£1 Million Life Insurance [How Much Does it Cost UK?]

Q: Do I need £1 million life insurance?

The greater the cover amount (or sum assured ) the higher your premiums will be, therefore it’s important to calculate exactly how much cover you need (and for how long) to meet your unique requirements. When dedicating whether you need up to £1 million life insurance, consider key aspects of your life such as: Paying off the mortgage in full Household bills & utilities Family living costs & transport Additional childcare expenses Education fees (private school, university) Leisure activities Funeral costs Inheritance tax bills Leaving an inheritance Personal debt Age of your children/how long until they’re financially independent Are you planning to have more children? The average outstanding mortgage debt per household in the UK is £134,494 [1] , whilst the average cost of raising a child to 18 is £165,872 [2] , suggesting the majority of people in the UK probably don’t require £1 million worth of life insurance protection. However, in areas such as London, where the average terraced property sells for £777,556 [3] , it’s easy to see how some people will require £1 million of cover to fully protect their loved ones’. It’s all about working out the financial protection that you and your loved ones’ require.

Q: Can you get £1 million life insurance online?

Yes, it’s possible to buy £1 million life insurance online . At Reassured we provide a dedicated, fee-fee buy online facility where you can compare quotes from a panel of leading providers anytime of day or night. If you start your life insurance journey online, but then don’t complete the process because you have questions, no problem, our support team can help you over the phone.

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£1 million life insurance

How much does £1 million life insurance cost?
£1 million decreasing term life insurance
£1 million level term life insurance
£1 million joint term life insurance
£1 million whole of life insurance
Do I need £1 million life insurance?
£1 million life insurance policy options
Key criteria used when calculating the cost of £1 million life insurance?
Can you get £1 million life insurance online?
£1 million life insurance - Top tips

How much does £1 million life insurance cost?

A 20-year old non-smoker in good health could secure £1 million of decreasing term cover over a 20-year term from just £13.57 a month, however the cost can quickly increase as we age.

How much £1 million of life insurance cover would cost you will depend on your individual circumstances, such as your age at the point of application, health and the policy type.

£1 million decreasing term life insurance

The pricing table below is based on a non-smoker, in good health, for a decreasing term life insurance policy with a 20-year term and £1,000,000 of cover:

Age
20	£13.57	£15.40	£17.67	£18.77
25	£16.51	£18.75	£19.10	£22.42
30	£20.42	£23.09	£23.24	£26.35
35	£27.66	£31.60	£34.67	£31.22
40	£38.05	£43.87	£48.23	£42.49
45	£56.84	£65.38	£73.12	£68.12
50	£94.02	£111.74	£113.39	£104.27

The above table displays how the cost of life insurance accelerates as you age, highlighting the potential savings you could make if you secure cover in early adulthood.

Decreasing term cover, sometimes referred to as mortgage life insurance, provides a pay out which reduces in value over the life of the policy if you were to pass away.

If you outlive your policy the cover expires, and no pay out materialises. Visit our decreasing life insurance calculator guide for more information.

What is clear from the life insurance pricing comparison tables, is that the cost of premiums can vary significantly, highlighting the benefit of comparing multiple providers.

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£1 million level term life insurance

The pricing table below is based on a non-smoker, in good health, for a level term life insurance policy with a 20-year term and £1,000,000 of cover:

Age
20	£15.82	£19.39	£18.74	£18.77
25	£19.79	£24.79	£24.41	£22.42
30	£26.75	£33.71	£32.27	£26.35
35	£39.97	£50.30	£49.23	£31.22
40	£60.59	£76.89	£74.79	£42.49
45	£92.06	£119.07	£113.53	£68.12
50	£153.09	£191.27	£172.40	£104.27

As you can see in the level term table above, the cost of cover is higher compared to decreasing term cover. This is because level term policies provide a fixed pay out regardless of when you pass away during the policy term; meaning the financial risk to the insurer is greater and thus the premiums are priced accordingly.

As with all life insurance policies, the cost of cover increases are we get older.

£1 million joint term life insurance

The pricing table below is based on non-smokers, in good health, for a joint decreasing term life insurance policy with a 20-year term and £1,000,000 of cover:

Age
20	£21.80	£25.90	£23.88	£35.16
25	£24.82	£30.91	£26.16	£42.18
30	£32.58	£39.55	£35.70	£49.72
35	£43.50	£54.00	£44.44	£59.06
40	£65.96	£80.21	£66.82	£80.70
45	£99.32	£125.98	£114.34	£129.90
50	£156.32	£193.58	£191.58	£199.32

A joint life insurance policy covers two lives simultaneously; only requires one monthly premium payment and offers one pay out (usually upon the first death). Thereafter the policy expires leaving the surviving partner without cover,

Whilst you can see above that joint decreasing term policies are naturally more expensive than a single policy (as they cover two lives instead of one), they are cheaper compared to two single policies.

£1 million whole of life insurance

The pricing table below is based on non-smokers, in good health, for a whole of life insurance policy with £1,000,000 cover:

Age
20	£133.31	£356.62	£473.36	£481.00
25	£156.06	£421.96	£505.73	£481.00
30	£174.06	£526.36	£558.41	£512.00
35	£221.40	£630.21	£655.83	£629.00
40	£271.22	£766.59	£770.98	£756.00
45	£334.00	£915.77	£900.23	£893.00
50	£418.21	£1,038.75	£964.99	£1,026.00

Whole of life insurance is a form of cover which pays out when and not if you pass away. As cover is lifelong, the cost is significantly more expensive than term-based cover.

Whilst whole of life policies can be a good option for some, if you require a cover amount of for example £1 million, the premiums will simply be too expensive for most people.

