utilities
Energy Bill Calculator
Estimate monthly and annual energy bill from electricity and gas consumption at any rate structure. Enter electricity rate to see monthly bill and annual bill.