In this article:

Who are the 10 best life insurance companies?

In this best life insurance guide, we’ve reviewed the products and services offered by UK providers alongside independent reviews and ratings.

Our top 10 best life insurance shortlist for 2025 is:

  1. Smart insurance
  2. Vitality
  3. Royal London
  4. Aviva
  5. Scottish Widows
  6. Legal & General
  7. LV=
  8. HSBC
  9. Zurich
  10. Nationwide

Read here how we calculated our top 10 term life insurance list displayed above.

You can also view our comprehensive best life insurance FAQs for additional information.

Alternatively, keep reading to learn more about the UK's leading life insurance providers.

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1. Smart insurance

Who are Smart Insurance?

In 1st position, from our extensive market wide research, is Smart Insurance.

Established in 2013, Smart Insurance are an award-winning provider, with life insurance products that are provided by Scottish Friendly, one of the UK’s largest mutuals establish in 1862.

Please note, you can only purchase Smart Insurance policies directly through them and not through an intermediary.

1. Smart Insurance Best Life Insurance UK

Smart Insurance policies

Smart Insurance offer term-based life insurance, which covers you for an agreed amount of time (the term) and pays out if you pass away during this time.

With their term-based cover, your premiums stay ‘level’ which means they’ll remain the same throughout the policy and you’ll always pay the same price.

They also offer whole of life cover if you opt for their ‘age-based’ premium. With this option, cover lasts for life and pays out when you pass away, not if.

Your premiums will start low and increase each year (by 5%) as you age.

Smart Insurance pride themselves on offering flexible cover, allowing customers to change their cover amount to keep up with ever changing needs (such as growing your family, moving to a new home or if your financial situation changes).

Policy details:

  • Available to UK residents aged 18 - 64
  • Premiums start from £14.77 per month
  • Terminal illness cover included at no extra cost (make an early claim on your policy if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and given 12 months or less to live)
  • Maximum sum assured up to £750,000 (depending on your age at the point of application)
  • 10 years minimum term
  • 40 years maximum term (or until age 79, whichever comes first)

Smart Insurance pay out rates

In 2023, 99% of all life insurance claims were paid out by Smart Insurance. Their parent company Scottish Friendly paid out an impressive 99.5% of claims in the same year.

Customer reviews

Trustpilot
Across all services, Smart Insurance are rated as ‘Excellent’ (4.9 out of 5 stars) on Trustpilot from a total of 7,863 customer reviews. 91% of their customers rated them 5 stars, with a mere 2% rating them as 1 star.

Feefo
On Feefo, Smart Insurance have a 4.8 out of 5 star rating from 1,115 customer reviews. 87% (968) of customers gave them 5 stars, whilst less than 1% (11) gave them a 1 star review.

Google 
Lastly on Google reviews Smart Insurance once again have an excellent 4.8 out of 5 rating from 727 reviews.

Independent financial services reviews

Defaqto
Defaqto rated Smart Insurance’s Family life insurance, a prestigious 5 star rating, which is the highest score you can achieve.

Fairer Finance
Smart Insurance topped Fairer Finance’s customer experience ratings for life insurance with:

Fairer Finance

Claims score

Complaints score

Transparency score

Overall customer experience score

Smart Insurance

94%

90%

92%

92%

Review data as of 23/06/25

Advantages of Smart Insurance

Cover could include additional perks such as health & wellness benefits and 10% cashback off your first years premiums.

New customers taking out a Family life insurance directly through Smart Insurance could receive a £125 gift card after 6 monthly premiums have been paid.

Applying for a Smart Insurance policy is quick and easy, as they only require a few health and lifestyle questions and don’t ask for medical exams.

Awards won

Smart Insurance are an award-winning insurer. Having won awards such as the '10 Years of Excellence Trusted Service Award' and the 'Platinum Trusted Service Award' from Feefo in 2024.

In previous years Smart Insurance have also won 'Best Life Insurer 2023' (The Times Money Mentor) and, in the same year, they topped Fairer Finance’s customer experience ratings.

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2. Vitality

Who are Vitality?

In 2nd place is Vitality, who’ve been providing life and health insurance since 2007 (previously a joint venture between Discovery and Prudential).

Vitality take a different approach to life insurance by encouraging their members to lead a healthy lifestyle.

You could secure Vitality life insurance through Reassured.

2. Vitality Best Life Insurance UK

Vitality life insurance policies

Vitality offer a range of insurance policies, these include term life insurance, which can be either level or decreasing, over 50s life insurance and whole of life insurance.

Additionally, there are options for critical illness cover (through Vitality this is called ‘Serious illness cover’), which provides cover in the event of you getting a specific serious health issue such as heart attack, stroke or kidney disease.

These policies are available under the Vitality ‘Personal protection plan’, which allows you to choose up to three policies under one plan. This means you can benefit from various forms of cover, to protect different costs, under one plan (for example, life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection).