Do I need £1 million life insurance?

The greater the cover amount (or sum assured) the higher your premiums will be, therefore it’s important to calculate exactly how much cover you need (and for how long) to meet your unique requirements.

When dedicating whether you need up to £1 million life insurance, consider key aspects of your life such as:

Paying off the mortgage in full
Household bills & utilities
Family living costs & transport
Additional childcare expenses
Education fees (private school, university)
Leisure activities
Funeral costs
Inheritance tax bills
Leaving an inheritance
Personal debt
Age of your children/how long until they’re financially independent
Are you planning to have more children?

The average outstanding mortgage debt per household in the UK is £134,494^[1], whilst the average cost of raising a child to 18 is £165,872^[2], suggesting the majority of people in the UK probably don’t require £1 million worth of life insurance protection.

However, in areas such as London, where the average terraced property sells for £777,556^[3], it’s easy to see how some people will require £1 million of cover to fully protect their loved ones’. It’s all about working out the financial protection that you and your loved ones’ require.

To help you determine your perfect cover amount use our helpful life insurance calculator below;

£1 million life insurance policy options

If you wish to secure £1 million life insurance, there are 3 common policy types to choose from (although as per above whole of life cover is significantly more expensive as it provides life time cover).

Level term life insurance

Cover for a set period with a fixed pay out amount.

Policy term up to 40 years
Pay out sum up to £1,000,000
Pay out is only made if you pass away during the policy term
The funds could help to cover a mortgage and/or family living costs
FREE terminal illness cover included
Available through Reassured

Decreasing term life insurance

Cover for a set period with a pay out sum that reduces over time.

Policy term up to 40 years
Pay out sum up to £1,000,000
Pay out is only made if you pass away during the policy term
The funds could help to cover a repayment mortgage
FREE terminal illness cover included
Available through Reassured

Whole of life insurance

As the name suggests, this policy provides whole of life cover and is a form of life assurance.

Policy lasts for life (assuming to pay your premiums)
Pay out sum up to £1,000,000
Pays out when not if you pass away
The funds could help to provide an inheritance and/or cover inheritance tax bills
Available through Reassured's dedicated advised team

Each life insurance policy is better suited to covering different aspects of your life.

For example, decreasing term cover is well suited to help cover a repayment mortgage (as the sum assured can be set to mirror the remaining mortgage debt).

Whereas level term cover is a great option if you require a fixed lump sum for a set period. Lastly, whole of life insurance is often used to help cover funerals expenses and/or inheritance tax.

Comparing different policy types and insurers could help you to find the right cover to meet your specific needs. Why not use our fee-free and award-winning broker service today?

£1 million life insurance calculator

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Key criteria used when calculating the cost of £1 million life insurance?

As mentioned above, the price you pay for £1 million of cover will depend on your personal circumstances.

During the application process, insurers will ask you several important questions to assess your eligibility and to accurately calculate your monthly life insurance premiums.

These include:

How old are you?
Are you a smoker?
Do you have any pre-existing medical conditions?
What is your BMI (height & weight)?
What is your occupation?
What is your alcohol consumption? / Do you use drugs?

Generally speaking, the lower the likelihood of a pay out, the cheaper your premiums will be and so you could help drive costs down by living a healthy lifestyle and looking after health and wellbeing.

Can you get £1 million life insurance online?

Yes, it’s possible to buy £1 million life insurance online. At Reassured we provide a dedicated, fee-fee buy online facility where you can compare quotes from a panel of leading providers anytime of day or night.

If you start your life insurance journey online, but then don’t complete the process because you have questions, no problem, our support team can help you over the phone.

£1 million life insurance - Top tips

Accurately calculate your sum assured - This ensures your loved ones are adequately protected but that you’re not paying for more cover than you need
Live a healthy lifestyle - £1m life insurance isn’t going to be cheap, but you could potentially reduce the cost by quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption and/or losing weight
Factor in future inflation - The impact of inflation means that the value of a pay out could diminish over time, so factor this into your calculations
Factor in employee benefits - If you receive benefits through you employer, such as death in service, you could use this to offset the level of personal cover you require, potentially reducing the cost
Consider different policies - In this guide we have explored level term, decreasing term, joint cover and whole of life, each policy has its individual merits. Take your time to decide which option best meets your needs
Write your policy in trust - Putting your life insurance into trust detaches any future pay out from forming part of your legal estate. As a result, the proceeds from your policy aren’t subject to 40% inheritance tax. Lastly because your loved ones don’t have to wait for probate to be granted, they could receive the pay out funds quicker

Why secure £1m life insurance through Reassured?

We’re the UK’s largest life insurance broker^* with over 15 years of experience
We can help you compare £1m life insurance policies from some of the UK’s best life insurance companies
We’re rated as ‘Excellent’ with over 80,000 customer reviews on Trustpilot
All quotes through our award-winning service are fee-free & without obligation
We offer the choice to buy life insurance online or over the telephone
We have a FREE trust writing service to help your loved ones avoid/minimise 40% inheritance tax (available with most policies)
Our service is FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) regulated

Compare £1 million life insurance quotes

We hope the above article has helped inform you on the cost of £1 million life insurance and the available policy options in the UK.

Every insurer offers different prices, therefore, the quotes you receive will vary. At Reassured, you can compare multiple £1 million life insurance quotes simultaneously using our fee-free service and we hope to save you time and money.

Whether you require £100,000 or £1,000,000 of cover, we’re here to help you find the right policy at our best available price, to help safeguard your family’s financial future.

Compare £1 Million Life Insurance Quotes »