- Critical Illness Essentials is designed for clients who want quality cover at a more affordable price.
- It builds on the Essentials range, following the launch of Life Essentials in 2024.
- Sits alongside Guardian’s enhanced Protection range, to give advisers and clients more choice.
- Critical illness Essentials raises the standard of standard ‘core’ cover available in the market, including:
- 4 additional payout conditions for early-stage cancers that pay out £30,000 or 30% of the cover amount.
- Up to £25,000 children’s critical illness cover built in, with option to add Children’s Critical Illness Protection.
- Guardian’s key features, such as a dual life approach, Premium Waiver as standard, a lifestyle promise and beneficiary nomination as part of the application.
- The same high-quality service, underwriting, and claims experience advisers have come to expect from Guardian.
Guardian will expand its Essentials range in the coming weeks with the launch of 2 new ‘core’ covers – Critical Illness Essentials and Combined Life and Critical Illness Essentials.
The new covers will give advisers more opportunities to recommend Guardian where clients need both value and quality. They sit alongside Guardian’s current enhanced Protection range, offering choice based on client priorities and budgets, without compromising on service or underwriting standards.
Guardian’s 5-star servicei means clients can secure cover quickly, with average underwriting times of less than 1.5 days so far this yearii.
The launch builds on Life Essentials, introduced in 2024 to support households that need more affordable, good quality cover. It’s designed for more price-conscious clients who don’t need, want, or can’t afford all the enhanced features within the Protection range.
Guardian worked closely with adviser firms to develop Critical Illness Essentials, responding to demand from advisers for a lower-cost alternative to Guardian’s more comprehensive Critical Illness Protection.
Advisers can mix and match the new covers with others across Guardian’s Essentials and Protection ranges, including life cover and income protection, to build solutions tailored to client priorities.
The new covers will go live in the coming weeks.
What makes Critical Illness Essentials stand out?
Key features
Critical Illness Essentials includes many of the signature features advisers expect from Guardian:
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- A dual life approach rather than traditional joint life, keeping couples’ cover separate.
- Premium Waiver as standard that pays out after 26 weeks if the policyholder is unable to work due to illness or injury.
- Beneficiary nomination through Payout Planner for the life element of Combined Life and Critical Illness Essentials.
- Optional Children’s Critical Illness Protection can be added at any time.
- Free additional benefits from day one with Guardian Anytime – access to GP24/7, second medical opinions, emotional wellbeing and aches and pains consultations.
- No compromise on 5-star service, underwriting or claims experience, including access to Guardian’s HALO claims support service.
- Available within the Protection Menu, alongside existing life, critical illness, and income protection options.
As well as:
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- 35 full payout conditions covered (including terminal illness).
- 4 additional early-stage cancer payout conditions, which is broader than many ‘core’ market alternatives – Carcinoma in situ of the breast, low grade prostate cancer, low grade testicular cancer and ovarian cancer of borderline malignancy. These conditions pay out 30% of the cover amount, or £30,000, whichever is less.
- Up to £25,000 of children’s critical illness cover is built in, with the option to add further Children’s Critical Illness Protection if needed.
- Total permanent disability available as an optional extra.
- Built in Lifestyle Promise for smokers which means Guardian may reduce a smoker’s premium if they stop smoking.
- Immediate cover of up to £300,000 – this is temporary cover that starts as soon as Guardian receives a completed application form.
Hilary Banks, Chief Commercial Officer, Guardian, said: “We’re very excited to announce the imminent launch of our much-awaited Critical Illness Essentials and Combined Life and Critical Illness Essentials.
“Guardian has, and will continue to, set the bar for quality cover and service in the protection market.
“This latest addition to our Essentials range allows us to offer great Guardian cover to clients whose priority is more affordable, high-quality protection. It also means we can now support clients at the more price-sensitive end of the market, while maintaining the quality and service that clients and advisers expect from us.
“Advisers have told us they want to recommend Guardian to more clients, but need a simpler, more affordable option for those on tighter budgets. By working closely with adviser firms, we’ve created exactly that.
“Our new Essentials covers give advisers greater choice and flexibility when supporting their clients”.
Source
i Guardian has won 5 stars at the FT Adviser Service Awards 7 years in a row, 2018-2025
iiBased on cases submitted between 1 January 2026 – 27 May 2026
-Release ends-
Notes to editors:
Press enquiries to Rachael Welsh, 07538 999 896, Rachael.welsh@guardianfs.co.uk
Guardian Financial Services is an appointed representative of Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
All products are provided by Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited and we have an agreement with them to underwrite and issue the protection policies we distribute through the UK intermediary channel.
As an appointed representative of Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited, Guardian Financial Services Limited is the market-facing brand under which we promote our proposition and engage with advisers.
Background to Guardian Financial Services, owned by Gryphon Group Holdings
Guardian, the life and protection insurance business, launched in 2018 and pledged to grow the protection market. The brand promise of ‘Life. Made Better.’ reflects the company’s commitment to rethink and reinvent protection for the better; making sure customers get cover that’s easier to understand, simple to buy and designed to never let them down.
Guardian’s business partners
Gryphon Group Holdings is majority owned by Punter Southall Group as the largest equity capital investor. Guardian partners with UnderwriteMe for its Underwriting Engine, Liss Systems, the UK arm of Nasdaq-listed EXL, for its policy administration technology, and Space, for its front-end technology, branding and marketing. Guardian’s reinsurance partners are Hannover Re, Gen Re and Swiss Re.