
Shepherds Friendly life insurance review
7 min
You may have heard about Shepherds Friendly life insurance…
Yes, Churchill offer over 50s life insurance as well as other types of life insurance[1].
Over 50s life insurance (also known as an over 50s plan) pays out a guaranteed cash lump sum to your loved ones when you pass away.
The funds could be used to help cover your funeral costs or as a cash gift.
Churchill over 50s life insurance is available to applicants aged 50 - 85 and there’s no medical questions when you apply.
But is Churchill a good insurance company?
In this review, we explain all you need to know about Churchill life insurance to help you decide if it’s a good option for you.
Reassured can’t provide quotes from Churchill, but we can compare quotes from other leading insurers for over 50s life insurance and other policies.
Our award-winning broker service is fee-free, so get in touch to receive your no obligation, personalised quotes.
Key points
Churchill is a familiar UK-based insurance company, famous for their British bulldog mascot and car insurance adverts.
The insurer was founded in 1989 and now offers a range of insurance products including:
You can buy various types of life insurance through Churchill, including term life insurance, over 50s life insurance and critical illness cover.
However, these policies are exclusively provided by AIG, an FCA-regulated life insurance provider that doesn’t sell policies directly to customers.
Churchill is rated ‘Great’ on Trustpilot, scoring 4.1 out of 5 stars overall from more than 12,000 customer reviews.
Although, it’s no surprise that most of these reviews refer to their car insurance products, rather than their life insurance.
Looking at reviews and ratings provided by experts can also help you find out whether a company or product is any good.
The table below shows expert ratings for Churchill life insurance policies, provided by Fairer Finance and Defaqto:
Product |
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---|---|---|
Over 50s life insurance |
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Life insurance | N/A Fairer Finance has not provided a separate star rating for Churchill life insurance |
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Fairer Finance also provide customer experience ratings for life insurance. Churchill ranks 15th out of 25 providers reviewed by Fairer Finance, based on their overall customer experience rating:
Rating | |
---|---|
Claims score | 78% |
Complaints performance | 87% |
Transparency rating | 60% |
Overall customer experience rating | 75% |
At Reassured, we’re rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot from more than 70,000 customer reviews.
We also work with some of the UK’s highest rated insurers that offer a range of policies to suit every need. Get in touch for your free, no-obligation quotes.
Churchill over 50s life insurance is similar to other over 50 policies available on the market.
It’s designed to offer cover to people over the age of 50 who want to leave a cash lump sum to loved ones after they’re gone.
The application for over 50s life insurance doesn’t include any medical questions and acceptance is guaranteed.
As a result, it’s usually a good option for people with pre-existing medical conditions.
With Churchill, your cover will start after a 24-month waiting period. During the waiting period, you’ll be covered for accidental death but not natural death.
This is a normal feature of over 50s life insurance, but some insurers implement only a 12-month waiting period.
Also, the maximum pay out for Churchill policies is £15,000. The exact amount you can secure will depend on your age, smoking status and budget.
Churchill life insurance over 50 additional features and benefits
Protected insurance amount
Churchill will still pay out a proportion of your cover amount if you decide to cancel your policy or stop making payments after paying at least half of the monthly payments between the policy start date and your 90th birthday.
Not all insurers offer this benefit.
Access to Smart Health
This is a benefit offered through Churchill and provided by AIG. Smart Health provides health and wellbeing services, including a 24/7 GP, mental health support, and an online fitness programme.
You’ll be able to access these services online, by phone or on the app. Smart Health is unique to AIG life insurance policies.
Premium payments stop age 90
You’ll be able to stop paying your premiums after you reach 90, but your cover will remain in place until you pass away.
Some policies don’t include this benefit so you must pay your premiums until you pass away.
Immediate accidental death cover
As mentioned, Churchill implement a 24 month waiting period at the start of their policies.
During this period, if you pass away due to an accident then Churchill (AIG) will pay out three times your cover amount and if you pass away due to natural death, Churchill will pay one-and-a-half times the monthly payments you’ve already made.
You’ll be fully covered for the full pay out after the first 24 months.
According to their website, Churchill over 50s life insurance costs between £5 and £100 a month.
Like with other over 50 plans, you can choose how much you want to pay each month, and this will determine how much cover you can get (up to £15,000 with Churchill).
Other factors such as your age and whether you smoke will affect the price you pay.
The tables below show some example minimum and maximum monthly premium costs for different ages (for non-smokers and smokers).
For instance, if you’re a non-smoker aged 60 then the minimum amount you can pay each month is £6 and the maximum amount you can pay is £60.
Non-smokers (50 - 85):
Age | Minimum | Maximum |
---|---|---|
50 | £5 | £40 |
60 | £6 | £60 |
70 | £9 | £100 |
80 | £16 | £100 |
85 | £21 | £100 |
Smokers:
Age | Minimum | Maximum |
---|---|---|
50 | £5 | £60 |
60 | £8 | £100 |
70 | £14 | £100 |
81 | £30 | £100 |
As mentioned, the application for over 50s life insurance doesn’t require your medical information, which means certain lifestyle factors and your health status won’t affect the cost of your premiums.
Over 50s life insurance through Reassured also starts from £5 a month and it’s possible to secure up to £20,000 for your loved ones depending on your age and smoking status.
Very often, people take out around £4,000 - £5,000 to help cover their funeral expenses (the average cost of a basic funeral is £3,953 in the UK[4]).
The table below compares example premium prices for SunLife and One Family policies. Quotes are based on a non-smoker, taking out £5,000 of cover:
Age |
|
|
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50 | £17.23 | £14.00 |
55 | £19.46 | £17.00 |
60 | £21.84 | £19.00 |
65 | £26.25 | £24.00 |
70 | £34.92 | £34.00 |
75 | £49.22 | £49.00 |
80 | £64.22 | £75.00 |
85 | £73.00 (for £4,200 of cover) | X |
xOne Family only provide cover up to age 80, therefore we can’t display pricing for this age
Over 50s life insurance premiums vary between insurers, so it’s important to shop around and compare quotes.