Policy details:

  • Cover is available to UK residents aged 17 - 74
  • Premiums start from £5 per month
  • Terminal illness cover included at no extra cost
  • 5 years minimum term length
  • 70 years minimum term length (cover must end by your 90th birthday)
  • £20,000,000 maximum sum assured
  • Critical illness, joint life, income protection and mortgage also available through the Vitality Personal protection plan

Vitality pay out rates

In 2024, 99.7% of claims were paid out by Vitality (the highest in our our top 10) totalling £83.5 million in protection claims.

Customer reviews

Trustpilot
Across all services Vitality are rated as ‘Excellent’ (4.4 out of 5 stars) on Trustpilot with 54,116 customer reviews. 70% were rated 5 stars, with 13% of customers rating 1 star.

Independent financial services reviews

Defaqto
Defaqto rates Vitality with the highest score of 5 stars for their life and health insurance.

Fairer Finance
Fairer Finance also rate Vitality highly with an overall score of 79%.

Fairer Finance

Claims score

Complaints score

Transparency score

Overall customer experience score

Vitality

97%

71%

67%

79%

Review data as of 23/06/25

Advantages of Vitality

As a Vitality member, you could benefit from a wide range of perks and discounts from Vitality’s partners, such as Virgin Active gyms, Garmin and Champneys spas.

Through living a healthy lifestyle, you could also earn an Apple Watch (you’ll need to pay an upfront fee and sign up to a 0% consumer credit agreement). Monthly payments could be free (depending on your activity levels), as well as up to 40% off your first years premiums.

Vitality state they can help customers live 5 years longer by moving from ‘0 to 21+’ activity points per week throughout their lifetime.

Policies can also include free mortgage cover and guaranteed insurability (increase your cover amount without having to give new medical information).

Awards won

Vitality have won many awards, including:

  • 'Protection Provider of the Year 2022' (Scottish Mortgage Awards)
  • 'Protection & Pension Providers Winner 2021' (FT Advisor Service Awards)
  • 'Best Critical Illness Cover Provider 2020 - 2021' (Moneyfacts Awards)
  • 'Outstanding Promotion of Protection 2021' (Cover Excellence Awards)
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3. Royal London

Who are Royal London?

Royal London was founded in 1861, in London, as a friendly society.

Now, a mutual society, they are one of the UK’s leading insurers, as well as being an FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) regulated company.

Please note, Royal London life insurance is not available through Reassured.

3. Royal London Best Life Insurance UK

Royal London life insurance policies

Royal London offer a range of life insurance policies including term life insurance (level and decreasing term), whole of life insurance and specialist life insurance for those with diabetes.

There’s also a variety of ways to purchase life cover through Royal London. Their ‘Direct life insurance’ (term life insurance) can be bought online directly, whereas their ‘Advised life insurance’, whole of life insurance and diabetes life insurance must be purchased through a financial advisor.

Critical illness cover and/or serious illness benefit can be added to some policies, providing additional cover for unexpected health challenges.

Policy details:

  • Cover is available to UK residents aged 18 - 70
  • Premiums start from £7 per month
  • 5 years minimum term
  • 51 years maximum term (depending on your age)
  • Maximum sum assured (up to £5,000,000 depending on policy type)
  • Terminal illness cover is included with term life insurance at no extra cost
  • Direct term cover can be purchased directly from Royal London, other policies must be purchased via a financial advisor

Royal London pay out rates

In 2024, 98.7% of life insurance claims were paid out, totalling £751 million.

Customer reviews

Trustpilot
On Trustpilot, Royal London are rated as ‘Excellent’ with 4.4 out of 5 stars from 3,359 customer reviews.

72% of customers rated them 5 stars, with 21% rating 1 star. However, it should be taken into consideration that their score in based on all the products they sell, not just life insurance.

Feefo
Not only do they have an excellent rating on Trustpilot, but Royal London are also rated 4.7 out of 5 stars on Feefo (across all products).

Independent financial services reviews

Defaqto
Defaqto ratings for Royal London range between 5 to 1 stars, depending on the policy type.

Fairer Finance
Sat at 6th place on Fairer Finances' top 25 insurers, Royal London has been awarded the ‘Silver Ribbon’ for outstanding customer service.

Fairer Finance

Claims score

Complaints score

Transparency score

Overall customer experience score

Royal London

83%

82%

80%

82%

Review data as of 23/06/25

Advantages of Royal London

Royal London offer a range of additional extras that are included or could be added to your policy, such as Helping Hand wellbeing support, increase cover option and separation benefit. Unfortunately, they aren’t currently offering a free gift with their policies.

Royal London’s diabetes cover is a specialist policy for people with type 1 or 2 diabetes that pays out if you pass away or become terminally ill. In some cases, this can reduce premiums by up to 40% in future years.

Awards won

In 2023, Royal London were awarded 5 stars for their protection services for the 10th year running, as well as winning 'Company of the Year' at the Financial Advisor Service Awards.

