1 in 4
parents will face a critical illness before their child turns 18.
If that parent is you — and you're raising your children alone — the diagnosis isn't just a health crisis. It's a financial emergency your children will feel every single day.
Every parent's quiet fear. Shield answers it.
The reality no one talks about
What happens to your child's life if your body stops cooperating?
Not the medical part. The part where rent is due, nursery needs paying, and your child is watching you try to hold everything together.
£1,120,000
in lost earnings
The mortgage doesn't pause for a diagnosis.
A 35-year-old earning £35,000 who can't return to work loses 32 years of income. Most lenders begin arrears proceedings within 3 months of missed payments. Your home — and your child's — is at risk before you've finished treatment.
£14,000
average annual nursery cost
Childcare costs don't care that you're in hospital.
Full-time nursery for a child under 2 costs £14,000 a year in the UK. Employer sick pay runs out in 3 months for most workers. After that: statutory sick pay is £116.75 a week. That's not enough to cover childcare, let alone everything else.
62%
of critical illness claims are cancer
The school run doesn't stop. But you might.
Cancer treatment averages 6–18 months. During that time, children still need school pickups, after-school clubs, packed lunches, and a parent who isn't drowning in debt. The disruption to routine is the second trauma — Shield prevents it.
43%
of single parents feel financially fragile
There's no safety net when you're the only net.
In a two-parent household, one parent's illness means the other earns. For single parents, a diagnosis triggers a cascade: lost income, increased costs, reduced capacity, and children who absorb every ripple. Only 8% of UK parents have self-funded insurance.
There is an answer
The solution
Shield wraps around the one person your child can't afford to lose.
A single policy. A lump-sum payout. The financial backbone your household needs — paid before the bills catch up with you.
Mortgage arrears begin in 90 days
Lump sum paid on diagnosis — not on death
Shield pays your tax-free lump sum the day you're diagnosed with cancer, heart attack, or stroke. You receive the money while you're alive, while you can use it, before the bills stack up.
Employer sick pay lasts 3 months
Cover from £10/month. Up to £150,000 paid out.
The average Shield claim is £71,989. Enough to clear a mortgage, fund 5 years of childcare, or simply give you time — time to recover without watching your bank balance collapse.
Only 8% of parents have self-funded protection
Start in 60 seconds. No medicals for most.
Answer 3 questions. Get your personalised quote. Most applicants don't need a medical examination. Cover can start today.
Three steps. One afternoon.
Get your quote
Tell us about your children and your age. We generate a personalised monthly premium — no obligation, no hard sell.
Choose your cover
Pick your lump sum amount (£50k–£500k) and policy term. Children's critical illness cover is included at no extra cost.
You're protected from day one
Cover starts immediately. If you're diagnosed with cancer, heart attack, or stroke — we pay. Same day. Tax-free.
Conditions covered
The numbers that matter
When it matters most, Shield pays.
97.9%
of claims paid
every year for the last decade
£22M
paid in claims daily
across the UK protection industry
£71,989
average claim payout
Aviva 2024 data
14 days
survival period only
then you receive your lump sum
My employer's sick pay ran out after three months. My Shield policy paid out £100,000. I paid my mortgage for two years, kept the kids in their school, and focused on getting better — without watching our savings disappear.
Sarah M., 38
Marketing manager, mother of two. Diagnosed with breast cancer 2023.
Shield partners with specialist cancer nurses to fast-track claims for cancer diagnoses — reducing the time between diagnosis and payout to days, not weeks.
Cost of inaction
£0 saved
The average single parent has less than one month's salary in savings. A diagnosis without protection means debt, arrears, and disruption — immediately.
Cost of Shield
From £10/mo
Less than a takeaway coffee per day. The average Shield policyholder pays £27.90/month for cover that pays out £71,989 on diagnosis.
60-second quote
Get My Quote
No commitment. No medicals for most. Your personalised monthly premium in under a minute.
Children are automatically covered under your policy until age 18 — at no extra cost.
Not quote-ready yet?
Download the Single Parent Protection Checklist
A free PDF guide covering exactly what single parents need to protect — mortgage cover, childcare costs, child maintenance gaps, and the questions to ask any insurer.
What your payout covers
- Mortgage or rent payments
- Childcare and nursery fees
- School-related costs
- Child maintenance payments
- Household bills during recovery
- Debt repayment
A child loses a parent every 22 minutes in the UK.
Shield ensures that parent's mortgage is still paid.