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Life insurance

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What is life insurance?

Life insurance helps give your family financial protection if you pass away in the time you have your policy. It allows you to leave behind an amount of money to help those you love maintain their living standards and keep paying the bills.

You can use life insurance to cover one person (a single policy) or two people (a joint policy). But it’ll only pay out once so, once we’ve settled a claim, the policy ends.

In most cases, you can get life insurance even if you have medical conditions. You’ll need to tell us about them when we ask and it’s possible there might be a medical exam too (we’ll pay for this). The price you will pay depends on the level of cover selected and your personal circumstances.

The benefits of our life insurance

Claims you can count on

We paid out 99.4% of life insurance claims in 2022Footnote [1]

Aviva DigiCare+ app

This gives access to annual health checks, mental health counselling and nutritional support. See more about the app ^

Quick and simple cover

Most customers get a quote and decision in just over 5 minutes

How does life insurance work?

It’s not about you. It’s about them. Our cover is term life insurance and will pay out a sum of money if you die – or if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness as we define it, and you’re not expected to live more than 12 months. Here are a few things to think about before choosing your cover.

And if you’re unfamiliar with the language of life insurance, look up any terms you don’t understand in our life insurance glossary.

Do you need life insurance?

Take the time to think about how much money your loved ones might need to keep their standard of living if you were to pass away. This might include costs such as bills, mortgage repayments, school fees and any other debts you might need to repay.

How long do I need cover for?

Think about how long your kids will need your financial support, or when your other half might retire. If you are over 50 and want cover for the whole of your lifetime, rather than a fixed amount of time, you could consider our Over 50 life insurance.

Joint or separate life insurance policy?

If you and your partner would like combined cover, you can take out a joint policy. This pays out once and won’t provide cover for the second person after the first person passes away.

Another way would be to each take out a separate policy. So once we pay out for one person their policy will end – but the second person’s policy will continue.

Discover more in our article about choosing between joint and separate policies.

Learn about the ins, outs and in-betweens of our life insurance in our video.

Learn about our life insurance

Watch our video about Learn about our life insurance

Do you already have life insurance with us?

Why get life insurance?

Having life insurance is probably the most important thing you can do to help protect the ones you love. When you die, your policy can leave money for those you leave behind. This means:

We understand that life cover might not be right for everyone, so we're here to help you feel confident in your choices. For instance, if no one depends on you financially, you might consider other options that better suit your needs.

What is income protection insurance?

If an illness or injury means you can't work, income protection will replace at least some of what you would've earned. It'll help cover your monthly outgoings so you’re able to focus on getting better and back to work.

Learn more how income protection works.

What is critical illness cover?

If you experience one of the serious illnesses or injuries listed under this cover, you'll receive a tax-free lump sum. The money can be used in any way you like, whether that’s to help with health-related costs, monthly expenses, or lost income while you get better.

See how critical illness cover can protect you.

Choosing your life cover

We offer two different types of life cover: level cover and decreasing cover.

Both are what we call term insurance policies – meaning they help protect your loved ones for a fixed amount of time, or term.

The type of cover you want may depend on who you want to protect and how much you’d like to pay each month.

Family protection – level cover

Choose a lump sum to leave behind for your loved ones and select how long you want your cover to run for. You’ll pay the same amount of premium for this cover each month until your policy ends.

If you pass away during this period, the lump sum can help to maintain the living standards of loved ones. It could be used to pay off an interest-only mortgage, or go towards living costs and monthly outgoings, such as rent.

Protecting your cover from the effects of inflation

As level cover requires you to choose a lump sum payout, you can also choose to have your cover take inflation into account and increase this lump sum in line with rising prices over time.

If you take out this cover, it'll mean that your monthy payments may rise, but it also means the lump sum won't be worth less in the future because of the rise in the cost of living.

For example, a £100,000 fixed lump sum would still be valued at £100,000 in 20 years’ time. However, the price of goods and services will have increased in that time - inflation - so your money won’t go as far.

This option only applies to level cover. If you choose it, the maximum annual increase would be 15% to your premium and 10% to your cover Footnote [2]

Mortgage protection – decreasing cover

Although you don’t specifically need a mortgage to take out this cover, you might choose to do so to help your loved ones pay off a repayment mortgage or long-term loan if you pass away at any time during the policy term.

The amount you have left to pay on your mortgage usually drops over time, so mortgage protection life insurance decreases over time too. This is why it’s called decreasing cover, and why it usually cost less than level cover.

The cover lasts for a specific length of time of your choosing and your monthly premiums are fixed (unless you make changes to your policy).

Read more about mortgage protection life insurance.