In the same year they also won 'Best insurer for protecting hard to cover clients', 'Best insurer for protecting business owners' and 'Best Rehabilitation Support Service' (Protection Guru Awards).

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4. Aviva

Who are Aviva?

Aviva are the UK’s biggest insurer, with a 23% share of the UK life insurance market[1].

They have 320 years of experience and over 28.7 million customers across the UK, Ireland and Canada. As a major FTSE-100 insurer with over 19 million customers, Aviva offer many financial services.

You could secure Aviva life insurance through Reassured.

4. Aviva Best Life Insurance UK

Aviva life insurance policies

Aviva offer a range of life insurance policies to meet a variety of needs.

They offer term life insurance that can be taken out on a level or decreasing term basis.

Decreasing term life insurance is ideal for those with a mortgage as your pay out can reduce at the same rate as your remaining mortgage balance.

They offer whole of life insurance (through an advisor), family income benefit and over 50s life insurance, providing plenty of policy options for customers.

Additionally, they also offer life insurance options that include critical illness cover, available with both level and decreasing term cover. Lastly, Aviva provide income protection insurance, ensuring financial stability in the event you may have a injury or illness and can’t work.

Policy details:

  • Cover is available to UK residents aged 18 - 77
  • Premiums start from £5 per month
  • Terminal illness cover is included at no extra cost
  • 1 year minimum term
  • 50 years maximum term
  • Maximum sum assured up to £5,000,000

Aviva pay out rates

In 2024, Aviva paid out 97.1% of protection claims, totalling £1.89 billion.

Customer reviews

Trustpilot
Aviva are rated as ‘Excellent’ with 4.4 stars from 48,340 customer reviews on Trustpilot. 73% rated them 5 stars, with 15% of customers rating 1 star.

Independent financial services reviews

Defaqto
Aviva life insurance is rated between 3 stars and 5 stars (depending on the policy), ranging from ‘Average’ to ‘Comprehensive’ according to Defaqto experts.

Fairer Finance
Aviva are ranked 3rd on the Fairer Finance customer experience board, awarded with a ‘Gold ribbon’. 

Fairer Finance

Claims score

Complaints score

Transparency score

Overall customer experience score

Aviva

93%

91%

75%

86%

Review data as of 23/06/25

Advantages of Aviva

Cover through Aviva could include many extras that stand out to customers, such as Aviva Digicare+ app, house purchase cover (90 days free life insurance if you're taking out Aviva life insurance to cover your mortgage), separation benefit (split your joint life insurance policy into two separate policies if you and your partner divorce or separate), life changes benefit and children’s critical illness cover.

Aviva are currently offering a free gift to new customers in the form of a gift card worth £120. Choose between a gift card for M&S, Tesco or Amazon. The gift card will be available after you have paid six monthly premiums.

Awards won

Aviva have won 'General Insurer of the Year' (British Insurance Awards) 11 years in a row. This year they also picked up the award for 'General Insurer of the Decade'.

As well as awards for their insurance products, Aviva have also won various other awards, such as Gold (2021) and Silver (2022) for 'Climate Action' and 'Race to Net Zero' in the Global Good Awards.

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5. Scottish Widows

Who are Scottish Widows?

Scottish Widows have been around since 1815, originally set up to protect women and children who lost their husbands, fathers and brothers in the Napoleonic wars.

Today, they have over 6 million customers across the UK.

Scottish Widows life insurance policies are now available through Reassured.

5. Scottish Widows Best Life Insurance UK

Scottish Widows life insurance policies

Scottish Widows only offer term life insurance. You can take a policy out with a level, decreasing or increasing pay out amount.

Increasing cover can help you to protect your loved ones from inflation as your pay out amount will increase each year in line with RPI (Retail Prices Index).

There are two different routes you can take when buying life insurance through Scottish Widows. Their ‘Plan & Protect’ option allows you to get quotes online and receive an instant decision about your policy. Whereas with their ‘Scottish Widows Protect’ option you can speak to one of their experts who can help you find the right cover.

Critical illness cover can be added for an extra cost when taking out a Scottish Widows Protect Plan.

Policy details:

  • Cover is available to UK residents aged 18 - 79 (or 18 - 59 with the ‘Plan & Protect’ option)
  • No pricing information is available
  • Terminal illness cover is included at no extra cost
  • Minimum term is 1 year for level and increasing, and 3 years for decreasing term
  • 40 years maximum term
  • Choose between a single lump sum pay out or monthly payments

Scottish Widows pay out rates

In 2024, 99.1% of life insurance claims were paid out by Scottish Widows.

Customer reviews

Trustpilot
Customers on Trustpilot rate Scottish Widows as 'Excellent', achieving an impressive score of 4.4 stars from a total of 8,062 customer reviews. 68% of customers rated them 5 stars, while 21% rated Scottish Widows 1 star.

Independent financial services reviews

Defaqto
Scottish Widows has received a 5 star rating from Defaqto, indicating a high level of quality and reliability in their policies.

