Can I get critical illness cover if I have arthritis?

Often, yes. Cover is available to many people with arthritis, though terms can be less generous than for life insurance and some policies carry an exclusion related to the condition. Osteoarthritis and well-managed gout are generally more straightforward than the inflammatory types.

Will critical illness cover pay out if my arthritis gets worse?

No. Arthritis is not a listed condition on critical illness policies, so worsening arthritis is not a claimable event. The policy pays for the serious illnesses defined in its terms, such as cancer, heart attack and stroke, subject to the policy definitions.

What is a disability exclusion and would I get one?

Some policies include a benefit that pays if you become permanently unable to work. Where an insurer is concerned about an existing joint or inflammatory condition, that part of the cover may be restricted or excluded. Whether it applies depends on your condition, your treatment and the insurer.

Should I have critical illness cover or income protection?

They protect against different things. Critical illness cover pays a lump sum on diagnosis of a listed illness. Income protection pays a monthly income if illness or injury stops you working, including in some cases because of your arthritis, though condition-related exclusions are common. An adviser can talk through which fits your situation, and it is not always both.

Critical illness cover with arthritis

Critical illness cover pays a tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of the serious illnesses listed in the policy. It is a useful product, and it is also the one most often misunderstood by people living with arthritis. Here is the honest version, including the parts other websites tend to leave out.

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What critical illness cover does and does not do

Start with the most important point. Critical illness policies do not pay out for arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis and gout are not listed conditions, and neither is fibromyalgia, which is a chronic pain condition rather than a form of arthritis. No policy will pay a claim simply because your condition worsens. Anyone who implies otherwise is not being straight with you.

What the cover does is pay out for the listed serious illnesses, typically things like cancer, heart attack and stroke, if one of those is diagnosed during the policy term and meets the policy definition. Those risks apply to people with arthritis just as they do to anyone else, which is why the product can still be worth having.

The definitions matter more than the headline list. Two policies can both say they cover a condition and pay differently in practice, so the wording is where the value sits.

What to expect when you apply with arthritis

Cover is often available, but terms for inflammatory arthritis can be less generous than for life cover alone
Some insurers apply a higher price rather than a restriction, and some do the opposite
A permanent total disability benefit, where the policy includes one, may be restricted or excluded for people with an existing joint or inflammatory condition
Some policies carry an exclusion for claims arising from your arthritis or from related conditions
Your condition, its activity, your treatment and your general health all shape the answer, just as they do for life cover
Insurers differ from each other here more than anywhere else, so which one you approach genuinely changes the outcome

We will always show you the exclusions and definitions in writing before you apply, not after.

Is it worth having?

That depends on what you are trying to protect against. If your worry is that arthritis will progress and cost you your income, critical illness cover is the wrong tool, because it will not pay for that. Income protection is the product designed for that risk, with its own limits, and life cover is the product for protecting your family if you die.

If your worry is the financial shock of a serious illness like cancer or a stroke, critical illness cover does exactly that job, and living with arthritis does not stop you needing it.

We would rather talk you out of a policy that will not do what you want than sell you one you would be disappointed by at claim time.

How it works

Complete the health check and tell us what you are trying to protect. A specialist adviser will explain what critical illness cover would and would not do in your situation, check discreetly with insurers where that helps, and show you the exclusions in writing before any application is made.

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Written and reviewed by

Andy Stevens CMap

Co-Founder and Protection Specialist

Andy has spent more than thirty years placing life insurance for people insurers find difficult, including inflammatory arthritis, and he still speaks to clients himself. He co-founded Arthritis Life so that people living with arthritis get an adviser who understands modern rheumatology rather than a form that treats every type the same.

Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (CII)
Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute
Over 30 years in impaired risk life insurance

Last reviewed 29 August 2026. This page is general information about insurance, not medical advice or a personal recommendation. More about us.

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Cover for a specific condition: rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, gout or fibromyalgia.