Best life insurance providers review [2020]
Ultimately, the best life insurance provider will depend on your individual requirements, but with such a saturated market we can understand how daunting picking the right insurer can be.
Many companies have attempted to quantify who the best life insurance provider is, so we’ve amalgamated their findings to deliver an overall rating.
Sources we used in our research were:
- https://boughtbymany.com/news/article/best-life-insurance/
- https://moneytothemasses.com/quick-savings/insurance-2/life-insurance/best-cheapest-life-insurance-uk
- https://www.genesage.com/best-uk-life-insurance-cover-reviews
- https://www.drewberryinsurance.co.uk/knowledge/life-insurance/what-is-the-best-life-insurance
Read on to see which market leaders are deemed to be the best life insurance providers…
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Best term life insurance providers
Research showed the following 10 providers to be the best for term life insurance:
- Legal & General
- Liverpool Victoria (=LV)
- Aviva
- Scottish Widows
- VitalityLife
- Royal London
- AIG
- Aegon
- Zurich
- Sainsbury’s
Best over 50s life insurance providers
Our research suggests the following 10 providers are best for over 50s plans:
- Legal & General
- Liverpool Victoria (=LV)
- Aviva
- Royal London
- Post Office
- Sainsbury’s
- AA
- SunLife
- Churchill
- Asda
Strangely, our research showed Asda and AA to be two of the top 10 over 50s life insurance providers, however, we recently discovered they no longer provide life insurance.
In fact, Sainsbury’s, AA and Asda are not actually insurance companies, but white label products selling Legal & General or LV policies respectively.
Best whole of life insurance providers
The best whole of life insurance providers were suggested to be:
- AIG
- Royal London
- Legal & General
- VitalityLife
- Scottish Widows
- Aegon
- Zurich
- Liverpool Victoria (=LV)
- Old Mutual
- Aviva
However, as mentioned, it’s difficult to quantitatively define the best providers so let’s take a look at how you can determine the best life insurance provider for YOU.
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Best type of life insurance
The best type of life insurance will depend on your individual requirements.
For example, do you have a mortgage, do you have children, how old are your children etc.
There are a variety of different policy types available, each suited to covering different aspects within your life.
Therefore, the best type will be the one which provides the most suitable cover for what it is you’re wanting to protect.
Term-based life insurance
Term-based life insurance provides cover for a specified period of time.
If you pass away within this predetermined time frame a lump sum pay out will be made to your loved ones.
Level term life insurance provides a fixed lump sum which holds its value throughout the life of the policy.
This makes it ideal for protecting fixed costs, such as an interest-only mortgage or an inheritance.
Decreasing term life insurance, on the other hand, provides a lump sum pay out which reduces throughout the life of the policy.
This makes it more suitable for covering such aspects as a repayment mortgage, which reduces over time.
Finally, family income benefit provides ongoing, tax-free, monthly payments for the remainder of your policy if you pass away.
This makes it well suited for replacing a lost income or covering day-to-day family living costs.
As a result, to determine the best type of life insurance to suit you will depend on what aspects of your life you’re looking to protect.
Life assurance
You may have wondered what the difference between life insurance and life assurance is?
Life insurance pays out if you pass away during a term, whereas life assurance pays out when you pass away. (Hence, the assured).
An example of life insurance would be level or decreasing term cover, which only pays out if you pass away during the policy.
An example of life assurance would be an over 50s plan or whole of life cover, where a pay out is guaranteed
Whole of life insurance is similar to level term life insurance, however, there’s no set term, so the policy remains in place for life.
It’s good for covering similar aspects within your life but is best suited to those in later life who are in good health.
This is because it’s possible to pay more into the policy than the overall sum assured.
An over 50s plan offers guaranteed acceptance for all UK residents aged 50-85 years.
The sum assured remains fixed but is significantly lower than other policy types, making it more suited to covering funeral costs or an inheritance.
Which is the best life insurance?
Additional to considering what type of life insurance is best for you, there are a number of other aspects to deliberate.