Fairer Finance
According to Fairer Finance, Scottish Widows handle their customer claims effectively, with a score of 85%.

Fairer Finance

Claims score

Complaints score

Transparency score

Overall customer experience score

Scottish Widows

85%

71%

74%

77%

Review data as of 23/06/25

Advantages of Scottish Widows

Cover could include additional benefits such as Scottish Widows Care (providing expert advice and support for critical illness, disability or bereavement), free accidental death and mortgage cover, separation benefit, premium protection (covers the cost of premiums if you’re unable to pay due to an illness or loss of income).

Scottish Widows are also currently offering 12 months Disney+ subscription as a free gift, when you purchase a new protection policy directly through them.

Awards won

In 2024, Scottish Widows were awarded a 'Platinum Platform Rating' from Adviser Asset.

In 2023, they won the 'Reader’s Choice Award' (FT Advisor Awards). In the same year they won 'Best Personal Pension Provider' (Moneyfacts Awards) and became a WealthTech 100 company for the fifth year running.

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7. LV=

Who are LV=?

LV= (Liverpool Victoria) have recently celebrated 180 years as a leading insurer, serving over 1 million members across the UK.

The origins of LV= can be traced back to 1843, when they offered a policy known as a 'penny' policy. 180 years later, they have grown to become one of the largest insurers in the UK, officially adopting the LV= name we recognise today in 2007.

Why not compare LV= life insurance through Reassured today?

7. LV= Best Life Insurance UK

LV= life insurance policies

LV= offers term life insurance with both level and decreasing cover, providing flexibility. Additionally, they provide family income benefit (only available through a financial advisor), which pays a regular monthly income to loved ones if you pass away during the policy term, rather than a lump sum.

For those wanting extra protection, LV= also offers life insurance that includes critical illness cover. LV= used to provide insurance options such as over 50s policies and whole of life insurance but that is no longer the case.

Policy details:

  • Cover is available to UK residents aged 17 - 84
  • Premiums start from £5 per month
  • Terminal illness cover included at no extra cost
  • Minimum term length is 5 years
  • Maximum term length is 50 years (or by your 90th birthday)

LV= pay out rates

In 2024, 97% of life insurance claims were paid out by LV=, totalling over £80 million.

Customer reviews

Trustpilot
LV= have a Trustpilot rating of 4.5 stars, which is 'Excellent'. This rating is based on a total of 79,466, reflecting a high level of customer satisfaction. In fact, 80% of reviews are 5 star, whilst only 4% are 1 star.

Independent financial services reviews

Defaqto
Defaqto’s scoring for LV=’s life products ranges from 5 stars to 3 stars, indicating varying levels of quality between their policies.

Fairer Finance
The LV= score may be lower compared to some other insurers on our list, yet it still shows a reasonably high level of customer satisfaction according to Fairer Finance.

Fairer Finance

Claims score

Complaints score

Transparency score

Overall customer experience score

LV=

70%

66%

69%

68%

Review data as of 23/06/25

Advantages of LV=

Cover could include additional extras, such as LV= doctors services and guaranteed insurability (allows you to increase your cover without additional medical checks).

New customers taking out life insurance (with or without critical illness cover) directly through LV= could receive a gift card up to the value of £250 after 6 monthly premiums have been paid.

Awards won

LV= have won many awards, some recent wins include 'Outstanding Insurer of the Year 2023' (LifeSearch Awards). At the same awards they also won ‘Best Income Protection Provider’ and ‘Business Protection Hero’.

In 2022, they were named as one of the 'Best Life Insurance Companies' in Forbes Advisor’s Best of 2022 Awards.

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8. HSBC

Who are HSBC?

HSBC (Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a global financial services group, well known in the UK for their banking. They were founded in 1865 to help with trading between Europe and Asia. As well as a range of banking services, HSBC also provide life insurance.

Please note, Reassured doesn’t offer HSBC life insurance policies.

8. HSBC Bank Best Life Insurance UK

HSBC life insurance policies

HSBC offer both level and decreasing term policies, each paying a lump sum if you pass away during the policy term, designed to meet various financial needs.

To take out a policy you need to be registered for HSBC online or mobile banking, with joint policies, only one person will need to be registered.

They also provide critical illness cover to compliment their life insurance policy, ensuring that you have financial support in the event of 39 specified serious health conditions.

Policy details: 

  • Cover is available to UK residents aged 17 - 78
  • 5 years minimum term (policy must end before you turn 91 years)
  • Minimum and maximum sum assured between £10,000 - £2,000,000
  • You must be registered for online or mobile banking with HSBC
  • No price point stated on website

HSBC pay out rates

In 2024, 97.5% of life insurance and critical illness claims were paid out by HSBC, totalling £93 million.

Customer reviews

Trustpilot
Across all services HSBC are rated as ‘Great’ (3.9 out of 5 stars) on Trustpilot from 12,970 reviews, with 26% of customers rating 5 stars, while 66% left 1 star reviews.

