Legal & General Life Insurance Review
An independent review of Legal & General life insurance — pricing, cover features, 97% claims rate, pros, cons and who it suits best. By Ben Darke.
By Ben Darke · Updated 20 April 2026 · 8 min read
Legal & General (L&G) is a serious mainstream option for UK life insurance. Strong brand, competitive pricing for healthy applicants, and 97.0% of claims paid in 2024. Whether it's the best deal for you depends on your health profile — always compare L&G against at least 3-4 insurers before committing.
Legal & General at a glance
- Type of cover: Level term, decreasing term, whole of life (Over-50s Fixed Life Insurance), family income benefit
- Minimum age: 18 (17 for over-50s plan)
- Maximum age: 77 at policy start (up to age 90 at expiry on term plans)
- Maximum cover: Unlimited on single life, up to £25m subject to underwriting
- Claims paid (2024): 97.0% (£862m total)
- Customer rating (Lifecoverfor.com): 4.5/5
- Online application: Yes, for most applicants
- Medical underwriting: Standard to enhanced — tele-interview and/or GP report for complex cases
- FCA registered: 202050 (Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd)
How much does Legal & General life insurance cost?
These are indicative monthly premiums for a healthy, non-smoking applicant taking £200,000 of level term cover over 25 years:
| Age at application | Female (£/mo) | Male (£/mo) |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | £5.80 | £7.10 |
| 30 | £6.90 | £8.40 |
| 35 | £8.60 | £10.80 |
| 40 | £11.90 | £14.90 |
| 45 | £17.50 | £22.10 |
| 50 | £26.80 | £33.70 |
Quoted April 2026 from L&G's published premium schedules. Your own quote will vary based on specific health, lifestyle and cover levels.
Policy features
- Level term: Fixed lump sum over a chosen term (5-50 years). Pays out if you die during the term.
- Decreasing term: Cover reduces in line with a repayment mortgage. Cheaper than level term.
- Family income benefit: Pays a regular monthly income instead of a lump sum. Good for covering household bills.
- Terminal illness cover: Included as standard. Pays out on diagnosis of a terminal illness with life expectancy under 12 months.
- Critical illness cover (optional): Core plan covers 25 conditions; Extra plan covers 50+ conditions including children's critical illness.
- Indexation (optional): Cover amount increases annually with inflation. Premium increases with it.
- Waiver of premium (optional): L&G pays your premium if you cannot work due to illness.
- Renewal option: Extend or convert cover at the end of your term without fresh underwriting.
Legal & General claims performance
In its 2024 claims report, Legal & General paid 97.0% of all life insurance claims, totalling more than £862 million. Most declined claims were due to non-disclosure at application — which underlines why full, honest medical disclosure when applying is critical.
For comparison, Aviva paid 99.4% of life claims in 2024, Vitality paid 99.5%, and Zurich paid 98.9%. All are in the same reliability tier; L&G's rate is slightly lower because its underwriting volume is higher and includes more complex cases.
Who should consider Legal & General?
Good fit for:
- Healthy non-smokers wanting competitive pricing on straightforward term cover
- Mortgage protection buyers — L&G is consistently well-priced on decreasing term
- Applicants who prefer a large, well-known brand name
- Family income benefit seekers (L&G is one of few mainstream providers still offering this)
Consider alternatives if you:
- Have non-trivial medical history — some specialist insurers price diabetes, cancer history, or mental health more favourably
- Want premium discounts tied to health behaviour (Vitality's wellness programme may suit you better)
- Need over-£25m cover (high-net-worth insurers like AIG or Zurich offer higher limits)
Pros and cons
- + Large, financially strong UK insurer
- + Competitive pricing for healthy applicants
- + 97.0% claims paid (2024)
- + Terminal illness cover as standard
- + Full online application for most cases
- + Core and Extra critical illness plans
- - Slower medical underwriting for complex cases
- - No wellness / premium-discount programme like Vitality
- - Less generous on some pre-existing conditions vs specialist insurers
- - No mobile app equivalent to Aviva's
Legal & General vs competitors
If you're weighing up Legal & General against another major insurer, we've covered the key head-to-heads:
- Aviva vs Legal & General life insurance
- Aviva vs Zurich life insurance
- Best life insurance UK 2026 (multi-insurer comparison)
- Cheapest life insurance UK
How to get a Legal & General quote
You can apply direct with Legal & General, but you'll pay the same price going through a whole-of-market broker — and the broker will compare L&G against every other major UK insurer, which often saves money for applicants with any medical history.
Compare Legal & General with the whole market →
Regulation and trust signals
Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference number 202050. Verify at register.fca.org.uk. L&G is a FTSE 100 company and one of the UK's largest providers of life insurance and pensions.
Sources
- Legal & General Group plc 2024 Claims Report
- Association of British Insurers (ABI) 2024 protection claims statistics
- FCA Register — firm reference 202050
- Live L&G Select premium tables, sampled April 2026
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