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Life insurance

Our Life Insurance Plan pays out a lump sum if you pass away or you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness, and we’re proud that we paid out 99.3% of life claims in 2023.1 We’ve got different types of cover, so you can find the right option for you.

Your cover

Family protection

  • Choose a lump sum to leave behind for your family.
  • Help your loved ones cover living costs and monthly rental or mortgage repayments if you pass away.
  • This is also called level cover

Mortgage protection

  • Specifically helps your family pay off a repayment mortgage if you pass away.
  • You’ll pay the same amount each month, but cover gradually decreases in line with your repayment mortgage.
  • This is also called decreasing cover
You can learn more about our life insurance by watching our video

Our life insurance explained

We've made our life insurance as easy-to-understand as possible. Discover more about what you need to consider before taking a policy out, such as the cover types available, how much cover you might need and how long for.

Video Transcript

Life insurance explained

Life is full of the things you love – your family, your home, and the other things that make you happy. But it can be unpredictable, and we don't always know what's around the corner.

Our Life Insurance Plan is one of the ways you can protect what matters most to you. If you’re thinking about getting life cover, there are a couple of things to consider. Do you have a partner, children and a mortgage or other loans? What will your family need in the future?

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

With level cover, what you pay each month stays the same for the whole term of the policy, and so does the cover amount.

If you’d prefer your cover amount to rise with the cost of living, you can choose to protect it against the effects of inflation, which means that what you pay will also increase over time.

Decreasing cover works like a repayment loan with a fixed interest rate. So, the value of your cover decreases gradually, but the amount you pay stays the same.

When it comes to how much cover you’ll need, everyone’s different. If you have a mortgage, how much have you got left to pay, and how long for? Look at your current income and monthly outgoings – things like childcare costs, household bills and family holidays

To help you decide how long you want your cover to last, consider how long your children are likely to depend on you financially, or when your partner is planning to retire.

At Aviva, our cover is designed with you in mind. With flexible cover length, simple claims and lump sum pay-outs – we’re here when you need us most.

Which cover type would you like?

Who would you like to cover?

Critical illness cover

Critical illness cover pays out a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a life-changing illness. It’s designed to help ease any immediate financial worries you might have, and can pay towards treatment or the cost of everyday living.

We cover 52 conditions , including nearly all cancers, heart attacks and strokes.

Do you want to add critical illness cover?

Your personal details

Your first name

If you have more than one first name, use a hyphen between them. For example, ‘Sarah-Jane’. You don’t need to tell us your middle names.

Your last name
Your date of birth (DD/MM/YYYY)
Smoking, vaping, tobacco and nicotine use

We need accurate information about your use of cigarettes, cigars, a pipe or any other tobacco or nicotine products including nicotine gums, patches, inhalers, tablets, lozenges, sprays and electronic products, even if only on an occasional basis. It’s an important factor in our assessment of terms and payment of claims. We may carry out tests to confirm use.

Your email

Please give us your preferred email address. We’ll use this to send you your quote and we may use this to contact you to progress your application.

Your postcode

To apply you must be in the UK, have a legal right to live in the UK and consider your main home as being in the UK, with no current intention of moving anywhere else permanently.

The UK does not include the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar.

If you’re moving home, use your current address. You can change this after you have moved.

Keeping you informed

From time to time, we'd like to send you offers and discounts we think you'd be interested in.

Tell us if you don’t want to hear from us.

How we keep you informed

If you would prefer not to receive communications about our products and promotions, please indicate below. You can always tell us if you change your mind.

See your quote

Do you need some help?

Life insurance FAQs

Can I cancel my life insurance at any time?

Yes. You have a 30-day cooling-off period from your policy start date, or from when you get your policy documents (whichever is later), to change your mind. If you want to cancel within this time, we’ll refund any premiums you’ve paid. Remember, there’s no cash value and, if you cancel your policy, you won’t be able to make a claim.