Independent financial services reviews

Defaqto
Defaqto have awarded HSBC a 4 star rating, indicating a high level of quality.

Fairer Finance
Just shy of a 'Bronze' award, HSBC are positioned highly on the Fairer Finance scoreboard.

Fairer Finance

Claims score

Complaints score

Transparency score

Overall customer experience score

HSBC

82%

82%

69%

77%

Review data as of 23/06/25

Advantages of HSBC

HSBC cover could include additional benefits such as accidental death cover, interim cover (temporary insurance protection while your application is being processed), mortgage/loan protection and free terminal illness cover.

HSBC don’t currently offer a free gift when you buy their life insurance, however they do offer invaluable health benefits, such as unlimited GP appointments, second medical opinions and annual health checks.

Awards won

In 2023, HSBC were shortlisted in the 'Best Protection Provider' category at the MM awards. In 2022, they also won the Cover Excellence Award for 'Outstanding Individual Critical illness'.

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9. Zurich

Who are Zurich?

Zurich are one of the world’s leading insurers, with its headquarters based in Switzerland. They provide insurance and financial services in more than 200 countries.

Through Reassured’s advised team, we can provide quotes for Zurich’s whole of life insurance policies (to those 18 years and over).

9. Zurich Best Life Insurance UK

Zurich life insurance policies

Zurich offer different options to meet varying needs, starting from just £5 a month.

Their term life insurance comes in three options level cover (with fixed premiums and pay out amount), decreasing cover (suitable for mortgage repayments), or increasing cover (to protect your lump sum pay out from inflation). Zurich also offers whole of life insurance, providing you lifelong cover.

You have the option to add critical illness cover to your term life insurance at an additional cost, ensuring that individuals are financially supported in a time of need.

Policy details:

  • Cover is available to UK residents aged 16 - 83 (Reassured only offer policies to customers over 18)
  • Prices start from £5 per month
  • Terminal illness cover is included at no extra cost
  • Minimum term length is 1 year
  • Maximum term length is 50 years (cover must end by the age of 89)
  • Prices start from £5 per month

Zurich pay out rates

In 2022, Zurich paid out 98% of all life insurance claims.

Customer reviews

Trustpilot
Trustpilot rates Zurich 3.8 stars, described as 'Great', based on 3,211 reviews from Customers, with 61% 5 star ratings and 27% 1 star ratings.

Independent financial services reviews

Defaqto
Zurich ratings vary between of 3 to 5 stars on Defaqto, this shows that quality can vary depending on the policy you take out.

Fairer Finance
Zurich is positioned towards the lower end of the rankings, but they still hold a spot in the top 25 for customer satisfaction according to Fairer Finance.

Fairer Finance

Claims score

Complaints score

Transparency score

Overall customer experience score

Zurich

77%

66%

58%

67%

Review data as of 23/06/25

Advantages of Zurich

Cover could include additional benefits such as Zurich support service, multi-fracture cover (provides a lump sum payment if you suffer specific fractures) and protection that plants trees.

New customers taking out life insurance (with or without critical illness cover) directly through Zurich could receive a gift card up to the value of £100 after 6 monthly premiums have been paid.

Lastly, Zurich offer free cover during underwriting (with whole of life cover), to protect you in unexpected circumstances.

Awards won

In 2022, Zurich won a hat trick at the British Insurance Awards, taking home awards for 'Risk and Resilience', 'Customer Experience' and 'General Insurer of the Year'.

More recently, they won:

  • 'Best Insurer 2024' (Insurance CX Awards)
  • 'Organisation of the Year 2023' (Protection Review Awards)
  • '10 Years of Excellent Award' (Feefo)
  • 'Best Individual Protection Provider 2023' (The UK Health and Protection Awards)
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10. Nationwide

Who are Nationwide?

Nationwide is the largest building society and retail bank in the UK. Established in 1884, They offer a wide range of financial services, including life insurance policies.

Please note, that you can’t secure Nationwide life insurance through Reassured; however, we do provide Legal & General policies, who are the source of their life insurance offerings.

10. Nationwide Best Life Insurance UK

Nationwide life insurance policies

Nationwide life insurance is actually provided by Legal & General (who ranked number 6 on our list).

When looking on the Nationwide website, you’ll see they offer ‘Family life insurance’ and ‘Mortgage life insurance’.

Family life insurance is level term cover that can help to protect your family’s living costs after your passing.

Mortgage life insurance is decreasing term life insurance that can help to protect your mortgage.

It’s also possible to add critical illness cover to your policy for an additional cost. Unlike with most insurers, your critical illness cover will be separate to your life insurance policy - allowing you to claim on both.

Policy details:

  • Cover is available to UK residents aged 18 - 77 (family life insurance) and 18 - 74 (mortgage life insurance)
  • Terminal illness cover is included at no extra cost
  • 1 year minimum term for family life insurance and 5 years for mortgage life insurance
  • 50 years maximum term (or until you turn 90)
  • Critical illness cover is separate to the life insurance policy, so you could claim on both

Nationwide pay out rates

Pay out statistics for Nationwide are currently unavailable. However, Legal & General, who provide their cover, paid out £583 million in 2024, with a pay out rate of 97%.

