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Best Life Insurance in the UK

4 minute read

By natadm

Life insurance gives you the comfort of knowing that your loved ones are taken care of in the event of your passing. With that said, it’s easy to put off purchasing life insurance simply because of how complicated it is.

To help you navigate the world of life insurance coverage and choose the best possible plan for your specific needs, we provided a primer on the most popular types of insurance available and the best-rated life insurance providers offering policies in the UK.

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Popular Types of Life Insurance in the UK

Before you can choose the best policy to support you and your loved ones, it’s important to first understand all the different types of life insurance available.

Level Term Life Insurance

The most approachable kind of life insurance, level term life insurance requires you to choose the amount and policy term at the start. It pays out a fixed amount to beneficiaries — regardless of when a claim’s made — as long as it’s within the term of the policy.

Decreasing Term Life insurance

Decreasing term life insurance, often also referred to as mortgage life insurance, is cheaper than level term life insurance. It’s typically used to cover debts like mortgages.

While coverage decreases over time, the premiums stay the same throughout the term.1

Family Income Benefit

A Family Income Benefit pays out a monthly or annual income to your dependents after your death instead of one lump sum. This allows your loved ones to maintain their lifestyle more easily after you pass.2

Critical Illness Life Coverage

Critical Illness Life Coverage covers you if you’re seriously ill or are diagnosed with a severe medical condition during the policy’s term. In most cases, critical illness cover pays out a fixed lump sum. This lump sum can be used to pay for private medicine, a holiday, or to help your family financially during your illness, particularly if you can’t work.

It’s also worth noting that Critical Illness Life Coverage is often offered as an optional add-on to your standard life insurance policy.3

Over 50s Life Insurance

Depending on the provider, people over 50 and under 80 can pay for this life insurance through fixed premiums until you’re 85 or 90. Even though you’re covered until you die, you no longer have to pay premiums once you turn 85 or 90.4

Whole of Life Insurance

Whole of Life Insurance covers you for your whole life. It requires you to pay a premium each month until you die, at which point it pays out a fixed lump sum.

Unlike other types of life insurance, your premiums are put into a fund with whole life insurance. You can then use this fund to invest across stocks, bonds, property, and cash.5

Joint Life Insurance

For couples, Joint Life Insurance often makes the most sense. It typically pays out in the form of a lump sum to the surviving person. At this point, the surviving person must find a new life insurance policy if they still want coverage.6

Best Life Insurance Providers in the UK

AIG

With over a century of experience, AIG has evolved into an industry leader. It offers all sorts of different life insurance policies to individuals, families, and businesses alike.

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Legal & General

Since its founding in 1836, L&G has gone on to become one of the UK’s best-known and most-trusted life insurance providers. It offers a wide variety of policies, terms, and rates.

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Aegon

Aegon’s Scotland-based UK Life Insurance was founded in 2008 as a subsidiary of Dutch insurer Aegon N.V. Aside from offering all the standard types of life insurance, Aegon offers a large selection of educational articles and guides for free.

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Aviva

If you thought a century of experience was impressive, consider Aviva’s two centuries of experience. However, Aviva’s life insurance operations in the UK were formed in 2000 by the merger of Norwich Union and CGU PLC.

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Guardian

Founded over 150 years ago, Guardian offers a wide variety of policies. Plus, it’s a trusted AFCC and IAPDA certified company with accreditation and an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

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natadm

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