If you want to cancel the policy after the cooling-off period ends, your premiums won’t be refunded. If you’re thinking about cancelling your policy, please contact us, or write to Aviva Life, Norwich BCC, PO Box 520, Norwich, NR1 3WG.

Does your life Insurance policy cover terminal illness?

You can find out what you're covered for in the policy conditions that you received when you first took out the policy. If your policy is available in MyAviva you can log in or register and check your cover details there.If you're not sure please contact us

What's the difference between life insurance and over 50 life insurance?

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. Your premiums are fixed for life, and you won’t need a medical or health check. You can choose a cover amount to help pay for a funeral, or it can be used 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 soonest 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.

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 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

Do I get any money back if I don't die before the life insurance policy term ends?

No. There's no cash value at any time. At the end of your life insurance policy term you stop making payments and your cover ends.

Can I decide who gets the money from my life insurance policy?

Yes. Putting your money into a trust means you can decide who gets the money from any payout (they’re known as the beneficiaries). Plus, you can name the people who’ll be responsible for distributing that money (they’re known as the trustees).

A trust is a legal arrangement, and you can find out more about the Aviva Trusts we offer.Putting your policy into an Aviva Trust means we can pay out faster (so long as there’s at least one available trustee) if a claim is approved. It’s because we already know who’s dealing with the payout, which means we don’t have to wait for executors to be appointed.

Another feature of putting your policy in trust is that any money your beneficiaries receive will usually be exempt from Inheritance Tax2. But remember, tax liability depends on your circumstances, and tax laws may change in the future.Setting up a trust is easy, but you’ll need to understand what it means for you legally and financially.

So you should speak to a financial adviser or tax specialist, which you can find at www.unbiased.co.uk If you don’t put your policy into a trust, you can leave instructions in your will explaining who you want to receive any payout from your policy. However, this may not offer the same protection against Inheritance Tax. The Gov.uk website has more information about writing a will.

See all Life insurance FAQs

Critical illness cover FAQs

Am I eligible to take out Critical Illness Cover?

You can take out our Critical Illness cover if you’re aged between 18-64 and are a permanent UK resident. We will then complete a health and lifestyle document to understand your medical history.

What critical illnesses are covered under this policy?

We cover 52 critical illness conditions, including heart attack, stroke and some cancers.

How much does Critical Illness Cover cost?

This will depend on your personal circumstances and medical history. Over half of our customers pay just £ 18.00 or less for our Critical Illness Cover.

Will my children be covered if I choose to add Critical Illness Cover?

Yes. They will be covered under our Children’s Critical Illness cover, where we will pay up to £ 25,000 or 50% of the cover amount, whichever is lower

What is children's benefit?

Children’s benefit is automatically included in any personal policy that includes critical illness cover.

We’ll pay £ 25,000, or 50% of the main critical illness benefit (whichever is lower), if any of your natural, step or legally adopted children are diagnosed with one of the children’s critical illnesses or conditions we cover during the term of the policy.

If one of your children dies during the term of the policy, we’ll pay a lump sum of £ 5,000. Children are covered from 30 days old until their 18th birthday (or their 21st birthday, if they’re in full-time education). We’ll only pay out one critical illness claim for each child under the policy. We’ll pay a death claim for a child, even if we’ve previously paid out on a critical illness claim for them. If we pay out under children’s benefit, the policy will continue to provide cover for you and any other eligible children you have.

If you already have an existing policy with us, check your policy documents to see what cover is included. If your policy was previously with Friends Life, contact us to check if this applies to you.

See all Critical illness cover FAQs

Important information

1Aviva UK individual claims report 2024, based on claims paid in 2023.

Aviva UK Digital Limited sells life insurance and critical illness policies provided and underwritten by Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited. Aviva UK Digital Limited. Registered in England No. 09766150. Registered office: 8 Surrey Street, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 3NG. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm Reference Number: 728985. Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited. Registered in England No. 3253947. Registered office: Aviva, Wellington Row, York YO90 1WR. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Firm Reference Number: 185896. www.aviva.co.uk