Customer reviews

Trustpilot
Nationwide has a rating of just 2.0 stars on Trustpilot from 7,221 reviews, but this score includes all services and may not accurately represent their life insurance offerings.

Independent financial services reviews

Defaqto
Defaqto has given Nationwide ratings of 4 and 5 stars, highlighting the high standard of their life insurance products and services.

Fairer Finance
Nationwide boasts a high percentage of resolved complaints, demonstrating their commitment to improvement.

Fairer Finance

Claims score

Complaints score

Transparency score

Overall customer experience score

Nationwide

71%

85%

63%

73%

Review data as of 23/06/25

Fairer Finance has also recognised Nationwide with numerous awards in their other financial services.

Advantages of Nationwide

You get free terminal illness coverage and complimentary critical illness coverage for your children (if you include critical illness cover in your policy).

Nationwide are offering a gift card from Amazon or M&S to the value of £75. This offer is available to customers who apply online for life Insurance and/or decreasing life insurance with or without critical illness cover.

Awards won

Whilst Nationwide doesn’t have any recent life insurance awards, their provider Legal & General have been recognised for their excellence. Notably, in April 2024, as they were awarded for ‘Best life insurance provider’ at the LifeSearch Protection Awards.

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How have we calculated the best life insurance?

As the UK’s largest life insurance broker * , we’ve done the hard work for you in researching who the best UK life insurance companies are.

From independent ratings, to pay out rates and premium costs, we have carried out extensive research to compile a top 10 list of the best providers in 2025.

We have used the following information to determine our top 10 shortlist:

  1. Defaqto ratings - An independent researcher of financial products who use a star system, with 5 stars being their highest rating
  2. Fairer Finance ratings - A research and ratings agency who assess financial services using a variety of criteria. In our research we have used their ‘customer experience rating’ for term and whole of life insurance, as well as their product score for over 50 life insurance
  3. Trustpilot scores - An online review service which allows customers to write genuine reviews about products and services, with 5 stars (Excellent) being their highest rating
  4. Life insurance pay out rates - Statistics from insurers which detail the percentage of claims paid out. We have used the most recent pay out rates stated on each insurers website
  5. Premium prices - How much an insurer charges for cover. Not all insurers provide this information on their websites

Below is a breakdown of our findings. The information we have gathered is correct as of 23/06/25 but is subject to change at any time:

InsurerRanking defaqto logo Fairer Finance logo Trustpilot logo Pay out rate %Premium price
Smart insurance logo 1 Defaqto 5 stars 92%4.9 - 'Excellent'
(based on all services)		99.0%
(of all life cover claims)		From £14.77 per month
Vitality logo 2 Defaqto 5 stars 79%4.4 - 'Excellent'
(based on all services)		99.7%
(of all protection claims)		From £5 per month
Royal London logo 3 Defaqto 5 stars 82%4.4 - 'Excellent'
(based on all services)		98.7%
(of all life cover claims)		From £7 per month
aviva logo 4 Defaqto 5 stars 86%4.4 - 'Excellent'
(based on all services)		97.1%
(of all life cover claims)		From £5 per month
Scottish Widows logo 5 Defaqto 5 stars 77%4.4 - 'Excellent'
(based on all services)		99.1%
(of all life cover claims)		Information unavailable
Legal & General logo 6 Defaqto 5 stars 75%4.2 - 'Great'
(based on all services)		97.0%
(of all life cover claims)		From £5 per month
LV= logo 7 Defaqto 5 stars 68%4.5 - 'Excellent'
(based on all services)		97.0%
(of all life cover claims)		From £5 per month
HSBC logo 8 Defaqto 4 stars 77%3.9 - 'Great'
(based on all services)		97.5%
(of all life cover claims)		Information unavailable
Zurich logo 9 Defaqto 5 stars 67%3.8 - 'Great'
(based on all life services)		98.0%
(of all life cover claims)		From £5 per month
Nationwide logo 10 Defaqto 5 stars 73%2.0 - 'Poor'
(based on all services)		97.0%
(of all life cover claims)		From £5 per month

At Reassured, our aim is to find you the right cover for your needs at an affordable price, with quotes starting from just 20p-a-day † .

We can’t help you compare quotes from all the companies mentioned in this guide but we do work with a panel of leading providers including Aviva, Legal & General, LV= and more. Please note, Reassured can only offer cover to those who are 18 years old and above.

All quotes are fee-free and without obligation, so why not get in touch?

Discover Our Best Life Insurance Quotes »

What is the best life insurance policy?

The best life insurance policy for you will depend on your personal circumstances, what you’d like to cover and your budget.