Find out more about the difference between level cover and decreasing cover.

Are you eligible for life insurance?

To apply for cover, you must:

In most cases, you won’t need a medical exam. But if we do ask you to have one, we’ll cover the costs.

How much cover will I need?

It’s worth totting up how much loved ones might need to pay off a mortgage or keep up repayments, settle any debts and cover general living costs. We have a tool to do just that.

Calculate my cover

What our life insurance covers

Level cover and decreasing cover policies cover you if you pass away during the term of your policy. We’ll then pay out a cash lump sum – it’s as simple as that.

What’s covered

What’s not covered

Policy documents

See a full list of what’s covered in our policy wording.

Life Insurance Plan policy summary (PDF 104 KB)

Life Insurance Plan terms and conditions (PDF 145 KB)

About our insurance services (PDF 73 KB)

How do I get a life insurance quote?

We only need a few details from you to get started. If you need help with your quote at any point, give us a call.

We need to know:

Or call us free

0800 068 5549

Monday to Friday 8:00am - 6:00pm

Weekends and bank holidays: Closed

Calls may be monitored or recorded. Calls to 0800 numbers from UK landlines and mobiles are free. Our opening hours may be different depending on which team you need to speak to.

Life insurance and critical illness cover

When you apply for life insurance, you can add critical illness cover. They’re separate policies and cover you for different things, but you can buy them together.

Because they’re not combined, a successful critical illness claim won’t affect your life insurance policy, which will still pay out if you pass away during the policy term.

The benefits of life insurance and critical illness cover

Aviva DigiCare+

When you take out a new life insurance policy, you can access health and wellbeing services through the Aviva DigiCare+ smartphone app, provided by Square Health – and it won’t cost you extra. Once your life insurance policy with us is active, you can download the app and register your details. Mobile data charges may apply.

You can then use it to connect you with clinicians, nutritionists, therapists and more – which means taking positive steps towards a healthier lifestyle can be as easy as picking up your phone.

So the tools you need to help you eat better, feel better and keep well are always on hand.

Please be aware that the benefits of the app don’t form part of your cover, and they could change or be removed, in the future.

^This is a non-contractual benefit Aviva can withdraw at any time. Terms and conditions and the privacy policy for the Aviva DigiCare+ can be found within the app. Of course, the main reason for taking out a policy with us is financial protection, you shouldn’t take out a policy for Aviva DigiCare+ alone.

More about Aviva DigiCare+

Life insurance FAQs

Yes. When you first buy a policy, you have 30 days from the day we tell you your policy will start, or the day you receive your policy documents (whichever is later) to change your mind. If you cancel during this 30 day cooling off period, we'll refund any premiums you've already paid.

You can still cancel your policy if the cooling-off period has finished, but we won’t refund any premiums you’ve already paid.

Remember, your life insurance policy has no cash-in value at any time and cancelling it means you won't be able to make a claim. If you’re thinking of leaving us, we can help you consider your options.

If you decide you do want to cancel, we’ll make it as hassle free as possible. All you need to do is contact us.

Or you can write to Aviva Life, Norwich BCC, PO Box 520, Norwich, NR1 3WG.

Yes, terminal illness is covered by our Life Insurance Plan.

This means we'll pay out if you're diagnosed with a terminal illness, which meets our policy definition, and you're not expected to live longer than 12 months. You must be diagnosed with the illness during your policy term.

If we pay out for a terminal illness, your life insurance policy will end, and no further claims will be paid.

The main difference is that life insurance is a term policy, so it covers you for a specific amount of time, while over 50 life insurance is a whole of life policy, so it covers you for the rest of your life.

To take out our Over 50 Life Insurance you need to be aged between 50 and 80 and be a UK resident. Your premiums are fixed for life, and you won’t need a medical or health check. You can hold multiple policies but must not exceed the maximum premium limit of £100 across all policies. You can choose a cover amount, or select a premium that you’d like to pay each month to help pay for other costs, or to leave a gift to your partner or family. Once you’ve had your policy for 30 years, or from the policy anniversary after your 90th birthday, you’ll no longer pay anything, but your cover will continue. It can’t be taken out as a joint policy.

For our Over 50 Life Insurance policy, we’ll pay the full cover amount for death after the first 12 months, or if you die from an accident during the first 12 months of the policy. If you die within the first 12 months of cover from anything other than an accident, we’ll pay a sum equal to the amount of premiums paid. It's worth mentioning that depending on how long you live, you may end up paying more in premiums than the amount paid out on death.

