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Originally published: 2022 | Last updated: September 2025
I’ve never been the world’s biggest fan of serious illness cover (❤income protection❤ still gets my vote). It’s a policy that can look shiny in the brochure but doesn’t always deliver when you need it most.
That said, Royal London Ireland have beefed up their Specified Serious Illness Cover in recent years — adding new illnesses, reducing survival periods, and including some genuinely unique benefits you won’t find elsewhere in Ireland. Let’s separate the useful from the marketing.
Sounds good; now the bits that actually matter day-to-day.
New full-payment conditions include Bacterial Meningitis, Cauda Equina Syndrome (yes, one of my clients suffered this from a gym injury), and Myasthenia Gravis. RL also added two unique-to-RL conditions in Ireland: Drug-Resistant Epilepsy and Severe Sepsis.
RL are the only insurer here offering a partial payout for Specified Severe Mental Health Illness. It’s not an easy claim — diagnosis by a consultant psychologist, 14+ days psychiatric admission, chronic symptoms, and non-response to comprehensive treatment — but it recognises the reality that mental illness can be just as devastating as physical illness. 👏
Important: serious prior mental health history (e.g. schizophrenia, suicide attempt within 5 years) may lead to an exclusion for this benefit; mild/moderate histories usually aren’t excluded.
RL (along with New Ireland and Zurich) now include adult Type 1 Diabetes under partial payments. The wording mentions “permanent insulin injections” but insulin pump users are covered, which is what matters in practice.
All SIC plans have a “survival period”. Most are 14 days; RL reduced theirs to 10 days. That’s better — but still grim. If you die within the survival period, a standalone SIC doesn’t pay.
Tip: Always bolt life cover onto SIC. If you don’t survive the survival period, the life insurance can still pay out.
Genuinely useful. From day one, you (plus partner and children in full-time education up to 23) can access an independent nurse-led service for bereavement support, serious illness guidance, recovery planning, carer support, and children’s development plans. It can include referrals to services like physiotherapy, counselling, speech & language therapy, private consultations, or acupuncture where appropriate (access isn’t unlimited; it’s tailored).
Royal London’s 2024 Ireland figures (their words; our translation below):
Our take: the payout levels and causes match what we see across the market — cancer dominates life/SIC, while back/neck/shoulder and mental health drive income protection. The 98% paid is reassuring, but remember it’s across all protection types; SIC still depends on meeting very specific definitions. If your goal is dependable income when you can’t work, income protection is the more reliable safety net.
Serious illness can come with long recovery times and substantial costs — private consults, treatment, time off work, adaptations at home. A SIC lump sum can help with those. But it’s still a “hit-and-miss” policy compared to income protection, which pays monthly if you can’t work due to illness or injury (regardless of a SIC definition).
Royal London’s SIC is one of the stronger versions in Ireland right now — unique mental health/Sepsis/Epilepsy items, shorter survival period, solid cancer/heart definitions, and a genuinely useful support service. That doesn’t mean it’s automatically right for you.
Royal London Ireland currently covers 112 illnesses and conditions, split between full payment and partial payment definitions.
They’re the only insurer in Ireland offering cover for Severe Mental Health Illness under partial payments, and they also cover Drug-Resistant Epilepsy and Severe Sepsis — conditions not available anywhere else here.
Yes. Children’s serious illness cover is included automatically, from birth (with certain conditions) until their 18th birthday, or 21 if in full-time education.
Royal London requires you to survive 10 days after diagnosis to receive a payout. That’s shorter than the usual 14 days, but you should still consider adding life cover so your family is protected if you don’t survive this period.
They paid over €57m in protection claims in Ireland, with 98% of claims paid. For Specified Serious Illness, €11.8m was paid, with cancer being the top reason for claims.
My job isn’t to wave a brochure; it’s to recommend what actually fits your life and budget. Sometimes that’s SIC, sometimes it’s income protection, often it’s a mix.
Take 3 minutes and complete this financial questionnaire. I’ll come back with a no-obligation, straight-talk recommendation. It might include a dash of Royal London Serious Illness Cover — but it will definitely include ❤income protection❤.
Thanks for reading
Nick
* “Best and broadest” is RL’s claim; definitions vary across insurers and are subject to change. ** Paid-claims percentages are provided by RL and include multiple product types. Always review current T&Cs before buying.
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