There are multiple life insurance policy options, all suited to protecting different aspects of your life. These include:

There are some simple factors to consider in order to establish which policy is best for your needs:

  • Do you have a mortgage?
  • Do you have children or other dependents?
  • Do you want to guarantee an inheritance or a cash gift to a charity?
  • Have you struggled to secure standard cover in the past due to a pre-existing medical condition?
  • Your age at the point of application (standard life insurance vs an over 50s plan)

Below is a breakdown of each policy type and their key characteristics:

Policy type

Pay out remains level

Pay out decreases

Fixed premiums

Commonly used to help protect

Cost

Level term life insurance

Icon green tick

Cross circle

Icon green tick

A mortgage and/or family living costs

From 20p-a-day via Reassured †

Decreasing term life insurance

Cross circle

Icon green tick

Icon green tick

A repayment mortgage

From 20p-a-day via Reassured ¥

Whole of life insurance

Icon green tick

Cross circle

Icon green tick

Funeral costs, an inheritance and/or inheritance tax bills

From 27p-a-day via Reassured's advised team ±

Over 50 life insurance

Icon green tick

Cross circle

Icon green tick

Funeral costs and/or a small inheritance

From 20p-a-day via Reassured +

Alternatively, a life insurance broker can provide all the information you need to know in order to make a fully informed decision.

Reassured can provide you with quotes for a variety of policies to help you find the best type of life insurance for your needs.

You can use our award-winning quote service completely free of charge.

Calculator

How much life insurance do you need?

In order to secure the best life insurance to meet your needs, it’s essential to understand how much cover you may need. Simply fill in the fields which apply to you for an instant calculation.

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£137,934 is the estimated mortgage debt per household in the UK.

The purchase of a home is likely to be the largest financial commitment any of us will make in our lifetime. Your life insurance should cover your remaining mortgage balance to allow your loved ones to stay in the family home should anything happen to you.

Source: Moneynerd.co.uk
£
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The average monthly household budget in the UK is £2,548 (that’s £30,576 per year), which is spent on transport, food & drink, utilities (gas, electricity, water etc), clothing, council tax and leisure activities.

With energy prices hitting a record high and the cost of living rising sharply in the UK, you may wish to factor in utility bills and family living expenses into your cover.

Source: Nimblefins.co.uk
£
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The average personal debt of UK adults has risen to £34,566 (not including mortgage debt), with credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts being the most common forms of debt.

Factoring in any debts into your life insurance cover means that, if they need to be paid back from your estate after your passing, your loved ones won’t miss out financially.

Source: Money.co.uk
£
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According to SunLife, the average cost of a funeral in the UK is £3,953 (with the overall cost of dying at £9,200).

Funeral costs have increased by 116% since 2004 and are a significant cost which should be factored into the amount of life insurance you secure.

Source: SunLife.co.uk
£
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When factoring in cover for your children, you may wish to calculate the amount based on how long it is until they reach financial independence.

This could include childcare (£7,000 per year for part-time care), school expenses (£1,519 per school year for uniforms, lunches, stationary etc), as well as an additional sum for further education (this could be a contribution of up to £5,000 per year).

Sources: Daynurseries.co.uk, Primarytimes.co.uk & Savethestudent.org
£
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2 in 5 adults say they are relying on an inheritance to fund their retirement.

Factoring in an inheritance to your sum assured could allow loved ones to live a more financially comfortable life. Alternatively, you could leave a cash gift to a charity of your choosing.

Source: Moneyage.co.uk
£
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If you’re lucky enough to have your own savings or are part of the 30% of UK residents who already have a life insurance policy in place, this can provide financial protection for loved ones.

By entering your current cover, savings or death in service amount you can reduce the sum assured you require.

Source: Scottishbusinessnews.net
£ -

Your total cover estimate

£ 0

Let us find our best quotes.

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What are the best life insurance rates?

The cost of life insurance can vary between providers. Therefore, it’s essential to compare multiple quotes.

Each insurer has a different underwriting process (the process of assessing your eligibility for cover), therefore the cost of monthly life insurance premiums could vary significantly.

The table below shows our best life insurance rates from some of the insurers that we use here at Reassured.

Quotes are based on a non-smoker, in good health, for a level term life insurance policy with a term length of 20 years and £150,000 of cover:

Age

Aviva

Legal & General

Scottish Widows

LV=

20

£4.26

£5.48

£6.12

N/A

25

£5.04

£5.75

£6.86

N/A

30

£6.18

£7.35

£7.60

N/A

35

£9.20

£10.02

£9.36

£9.77

40

£12.74

£14.06

£12.89

£13.18

45

£19.03

£21.55

£19.07

£19.39

50

£32.01

£33.99

£30.45

£30.47

As you can see from the table, the price you pay can vary depending on the insurer, highlighting the importance of comparing multiple quotes.

Life insurance through our award-winning broker service starts from just 20p-a-day.

