Best whole of life insurance UK

Starting life in Victorian Britain, in 1861, Royal London have become one of the UK’s leading insurers.

In 1908, they transitioned from a friendly society to a mutual society, which is what they remain to this day.

In fact, they are the largest mutual life insurance, pensions and investment company in the UK. Being a mutual society means they are owned by their members (customers).

Whole of life insurance policy key features

• Available to UK residents aged 18 – 88
• Unlimited cover amount
• Your pay out can remain the same or increase each year in line with inflation (maximum cover amount is capped at £5 million when you choose this option)
• No pricing information stated
• Can be taken out as a single or joint policy
• Only available through a financial advisor or broker, can’t be bought directly through Royal London

Reviews and ratings

Royal London’s whole of life insurance policy, ‘Pegasus Whole of Life Plan’, is rated 5 stars on Defaqto. This is the highest rating a policy can get.

On Trustpilot, Royal London are rated as 4.5 stars by their customers, giving them an ‘Excellent’ rating with most customers leaving them a 5 star review (73%).

Awards

Royal London haven’t won any awards specifically relating to their whole of life insurance. However, they have won a range of general life insurance awards, such as:

• Protection Guru ratings – Gold rating (2024)
• LifeSearch Awards – Exceptional claims support (2024)
• Mortgage Advice Bureau Awards – Best Overall Protection Provider (2025)

Additional policy features and benefits 

Royal London whole of life insurance includes the following additional benefits:

• Guaranteed insurability – this feature allows you to make changes to your policy (such as increasing your cover amount) if your circumstances change. You won’t need to give new medical information in order to make these changes.
• Helping Hand – this support service gives you access to health and wellbeing services, such as early care medical services and a dedicated nurse.
• Waiver of premium – you can choose to add this for an additional cost. It’s a feature that will pay your premiums during a period of ill health that leaves you unable to work.  

Pay out rates

In 2024, Royal London paid out 99.9% of whole of life claims, totalling £286.1 million.

Overview 

Royal London is a trusted brand, rated well by their customers. Their whole of life policy is also highly commended by independent review sites and comes with a range of useful benefits. 

Key benefits of Royal London whole of life insurance include:

• Customers can take out a policy up to the age of 88, the highest maximum age on our list
• Unlimited cover amount, the highest amount on our list

NFU (National Farmers Union) Mutual have been around for over 110 years, starting life in a teashop when seven farmers decided to set up an insurance company. 

In 1999, their products become available to everyone. Today, they offer a range of general insurance plans and other financial planning services. 

Whole of life insurance policy features

• Available to UK residents aged 17 – 84
• No maximum cover amount stated
• Your pay out can remain the same or increase each year in line with inflation
• No pricing information stated
• Can be taken out on a single or joint basis
• Cover is provided by Aviva

Reviews and ratings

NFU’s whole of life insurance is rated as 5 stars by the experts on Defaqto. This means they believe the policy offers a good range of features and is of high quality.

On Trustpilot, customers rate NFU Mutual as 4.2 stars (Great), showing that they are happy with the products and services provided.

Awards

In recent years, NFU haven’t won any specific life insurance awards. However, they have received a number of other award wins and accolades:

• Women in Insurance – five members of the Underwriting and Pricing team were shortlisted (2022)
• Which? Awards – Recommended Provider, car Insurance (2023)
• Which? Awards - Recommended Provider, home Insurance (2023)
• Top Employers Institute – Top Employer UK (2023, 2024 and 2025)

Additional policy features and benefits

NFU Mutual whole of life insurance includes the following additional benefits:

• Terminal illness cover– if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and given less than 12 months to live, you can make an early claim on your policy.
• Guaranteed insurability -this feature allows you to make changes to your policy (such as increasing your cover amount) if your circumstances change. You won’t need to give new medical information in order to make these changes.
• Waiver of premium – you can choose to add this for an additional cost. It’s a feature that will pay your premiums for a set period if you become too ill or injured to work. 

Pay out rates

In 2024, NFU paid out 97% of all their life insurance claims.

Overview

Overall, NFU Mutual is rated well by independent experts and customers seem to be happy with them as an insurer as they receive mainly positive reviews.

Their cover is straightforward and provided by leading insurer, Aviva. However, the policy contains fewer additional benefits and features than others mentioned on our top 5 list.

Key benefits of NFU Mutual’s whole of life insurance include:

• Highly rated cover
• Customers can take out a policy up to age 84, this is one of the highest ages on our list

Smart Insurance is the trading name of Neilson Financial Services Limited. They are a relatively new insurer compared to others on our list and their life insurance is actually provided by Scottish Friendly.

Smart Insurance pride themselves on having a quick and easy application process with flexible cover.

Whole of life insurance is available through Smart Insurance if you take out their Family Life Insurance policy and opt for age-based premiums.

Whole of life insurance policy features

• Available to UK residents aged 18 – 67
• Maximum cover amount up to £750,000 (depending on your age)
• Premiums will increase each year on your policy anniversary
• Can be taken out as a single or joint policy
• Premiums start from £14.77 per month
• Policies can only be bought directly through Smart Insurance

Reviews and ratings

On Defaqto, Smart Insurance whole of life cover is rated 4 out of 5 stars. This shows that the policy is good quality and offers a good range of features and benefits.

On Trustpilot they are rated extremely well by customers, with 4.9 out of 5 stars.

Awards

Smart Insurance haven’t won any awards specifically for their whole of life insurance, but they have achieved a range of other accolades. This includes: 

• Platinum Trusted Service Award – Feefo (2023 - 2025)
• 10 years of proven Trusted Service – Feefo (2024)

Additional policy features and benefits

• Terminal illness cover - if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and given less than 12 months to live, you can make an early claim on your policy.
• cashback – once you have paid your premiums for a year, 10% of your first years premiums will be paid back.
• Free health and wellbeing services - giving you access to on demand GP advice, help sourcing appointments, guidance on nutrition, mental health support, symptom checker, physiotherapy and specialist referrals.
• Increasing benefit amount – your cover amount will be recalculated and will increase every year for the first 10 years of your policy.
• Critical illness cover – you can add critical illness cover to your policy for an additional cost. It can pay out up to half of your chosen cover amount if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness (available to applicants aged 16 – 59).
• Free welcome gift – as a thank you, Smart Insurance are offering new customers a £125 gift card for either Amazon, Argos or M&S. Terms and conditions apply.

Pay out rates

In 2023, 99% of all life insurance claims were paid out.

Overview

Whole of life cover through Smart Insurance offers a wide range of additional features and benefits, helping you to make the most of your policy.

One potential drawback to taking out whole of life insurance through Smart Insurance is that you’ll need to opt for age-based premiums. These are premiums that start low but will increase each year as you get older.

Key benefits of Smart’s whole of life insurance include:

• Customers are extremely happy with the products and services offered by Smart Insurance (the highest rating on Trustpilot out of all insurers on our list)
• Customers could benefit from a £125 free welcome gift, as well as 10% cashback on premiums after the first year of holding a policy

Whole of life insurance is a policy that covers you for life. It pays out a lump sum when you pass away, instead of if you pass away (like with term-based over).

Often a popular choice to help cover:

• Funeral costs
• Inheritance tax bills (when your policy is written in trust)
• Family living costs
• An inheritance

You’ll need to pay monthly life insurance premiums for the rest of your life to keep your cover valid. For this reason it could become expensive if you take out a policy at a very young age.

It can also be referred to as ‘life assurance’ because a pay out will be made no matter when you pass away (as per the terms and conditions of your policy and as long as all your premium payments are up to date).