Compare life insurance from every major UK insurer in one place. Our whole-of-market panel includes Aviva, Legal & General, Vitality, Royal London, Zurich, AIG Life, LV=, Scottish Widows, Beagle Street and SunLife. Get quotes in under 60 seconds.
How life insurance comparison works
Most comparison tools focus on headline price. Ours compares three things that matter:
- Monthly premium — priced from your age, health, smoker status and cover amount.
- Policy features — terminal illness cover, indexation, waiver of premium, guaranteed insurability, conversion options.
- Claims performance — each insurer's latest published claim-paid percentage, alongside typical decision time.
UK life insurance comparison table — all major providers
| Insurer | Min / Max entry age | Max cover | Max term | 2024 claim-paid % | Premium from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviva | 18 / 77 | £5m | 50 yrs | 99.4% | £5/mo |
| Legal & General | 18 / 77 | £1m | 50 yrs | 97.0% | £5/mo |
| Vitality | 18 / 74 | £5m | 50 yrs | 99.6% | £6/mo |
| Royal London | 17 / 75 | £3m | 50 yrs | 99.3% | £5/mo |
| Zurich | 17 / 84 | £10m | 50 yrs | 98.4% | £5/mo |
| AIG Life | 18 / 77 | £5m | 50 yrs | 98.8% | £5/mo |
| LV= | 17 / 79 | £5m | 50 yrs | 99.4% | £5/mo |
| Scottish Widows | 17 / 79 | £2m | 50 yrs | 99.5% | £6/mo |
Prices are representative lowest starting premium for a healthy non-smoker aged 25–30 at the lowest cover tier. Your quote depends on your age, health and requested sum assured. Claim-paid figures are each insurer's 2024 published term life figures. Max cover figures are headline caps — higher amounts may be available case-by-case.
Who's cheapest for what — our pricing research
- Level term life insurance, healthy non-smoker aged 30: L&G and Aviva consistently lowest for £200,000 / 25-year cover.
- Decreasing term (mortgage cover), age 35: L&G, Royal London and Zurich lead for straightforward cases.
- Applicants with a medical history (diabetes, cancer history, heart condition): Vitality, Royal London and LV= tend to underwrite more favourably — often worth paying a slightly higher base rate.
- Over-50s guaranteed acceptance: SunLife, Royal London Over-50 and Legal & General Over-50s — different value depending on age and smoker status.
- Family Income Benefit (monthly payout): Aviva and L&G price most competitively; Royal London offers best indexation flexibility.
What to look for beyond price
The cheapest policy isn't always the best one. When you compare, check:
- Terminal illness cover — pays the sum assured if you're diagnosed with less than 12 months to live. Included free on virtually every major UK policy.
- Indexation / RPI linking — your sum assured rises with inflation. Adds 15–25% to the premium but worth it for long policies.
- Guaranteed insurability — lets you increase cover for a mortgage, marriage or new child without medical re-underwriting.
- Waiver of premium — pauses your premiums if you're unable to work due to illness. Typically 3–5% premium uplift.
- Trust service — all major insurers offer free trust-writing. Ensures the payout bypasses probate and IHT.
How our comparison engine works
When you submit our free 60-second quote form, your details are matched with an FCA-authorised life insurance adviser on our panel. They search quote-portal rates across every insurer in the table above, then present the cheapest suitable options alongside the relevant policy features. There's no cost to you, and no obligation to buy.
Our advisers are independent — they are paid a commission by the insurer whose policy you choose, but not by us and not for recommending any particular provider. The same commission structure applies whether you pay £5/month or £150/month, so advisers have no incentive to up-sell.
Compare by cover type
- Level term life insurance — fixed sum, fixed term.
- Decreasing term (mortgage life insurance) — sum decreases alongside a repayment mortgage.
- Whole of life insurance — pays out whenever you die.
- Family income benefit — pays a monthly income rather than a lump sum.
- Joint life insurance — one policy, two lives.
- Over-50s life insurance — guaranteed acceptance, no medical.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a healthy non-smoker buying straightforward level or decreasing term cover, Legal & General and Aviva are almost always among the three cheapest. If you have any health issues or a non-standard occupation, that changes quickly — Vitality, Royal London and LV= often underwrite more leniently and can end up cheaper despite a higher headline rate.
Always compare. Identical cover can vary in price by 40–60% between insurers for the same applicant, and the cheapest direct route often isn't actually the cheapest policy. Comparison is free, takes under two minutes, and you're under no obligation to buy.
Yes, with one caveat. A whole-of-market adviser accesses the same underwriter rates that the insurer uses for a direct application — sometimes cheaper, because advisers can quote across 'intermediary' rates. The difference is you see every insurer's price in one place rather than having to get 10 quotes separately.
Yes, and it's especially important to. Insurers have very different underwriting stances on conditions like diabetes, cancer history, mental health and heart conditions. The cheapest insurer for a healthy applicant is often not the cheapest for someone with a medical history — comparing the whole market finds the one that prices your condition most favourably.
Claims-paid is a regulated figure published annually by each insurer, showing the percentage of life insurance claims paid in the prior year. Trustpilot scores reflect the general customer experience — billing, app, call-centre. Both matter, but for life insurance the claims-paid figure is the critical one.