List of UK life insurance companies

Below we have complied a list of some of the UK’s most popular life insurance companies:

  1. Allianz
  2. Aviva
  3. Active Quote
  4. Barclays
  5. Beagle Street
  6. Cavendish
  7. Churchill
  8. Foresters Friendly
  9. Halifax
  10. HSBC
  11. Guardian
  12. Legal & General
  13. LV=
  14. NFU Mutual
  15. Old Mutual
  16. One Family
  17. Post Office
  18. Royal London
  19. Scottish Widows
  20. Shepherd’s Friendly
  21. Smart insurance
  22. SunLife
  23. The Exeter
  24. Vitality
  25. Wesleyan
  26. Zurich

Compare our best life insurance quotes

Hopefully our review has helped to highlight the best UK life insurance companies.

While we have based our ratings on specific criteria, it’s important to note that the best life insurance for you will be the one that offers the right cover to meet your needs, at a price that fits your budget.

Why not save time and money by using our award-winning service to compare multiple life insurance quotes at once?

We’ll present you with our best deals from our panel of leading UK providers, free of charge.

Alternatively, if you know exactly what you’re looking for, you can use our buy life insurance online service to purchase a policy quickly and easily.

Take the first steps in financially protecting your loved ones and start your journey today.

Compare Life Insurance from some of the UK’s Best Insurers »

Best life insurance FAQs:

What is life insurance?

Life insurance is a policy which can provide your loved ones with a cash pay out if you pass away during a set period (the policy term).

You’ll be able to choose a policy type to best meet your unique needs, ranging from term-based cover (level or decreasing) to whole of life. The cost of your policy will depend on which policy you choose, the cover amount (sum assured) and your personal circumstances.

Making a claim is a simple process and your loved ones can use the funds to ease the financial impact of your passing.

How does life insurance work?

Life insurance can work as easily as four simple steps:

  1. Apply for cover - During the application, you’ll provide details about yourself and your chosen policy. Your eligibility for cover will be assessed and your monthly premium will be calculated
  2. Pay premiums - Once your application has been accepted and your policy is in place, you’ll need to pay a monthly life insurance premium to keep your cover valid
  3. Make a claim - Upon your passing (during the policy term), your loved ones can make a claim on your policy. They’ll typically need to complete a claims form and send proof of your death, often via death certificate
  4. Receive pay out - Upon receipt of a valid claim, your insurer will pay out to your loved ones. Insurers will often try to pay out the funds as quickly as possible but pay out time can vary

Please note: if you pass away after your policy has expired, you cancel your policy or you stop paying your premiums, your loved ones won’t be able to claim on your policy.

Why do you need life insurance?

Life insurance can help to protect the financial future of your loved ones. It can be particularly beneficial if you have young children or anyone who would be financially impacted by your passing.

Often, the proceeds of a life insurance policy are used to allow loved ones to continue with their current standard of living if the worst were to happen.

A life insurance pay out could help to cover:

  • Mortgage or rental costs
  • Household bills and daily living costs
  • Funeral costs
  • Unpaid debts
  • An inheritance to spend as they wish

Who is the best life insurance company UK?

In 2024, Legal & General were named 'Life Insurance Provider of the Year (Direct)' at the annual Moneyfacts Consumer Awards[2].

This is the fifth year in a row they have been awarded this title.

The Moneyfacts Consumer Awards aim to recognise organisations such as banks, building societies, insurers and other financial service providers that are the best in their categories.

Over 200,000 consumers shared their views over a 12 month period.

What is the best age to get life insurance?

There’s no right or wrong time to get life insurance.

Often it’s a big life event, such as buying a house or starting a family, that triggers the need to secure financial protection.

We all experience these milestones at different times, so there’s no specific ‘best’ age.

However, the longer you delay securing a policy, the more you could pay for your monthly life insurance premium.

Premium prices tend to be cheapest when you’re young and in good health.

How do I choose the best life insurance cover?

There are a number of steps you can take to ensure the cover you’re securing is right for you:

  1. Assess your circumstances - Knowing what you’d like to cover and how much cover you may need can help you establish which policy is likely to be the best to meet your needs
  2. Do your research - Finding out about what each insurer is offering means you’re more informed about your options
  3. Factor in any other benefits you receive - If you receive death in service from your employer, this could reduce the amount of personal cover you require
  4. Compare multiple quotes - This allows you to find a great deal on your chosen policy
  5. Consider using an experienced broker - A life insurance broker (like Reassured) can help you save time and money by providing you with all the information you need and comparing multiple quotes at once

What is the average cost of life insurance?

According to our internal research here at Reassured, the average cost of life insurance in the UK is £32.64 per month.

We calculated this average cost based on 121,561 term life insurance policies sold between 01/01/24 - 31/12/24, with an average cover amount of £160,871.36.

Sources:

All information used in this article has been taken from each providers website, Defaqto, Trustpilot and Fairer Finance and is correct as of 23/06/25

[1] https://www.aviva.com/about-us/how-we-are-organised/

[2] https://www.legalandgeneral.com/insurance/life-insurance/

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