Friendly Shield

Unique new protection for you – simple, affordable and quick to apply!

What is Friendly Shield?

What would you do if you broke your arm or became ill and were unable to work for 2 months? Your employer may not cover your sick pay for that long or, if you’re self-employed, you wouldn’t receive any pay at all.

Now, let us introduce Friendly Shield!

Friendly Shield is a short term, accident protection and sickness policy designed to cover you and your family against the consequences of everyday accidents.

It provides several valuable benefits including:

  • It’s simple – apply in minutes with no medical questions to answer
  • It’s affordable – 3 cover levels to choose from, starting from just 33p per day
  • Optional sickness cover for income benefit and overnight hospital stays
  • It’s quick – income benefit payable 14 days after an accident or sickness
  • Optional cover for your spouse and children
  • Immediate access to Friendly GP+ 24/7 for you and your family

Why National Friendly?

Award-Winning Service

We are an award-winning Friendly Society, (also known as a mutual), with over 155 years’ experience in providing protection insurance

Owned by Members

No shareholders - we are owned by our members, and we always work with their best interests in mind

Trusted and regulated

Fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, ensuring the highest standards

Financial security

Your policy is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme meaning more protection for you

Let’s set the scene: How Friendly Shield works

Simon has a gold Friendly Shield policy. He is a self-employed painter and decorator.

He is in a car crash and spends 3 weeks in hospital.

Friendly Shield pays £1,050 in hospital benefit.

He has broken 3 ribs, his arm and knee.

Friendly Shield pays £3,000 in fracture cover.

He is unable to work for 2 months due to his injuries.

Friendly Shield pays £4,500 in income benefit.

He needs physiotherapy to help his knee recover.

Friendly Shield pays £1,000 in rehabilitation benefit.

He needs to speak to a GP as his pain medication gives him heartburn.

Friendly Shield provides 24/7 access to a GP.

Friendly Shield pays Simon £9,550 during his two months of recovery and provides GP access.

* This example is based on a Friendly Shield Gold example that has been in place for 15 days.

Key features of Friendly Shield

Our Friendly Shield Plan is available for UK residents aged 18 – 60. 
You can choose from 3 levels of cover from just 33p a day with optional cover for spouse and children!

Hospital cash

A cash payout to cover hospital stays caused by an accident of up to £18,000. You can extend this to cover sickness too

Fracture cover

A lump sum benefit for fractures of bones up to £3,000

Income benefit

Short term accident income protection up to £2,250 per month for up to 3 months. You can extend this to cover sickness too

Accidental death benefit

A cash lump sum payable of up to £85,000 on accidental death

Natural death benefit

A cash lump sum payable on death of £2,500 after your policy has been in place for 2 years

Friendly GP+

24/7 access to a virtual GP for the whole family as standard

Rehabilitation benefit

A payment of up to £1,000 providing access to private facilities covering physical therapies i.e. acupuncture, physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic treatment, follow-up scans and tests and consultations

Choose Your Level

Premium
Income benefit – For up to 3 months
Fracture cover
Hospital cash (£50 per night) - maximum overnight stays in any policy year)
Accidental death
Natural death
Additional sickness benefit*
Rehabilitation benefit
24/7 access to Friendly GP+ for the whole family
Bronze
Premium
£10
Income benefit – For up to 3 months

£750

Fracture cover
£1,000
Hospital cash (£50 per night) - maximum overnight stays in any policy year)

£3,000
60 nights

Accidental death
£45,000
Natural death
£2,500
Additional sickness benefit*
Rehabilitation benefit
Up to £1,000/year
24/7 access to Friendly GP+ for the whole family
Silver
Premium
£17
Income benefit – For up to 3 months

£1,500

Fracture cover
£2,000
Hospital cash (£50 per night) - maximum overnight stays in any policy year)

£9,000
180 nights

Accidental death
£85,000
Natural death
£2,500
Additional sickness benefit*
Rehabilitation benefit
Up to £1,000/year
24/7 access to Friendly GP+ for the whole family
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*Cover for sickness can be added for a small extra cost

Free access to Friendly GP+

Our virtual GP service, Friendly GP+, is a free added benefit to your policy which can be accessed over the phone or online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week which provides you and your family access at any time, day or night.

This means you always have easy access to a doctor when you need help.

  • 24/7 unlimited GP telephone consultations
  • Video consultations
  • Private prescriptions
  • Open referrals
  • Physiotherapy
  • Counselling
  • Money & debt advice
  • Legal information & support

How our members rate Friendly GP+

Our members have rated the service:

100% overall satisfaction

100% for the overall experience they received as excellent, very good or good

100% recommended

100% agreed they would recommend Friendly GP to a friend or colleague

5 star rated

100% rated the helpline as 5 stars or 4 stars

Data taken from reviews between January and May 2024.

Your questions answered

To apply for a policy, you must be:

  • Aged between 18 and 60 when the policy starts
  • Working and living in the UK (this doesn’t include the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man)
  • Working at least 16 hours a week
  • Able to pay for the policy from a UK bank account
  • Registered with a UK doctor with access to at least the last 2 years of their medical records

No, we won’t ask any medical or health related questions, which makes your application quick and simple, and acceptance is guaranteed regardless of your medical history.

If you choose to add sickness cover to your policy, you won’t be able to claim income benefit for any conditions you have been treated for in the past 18 months.  The cash payment for hospital stays due to sickness will be available once your policy has been open for 9 months.

The different types of benefit have different waiting periods. Please see the Policy Conditions or Policy Summary for more details.

We cover a wide list of occupations however unfortunately there are some we aren’t able to cover for.

To find out if we’ll be above to provide cover, please use our online quote tool or call our UK Friendly Customer Service team on 0333 014 6244 or request a call back.

Our Friendly GP+ service provides you and your family with peace of mind that you can access a GP at any time, day or night. You have access to this service as soon as your policy is set up.

We’ll give the full details on how you can access it when you take out a policy or you can go to our Existing Members page to find out more.

Any other questions?

Don’t delay – find out how Friendly Shield can protect you and your family today!

If you need help or have any questions, please contact our friendly UK based team today on 0333 014 6244 or request a call back.

We’re here from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays.

Important Information

  • You won’t be covered for unemployment.
  • To be covered, accidents have to result in an impact injury.
  • Every 5 years we will review your premium and may change the cost of your cover.
  • Cover reduces at age 50 to reflect the increased risk of claim.

Apply online right now

It takes less than 5 minutes to apply.

Need advice? Let us help

Our friendly team can talk you through your options to help you to decide what level of cover is best for you. We’re here from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays.