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Take comfort in the knowledge that your loved ones will be financially looked after when you’re no longer around to do it. It takes only two minutes to get a quote but can hopefully give a lifetime of reassurance.

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Life Insurance Home

Want peace of mind knowing your loved ones' future will be financially protected should the worst happen? Even if the financial future of your family looks stable without you, life insurance can help with funeral expenses, provide an inheritance, or cover extra childcare costs.

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Term Life Insurance

This type of policy offers a fixed sum assured, where the cover and premiums stay the same for the duration of your cover period, unless you make a change to your policy. This form of cover is also known as 'level term' life insurance.

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Total Cover

We are only providing an estimate.

You will need to decide how much cover is sufficient to meet your needs.

Life insurance is designed to provide a cash lump sum should you die during the policy term.

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What can life insurance pay for?

Life insurance policies don’t stipulate how your loved ones must use the money they receive, although it generally goes to pay off the mortgage, meet the rent, or cover bills and other essential living expenses.

For some families the lump sum is useful to cover funeral costs, for others it will ensure school fees and childcare can be paid.

Life cover can also be used to help your children or partner maintain the lifestyle they’re used to. This might mean providing enough for them to continue their favourite hobbies or sports interests, or to take an annual holiday together.

Cost of Dying
The average cost of dying
£9,2001
Living Costs
Average monthly cost
£4,0222
Housing Costs
Average monthly cost
£1,4422
Transport Costs
Average monthly cost
£3543
£150,000 Life Insurance
For just
£15 per month
Tuition Fees
Average monthly cost
£9,2504
House Deposit
Average 15% Deposit
£37,8005
Pay The Bills
Average monthly cost
£1513
Take A Holiday
Holiday for 4 people
£4,7926
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How much cover can you get?

It’s impossible to put a precise figure on the amount of life insurance someone might need as everyone’s circumstances are different. First, you’ll need to think carefully about how much you can afford in premiums each month, and whether your employer will pay out in the event of your death, which would mean you don’t have to take out quite so much cover.

If you own a house, you’ll probably want a life insurance pay-out that’s big enough to clear the mortgage if you die. But think about other loans too, such as credit card repayments, as well as regular outgoings such as food and utility bills that your family might struggle to pay without your income. One way to get a starting figure is to multiply your salary by the number of years you need to keep earning. If this makes the premiums too expensive, try to find a compromise between what you can afford and the level of cover you want.

In 2018, research by the price comparison website MoneySuperMarket revealed that Brits underestimate their life insurance requirements by almost £140,000, so make sure you do your sums carefully before taking out a policy or chat to one of our advisers for more help.

Current Age Standard Rate Premium
20 £4.85
30 £5.50
40 £10.69
50 £27.46

The above quotes are based on a UK citizen of average height & weight, non-smoking, and with no pre-existing medical conditions.

Helpful Guides

Not sure where to start? We've put together a range of guides to help you get to grips with life insurance.

Looking for some help?

Your most common life insurance questions answered.

Life insurance is often an affordable way to make sure your family stays afloat financially when you pass away. But its benefit is only truly maximised if it covers everything you want it to. Comparing life insurance on price level alone could mean your loved ones lose out for the sake of a just few pence more in your pocket each month. 

A smarter way to compare life cover is to be clear in your mind exactly what type of policy you’re after, how long you need it for and how much you want it to pay out. Once you’ve found several that meet your criteria, however, choosing the cheapest life insurance from the selection can make perfect sense. Always make sure you can afford the monthly premiums before you commit.

The most common policies are known as term life insurance. These cover you for a fixed amount of time and usually fall into two categories – decreasing term life insurance and level term life insurance.

Let’s start with decreasing term, which lets you choose how long you want the policy to run for. You’ll pay a monthly premium until that date, after which the policy ends and you’ll no longer be covered. The amount paid out decreases over time (hence the name), but you usually use this type of insurance to cover a mortgage, which also goes down with time too.

A level term policy, meanwhile, promises a lump sum for loved ones that always stays the same, whether you die in the first year of the policy, or the penultimate one. As a result it’s usually a bit more expensive than decreasing term insurance.

While the policies described above will cover you for a fixed amount of time, whole of life insurance has no ‘expiry date’. Your partner or children will receive a pay out whenever you die, and consequently this cover is a costlier option. It is often used to ensure a funeral can be paid for, or as part of inheritance tax planning.

Life insurance can cover your remaining mortgage, the rent, monthly bills, or loans and credit cards so there’s no immediate financial pressure on your loved ones if you die.

But it can also cover things like school and higher education, or childcare if your death necessitates this additional cost.

Sometimes the lump sum can be used as a gift, or simply to cover the cost of your funeral so it doesn’t come out of the family savings.

Term life insurance only offers cover for a limited period of time. After your policy expires, you can’t claim any pay-out and the premiums you’ve put in won’t be returned.

An exception is return-of-premium life insurance, which will essentially refund what you’ve paid – but at the cost of much higher premiums while the policy lasts. What’s more, you usually have to hold the policy for the entire term and make all payments to get your money back.

Most people simply accept that life cover, like other types of insurance, is about weighing up the risks of not having it against the price you pay if you don’t need to claim. The peace of mind of knowing your family will be looked after if the worst happens often makes the decision easier.

When you near the end of a life insurance policy, it’s worth considering whether you still need cover. If your mortgage is paid off and your children have flown the nest, then you may not require it anymore. If you do want to continue, you could buy another policy or apply to extend your current one. But bear in mind your premiums are likely to be higher than they were for your original policy now that you’re older, and you may not meet all eligibility criteria.

Generally speaking, you’ll pay less for life cover the younger and healthier you are so, if you think you need it, it’s sensible to compare life insurance quotes as early as possible.

There are several events in life that inevitably make the question of whether to get life insurance more urgent. Buying a new home and taking out a mortgage is an obvious one. If you die before the loan is repaid, the responsibility for it will fall on your loved ones instead, so you need to think about whether they’ll be able to shoulder this without your income.

For other people, having a baby is their trigger to consider life cover. According to Child Poverty Action Group raising a child to the age of 18 in the UK in 2021 stood at £160,692 for a couple and £193,801 for a lone parent. Having a life policy in place, at least until children reach financial independence or have finished school, can give you peace of mind they’ll be provided for when you’re gone.

Even if you don’t have children, getting married or making any other long-term commitment to a partner can also be a reason to research life insurance. Whether you opt for a single or joint life insurance policy, your partner will be financially cared for on your death.

Life insurance is also relevant if you’re planning for a funeral and/or inheritance. According to the SunLife Cost of Dying Report 2022, the cost of a basic funeral in the UK was £4,056 in 2021. The lump sum your loved ones receive can be used to cover this, rather than it coming out of their own pockets. Alternatively the pay-out can make a difference for anyone looking to leave money to their children without inheritance costs. You can take out a whole-of-life insurance policy, which lasts until your death, to cover the inheritance tax bill you expect your heirs to have to pay.

Life insurance provide peace of mind that your partner or children with be financially looked after when you’re not around to do it yourself. If your dependants are still in school (or younger), or if your partner relies on your income it’s especially worth looking into. Ditto if your family is living in rented accommodation or in a house with a mortgage that you pay. If there’s any doubt they could keep up repayments without your salary, life insurance could be a solution.

Even if the long-term financial future of your family looks relatively stable without you, life insurance can be helpful to cover funeral expenses, provide an inheritance, or cover extra childcare costs if you’re not around.

Not everyone needs life cover. Some already have a policy through their employer, others may feel their partner earns enough for the family to live on. If you’re older and your children have flown the nest, it might also be unnecessary. The key question to ask yourself is whether your death would have a financial impact on the people you care about.

Guides

Want to know more? Visit our guides section for everything you need to know about life insurance.

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