With our Life Insurance Plan, you need to be aged between 18 and 77 to apply, and your cover stops at the end of the policy term. You will be asked a few health and lifestyle questions when you apply. You choose a cover amount, and if you want your cover to remain the same, be protected from the effects of inflation, or decrease over time broadly in line with a repayment mortgage or loan. You can take out a single or joint life insurance policy.

If you’re not sure which one might be right for you, speak to a financial adviser.

If you receive a life insurance payout, you won't need to pay capital gains tax, or income tax - but you might need to pay inheritance tax, unless the money is placed in a trust.

Yes, you can have more then one life insurance policy. If your combined cover is for a high amount, we might need to do a more in-depth financial assessment to make sure we're insuring you for the right amount.

If you’re feeling any financial pressure, we're here to support you and find a solution. You can explore options like reducing your monthly payments by adjusting your coverage or the duration of protection which could make things more manageable. We also offer a cost of living support scheme. This plan allows you to lower your payments for now, with the freedom to increase them again in 12-24 months when you’re back on track. 

You’ll need to check with your employer to see if they have arranged cover for you (these types of insurance policies are usually set up through a group life insurance plan).

If you are covered by your employer, the cover will only be active for as long as you work for them.

There’s no ‘right’ time to get life insurance, but it’s worth noting the cost tends to rise as you get older. There are plenty of life events that may make you think you might need life insurance. You might have just bought a home, got married, or had a child so you may be wanting to make sure anyone who is dependent on you is looked after if anything happens to you.

There are many factors that are taken into consideration with life insurance. However, our life insurance starts from as little as £5 a month. The price you will pay depends on the level of cover selected and your personal circumstances.

Why choose us for life insurance?

We're proud our cover is 5 Star Rated by trusted industry expert Defaqto.

Looking for more cover?

We have a range of options to help you protect your family’s future.

Over 50 Life insurance

Guarantee life insurance cover for the rest of your life that pays a lump sum once you die - you won't be asked any health questions Footnote [4]

Age: 50-80 

Premium: £5-£100  

Payment: If you pass away  

Critical illness cover

Pays a lump sum if you or your child are diagnosed with or have surgery for one of our 52 critical illnesses covered by our plan, within the policy term  

Age: 18-64  

Cover: Up to £1,000,000  

Payment: If you become critically ill and live for 10 days after diagnosis  

Income protection insurance

Cover that pays a proportion of your lost earnings, which could help you cover your montly outgoings if you can’t work

Age: 18-59  

Cover: Monthly benefit amount between £500 and £1,500  

Payment: If you’re ill or injured and can’t work  

Take care of your loved ones with an Aviva Trust

Our trusts give you more control over who your money goes to once you’re gone and will usually be exempt from Inheritance Tax Footnote [5].

Explore Aviva Trusts

Life insurance articles and resources

Get insight and useful info on protecting you and your family.

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When should I get life insurance?

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Types of Life Insurance

Discover the types of life insurance about Types of Life Insurance

Is critical illness cover worth it?

Is it worth it? about Is critical illness cover worth it?

Terminal illness vs critical illness

Learn about the difference about Terminal illness vs critical illness

Probate: what it is and how it works

Learn more about probate about Probate: what it is and how it works

Level term vs decreasing term life insurance

Find out the difference about Level term vs decreasing term life insurance

Life insurance when renting

Do renters need life insurance? about Life insurance when renting

Children’s critical illness benefit

Discover how it works about Children’s critical illness benefit

Six important reasons to get life insurance

Discover the benefits about Six important reasons to get life insurance

Over 50 life insurance and cancer

Find out if it could about Over 50 life insurance and cancer

Should I buy a single or joint life insurance policy?

Single or joint? about Should I buy a single or joint life insurance policy?

What is term life insurance?

About term life insurance about What is term life insurance?

What's the difference between life insurance and life assurance?

Discover more about What's the difference between life insurance and life assurance?

Linda's Story

Watch our video about Linda's Story

Important information

Aviva UK individual claims report 2023, based on claims paid in 2022.

The cover amount increases in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), calculated over 12 months. To calculate the increase to your premium, we multiply what you pay by 1.5 and the percentage increase in CPI. If there’s no increase in the CPI there’s no change to your cover or premium over a 12 month period.

While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions we acknowledge that we have relationships with businesses and existing assets that may be associated with significant emissions. More information can be found at https://www.aviva.com/sustainability/climate/

However, if you die before the first 12 months are up, and it wasn’t an accidental death, we won’t pay out the cover amount, but we’ll pay a sum that’s equal to the premiums that have already been paid i.e. an amount equivalent to premiums paid in the first year or as a minimum.

Liability for tax depends on your personal circumstances and tax rules, which may change over time.

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