The industry average for claims paid is 98% but this will still vary between insurers.
Therefore, it may be beneficial to take the claims pay out rate of providers into account when selecting your policy. (Although, all the major insurers had pay out rates of over 95% in 2018).
Providers also vary in the length of term cover they provide and the amount of cover they’ll offer you.
Therefore, it’s important to consider what it is you’re looking to cover and for how long to determine which providers best meet your requirements.
Life insurance premiums
Each life insurance provider will calculate the cost of your monthly premiums differently.
Typically, they take into account your age, smoking status, medical history and lifestyle to determine the likelihood of a claim.
Not only can this influence the cost of your cover but also your likelihood of being accepted.
At Reassured we compare quotes from a wide range of providers, ensuring you receive the best possible deal.
We also house a specialist impaired team who have helped secure cover for 45% of people who have been declined elsewhere.
Simply get in touch with our award-winning team to find the best life insurance cover for you.
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Which is the best over 50 life insurance?
Over 50s life insurance policies offer guaranteed acceptance for UK residents within a specific age bracket, however, they’re not all equal.
If you’ve decided this product is the best suited to meet your needs, there are a number of elements to consider.
Some providers only offer guaranteed acceptance between 50-80, but at Reassured, we offer guaranteed acceptance for all UK residents up to the age of 85.
Therefore, your age alone may factor into your decision on the best over 50s plan for you.
The purpose of your cover may also determine with whom you arrange your cover.
Over 50s life insurance is often used to cover the rising cost of a funeral.
Some over 50s providers offer a funeral benefit, meaning that upon your death, the proceeds of your policy are paid directly to a funeral director and a benefit (usually an additional 10%) is added to the pay out amount.
Therefore, if this is the purpose of your cover, it may be in your best interests to seek out a provider offering this benefit.
Why Reassured?
Arranging your cover through Reassured will provide an opportunity to harness the funeral benefit.
Typically, the sum assured associated with over 50s life insurance is significantly lower than that of term or whole of life cover.
However, the sum assured can also differ significantly between providers with some offering as low as £10,000 and others offering up to £25,000.
Meaning you should consider the amount of cover you require when determining the best over 50s provider.
Finally, you should consider the likelihood of paying more into the policy than your loved ones will receive.
Many insurers will cap your premiums, meaning that when the policy has been in place a certain length of time (usually 30 years) or you reach a certain age (usually 90), you’re no longer required to make payments, but your cover will remain in place.
However, some over 50s policies require you to continue making payments for the rest of your life, leaving you at higher risk of paying more into the policy than the overall sum assured.
At Reassured, we compare over 50s life insurance policies from a number of providers.
How do I choose the best life insurance plan?
To determine the best life insurance plan, you should first consider what it is you’re looking to protect.
This won’t only allow you to determine the type of policy best suited to meet your needs but also the amount of cover required.
Your health and lifestyle should also be taken into account as some providers will cater for impaired clients, whilst others will heavily load premiums or decline cover.
Ultimately, the most effective way to determine the best life insurance plan for you will be uncovered by comparing multiple insurers.
This can be done in one of three ways:
- Research different providers yourself online, cross-referencing their offerings, although this can be very time-consuming
- Use a comparison website, although this would require having a reasonable amount of knowledge; understanding the cover you want and deciphering any jargon
- Use a life insurance broker who’ll obtain all of the details of the cover you require and present all of the information you need, in a clear, concise format, allowing you to make an informed decision.
At Reassured, we do exactly that. Simply get in touch today to make use of our free, award-winning service.
Compare the best life insurance quotes
At Reassured, our primary objective is to help you arrange the best life insurance cover for you.
Our award-winning team can discuss your specific needs and compare quotes on your behalf, ensuring you secure the right cover.
We can also help you unpick the jargon as well as compare different policy types.
And our FCA registered broker service is completely free to use, (so, you have nothing to lose)!
Simply get in touch today to secure the financial future of your loved ones.
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