Introducing Critical Illness Essentials: now you’ve got more cards to play

Since launch, Guardian has earned a reputation for high-quality protection, clearer wording and unique features, supported by strong service. Delivering that depth of cover drives real value for clients and is reflected in the price.

Advisers have told us they value that quality, but they also need a Guardian option for clients with tighter budgets. That insight led to the launch of our Essentials range with Life Essentials in January 2024. Now, we’ve expanded the range with the launch of Critical Illness Essentials and Combined Life and Critical Illness Essentials.

Designed with advisers

In designing Critical Illness Essentials, we worked closely with adviser firms throughout the process, listening to their feedback and hearing first-hand the challenges they face with clients and what those clients need. That included the role affordability plays in recommendations, which features matter most, and where they’d like to see more differentiation in the ‘core’ market.

The brief was clear: create a genuinely more affordable option while retaining the quality and features that matter most. The result is 2 new critical illness covers designed for clients looking for quality protection at a more affordable price.

The need for more affordable cover

The need for this balance is clear. Research from CIExpert’s Critical Thinking 2026 report found 34% of consumers say they don’t have critical illness cover because they believe it is too expensive, and 81% of advisers cite client budget as the primary reason for recommending core plans ¹.

These new covers are designed for clients who may prioritise affordability and core cover, rather than the enhanced features available in our Protection range, but still expect fast underwriting, clear cover and a dependable claims experience. It’s about helping advisers support more clients who may otherwise delay or step away from protection altogether.

Importantly, we didn’t set out to simply enter the ‘core’ market. We wanted to raise the standard of what core cover looks like.

Raising the standard of standard cover

Critical Illness Essentials includes 35 full payout conditions, including terminal illness, plus 4 additional payout conditions for early-stage cancers.

The additional payouts cover carcinoma in situ of the breast, low grade prostate cancer, low grade testicular cancer and ovarian cancer of borderline malignancy, paying 30% of the cover amount or £30,000, whichever is lower. In a part of the market where comparable plans often offer less, this is a meaningful step forward. We’ll also payout when your client is placed on the NHS waiting list for 9 conditions, including benign brain tumour and cardiac arrest.

Alongside this, we’ve built in many of the features advisers have come to expect from Guardian. These include our dual life approach, rather than traditional joint life, giving greater flexibility for couples, and Premium Waiver as standard for clients who apply before age 65, paying out after 26 weeks if they are unable to work due to illness or injury.

Clients can apply for cover up to age 69, with cover available until age 80. Children’s critical illness cover of up to £25,000 is included as standard, with the option to add further Children’s Critical Illness Protection where needed. Clients can also nominate beneficiaries through Payout Planner on the life element of combined cover.

Clients also benefit from value beyond the core cover. Guardian Anytime is available from day one, providing access to GP services, second medical opinions and wellbeing support. And across both our ranges, advisers and clients continue to benefit from Guardian’s approach to service, underwriting or claims support, including access to HALO.

A key focus of this launch has been simplicity and clarity. We know policy documents can be a barrier to understanding, so we’ve simplified them, splitting terms and conditions into separate documents for each cover type so clients only see what is relevant to them. This builds on substantial changes we made earlier this year to policyholder’s MyGuardian accounts to help clients better understand and engage with their policies.

More affordable cover with stand-out service

It gives you a quality critical illness option in conversations with more price-sensitive clients, where it fits their needs and budget. Whether that’s someone earlier in their financial journey or a client making trade-offs on budget, you now have a Guardian solution that fits.

While the price point is different, the experience is not. Clients will still benefit from Guardian’s 5-star service, including fast underwriting, with recent new applications underwritten in an average of just 1.5 days².

Ultimately, Critical Illness Essentials is about expanding access to protection without lowering expectations. It allows you to offer more clients a credible, high-quality solution, while maintaining confidence in the recommendation you’re making.

And in today’s market, that balance between affordability and quality has never mattered more.

Find out more about Critical Illness Essentials, a winning hand for cost-conscious clients, at adviser.guardian1821.co.uk

1. CIExpert Critical Thinking Report 2026.
2. Based on cases submitted between 1 January and 27 May 2026.