At Reassured, we can compare quotes for some of the UK’s best insurers free of charge, so get in touch to find out our best deals.
Comparing different over 50s life insurance policies can help you choose the best option for you.
Here’s a comparison of Churchill’s over 50s plan with SunLife, One Family and Co-op over 50 plans:
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|
|
| |
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Guaranteed acceptance age | 50 - 85 (or 81 if you’re a smoker) | 50 - 80 | 50 - 85 | 50 - 80 |
Maximum sum assured | £15,000 | £20,000 | £18,000 | £10,000 |
Waiting period | 24 months | 24 months | 12 months | 24 months |
Age premium payments stop but cover continues | Age 90 | Age 90 | Payments stop when you pass away (or until you’re 88 with PayStop premium cap option) | Age 95 |
Free funeral benefit option + contribution | Not available | Yes - £300 contribution | Yes - £250 contribution | Not available |
Fairer Finance rating (out of 5 stars) | 3 stars | 4 stars | 4 stars | 4 stars |
Free funeral benefit + contribution
The free funeral benefit option is not available with over 50 plans through Churchill, but it is available with policies arranged through Reassured.
It’s a way of making sure that the proceeds from your policy are used to help cover the cost of your funeral when you pass away.
Instead of the cash pay out going to your loved ones, it will go directly to a specified funeral provider to use towards your funeral expenses.
The funeral provider will also provide a discount for using this benefit, which can be up to £300.
Get in touch to learn more about the funeral benefit option and the over 50s life insurance policies we can arrange.
If you take out over 50s life insurance through Churchill, you could be eligible for a £100 e-gift card for either Amazon.co.uk, M&S or Tesco (correct as of 18/09/23).
Churchill will only provide the free gift if your policy has been in place for at least six months and your premiums are up to date.
Many insurers offer this type of incentive to attract potential customers – we’ve provided this full over 50s life insurance with free gift guide so you can compare the various deals available.
Although it’s important to note that finding the right policy at the right price can be more financially rewarding than receiving a free gift.
Here are some of the main pros and cons of Churchill over 50s life insurance compared to other over 50 policies:
It’s important to note that with any over 50s life insurance policy, there are some risks to consider, including:
Not only do Churchill offer over 50s life insurance, but they also offer term-based life insurance (provided by AIG).
This type of policy is designed to help financially protect your family if you were to pass away or become terminally ill during a set term. For this reason, you can take out a much higher sum assured than an over 50s plan.
You can choose between two different types of cover:
Provides a sum assured that remains the same throughout the policy term. Ideal for helping to cover outstanding debts (such as an interest-only mortgage), bills, family living costs, childcare fees, and funeral costs.
Decreasing term life insurance
Provides a sum assured that decreases throughout the policy term, which is ideal for helping to cover debts that reduce over time (such as a repayment mortgage). This tends to be the cheapest of the two options.
At Reassured, we can’t provide quotes for Churchill life insurance. However, we can compare multiple quotes for term life insurance (including policies provided by AIG) to help you find an excellent deal.
Prices start from just £5 a month † . Use our award-winning comparison service for your free, no-obligation quotes.
Churchill life insurance additional features and benefits
£10,000 advance payment
Churchill will pay out up to £10,000 to your loved ones if there’s a delay with the full pay out after making a valid claim.
This is a unique benefit to Churchill and AIG.
Free terminal illness cover
This means you’re able to make an early claim on your policy if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and expected to pass away within 12 months.
Most term life insurance policies come with this additional feature.
Claims support fund
Churchill offer a payment of up to £300 to help cover unexpected costs after you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness or pass away and a claim is made.
Access to Smart Health
Churchill life insurance customers also receive free access to Smart Health which provides health and wellbeing services.
Bereavement support for children
Churchill life insurance includes bereavement support and counselling for children from Winston’s Wish, if you were to pass away while cover is in place.
Churchill critical illness cover is called Critical 3 and is also provided by AIG. You can add critical illness cover to your Churchill life insurance policy for an extra cost.
It covers three of the most common critical illnesses:
If you have critical illness cover with Churchill and you’re diagnosed with one of these specified conditions, then you can make a claim on your policy.
The funds can be used towards private medical treatment, help cover mortgage repayments and household bills, or other essential costs.
If you make a critical illness claim, your Critical 3 cover will end. However, your life insurance cover will continue, and a claim can be made if you pass away or become terminally ill during the policy term.
At Reassured, we don’t provide critical illness cover from Churchill. However, critical illness cover from other insurers can be arranged through us as part of a life insurance policy. Quotes start from just £8 a month º .
Comparing over 50s life insurance from different insurers can help you to find the right policy to suit your needs and budget.
At Reassured, we can’t provide quotes for Churchill over 50s life insurance, but we can compare quotes from other top UK insurers.
We’re an award-winning life insurance broker with more than 14 years industry expertise.
Not only can we source you our best quotes, but we can also provide you with all the information you need to make a fully informed decision.
Our experts can help you compare the options available and explain any details you’re unsure of.
It’s possible to secure up to £20,000 through Reassured to protect your loved ones, and prices start from just £5 a month.
Get in touch for your free, no-obligation quotes and see if we can help you save money today.
[1] https://www.churchill.com/life-insurance/over-50s
[2] https://www.fairerfinance.com/ratings/brands/churchill#showProductRatings
[3] https://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/life-protection?search=churchill
[4] https://www.sunlife.co.uk/funeral-costs/
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