Life Insurance FAQs

Below are a list of frequently asked questions relating to our Life Insurance Policies. You should also read the Policy Summary (PDF: 935KB) and Policy Booklet (PDF: 3.2MB) before you apply.

Life insurance helps to protect your loved ones financially in the event of your death. But what is life insurance in practice? Our Life Insurance is designed to pay out a cash sum if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness with a life expectancy of less than 12 months, during the length of the policy. It could be used to help pay the mortgage or help protect the family's lifestyle and everyday living expenses. Life insurance is sometimes referred to as life assurance or level term assurance.

You choose the amount of cover you need and how long you need it for. You can pay your premiums monthly or annually and can also choose between a joint life or a single life policy. Your premiums are guaranteed to stay the same unless you alter your policy. 

If you’re wondering, ‘do I need life insurance?’ this will depend on your individual circumstances. For example, life insurance can provide peace of mind for people with children, partners, or spouses that depend on them financially, as well as people with a mortgage on the family house.

Life insurance policies have no cash value unless a valid claim is made.

Full details can be found in the Policy Summary (PDF: 222KB) and Policy Booklet (PDF: 513KB)

Providing you at least 18 years of age and currently living in the UK and have spent at least 183 days in the UK in the last tax year, you can get a quote and apply for our life insurance. 

When you get a quote we'll ask you some personal details such as your date of birth and smoker status and you'll need to know how much cover you would like and for how long. Our life insurance calculator can help you work that out. 

So if you're ready, you can get a quote today

You may be eligible for a free gift after you take out a Legal & General Life Insurance Policy online or by telephone.

You could be eligible for a gift card 6 months after the start of a new policy, so long as you haven’t cancelled it and you’ve made all your payments.

Note that our offer is only available if you apply directly to Legal & General. If you apply through a Financial Adviser, or any website other than Legal & General’s, such as a comparison site, you will not be eligible for the free gift. Customers who have cancelled a Legal & General Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance policy within the last 18 months are not eligible for this offer, you will not be able to take advantage of the gift card.

To take advantage of the gift offer, other terms and conditions apply.

Life insurance costs vary according to how much cover you need, your age, and other factors such as your health history. With Legal & General, our premiums start from £5 per month, but to get a more accurate idea of how much your cover could cost you'll need to get a quote online.

If you have a history of smoking, this can also increase your life insurance costs as the risk of death is greater. Lifestyle factors such as dangerous jobs and hazardous hobbies are also taken into consideration.

If you decide to add Critical Illness Cover to your life insurance policy when you apply, this will be for an extra cost.

Once your policy has been agreed and is in place, your premiums are guaranteed and won’t change unless you make any changes. This will help you plan ahead and budget for the cost of life cover. 

Every family has a different set-up, so consider your personal circumstances. If you’re a homeowner, you may want to take out life insurance to cover the length of a mortgage; for example, 25 years. If you have a family, could your loved ones afford things like childcare, educational costs and daily living expenses?

You may want to think about your annual salary multiplied by the number of years your family will be financially dependent on you. Think about the amount of money your family would need to maintain their lifestyle and cover things like everyday living expenses.                                                                                      

If you'd like more help, you might find our life insurance calculator useful. Alternatively, you could speak to your financial adviser if you have one, or get a life cover quote today.

Yes, by writing life insurance in trust this is one of the best ways to protect your family’s future in the event of your death. A trust is a legal arrangement which allows the owner of a life policy (the settlor) to give their policy to a trusted group of people (the trustees), who look after it. At some time in the future they pass it on to some people from a group that the settlor has decided (the beneficiaries).  

When a life policy is looked after in this way, it is said to be ‘in trust’. The life policy which is in trust, and any payment received from the life policy are called the trust fund.

It should help to ensure that the money paid out from the life policy can be paid to the right people quickly, without the need for lengthy legal processes. When you die, your personal representatives will need to obtain probate so that they have the authority to deal with your estate.

In England and Wales either a ‘grant of probate’ or ‘grant of letters of administration’ is issued to your personal representatives. This process takes time and if you die without having made a will it takes even longer. Since the trustees are the owners of a policy placed in trust they do not have to go through this process in order to make a claim.

Use our Online Trust Hub to help you choose the right type of Trust for you. You can even enter your details online so the Trust form is ready to be printed and sent back to us.

You can make changes to your life insurance policy, please call us so we can consider your request.

In terms of changing your life insurance policy, we recognise that sometimes your protection needs change so you can request any of the following changes to the policy:

  • extend or reduce the period of cover
  • increase or decrease the amount of cover
  • remove a life from a joint policy

We also offer 'joint life policy separation'. This allows a joint policy to be split into two new single policies if a couple divorce, dissolve their registered civil partnership or change a joint mortgage into one name or take out a new mortgage in one name. Request must be made within 6 months of the event being finalised.

The changes could affect the premiums that you pay and we would have to assess any change requested to your life insurance based on your circumstances at the time.

Terms and conditions apply. Please read the Policy Booklet (PDF: 513KB) for full details.

If you’re looking at your options later in life, you may be torn between getting life insurance or Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance. Let’s take a look at some of the differences.

Life insurance is designed to pay out a cash sum if you die during the length of your policy. When assessing your life insurance application, we'll ask you questions about your medical history, occupation and lifestyle. Life insurance is there to offer financial protection to your loved ones. The cash sum paid out could be used by them to pay off a mortgage for example, or help with childcare costs and other everyday living expenses. Some age restrictions apply, please read the Policy Summary (PDF:222KB) for full details.

Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance is designed for UK residents aged 50 to 80 who want a fixed cash sum to give to their loved ones when they die. It's for people who want guaranteed acceptance with a simple application process and who don't want to answer medical or lifestyle questions. Full cover is payable after just one year.

There are other important factors that you need to be aware of when deciding on life insurance vs Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance, so please read all the information available, and contact Legal & General for more information.

Please remember that neither of these plans are a savings or investment product and have no cash value unless a valid claim is made.

Read more about life insurance

Read more about Over 50 Life Insurance

Terminal Illness Cover is included on our life insurance policies at no extra cost (minimum term of two years). It could pay out your chosen amount of cover if you're diagnosed with a terminal illness and have a life expectancy of 12 months or less, rather than on death. It can help provide financial support at a time when it could be needed most.

Critical Illness Cover can be added when you take out Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance for an additional cost. It's designed to pay out your chosen amount of cover if you're diagnosed with or undergo a medical procedure for one of our specified critical illnesses during the length of your policy and you survive for 14 days from diagnosis. 

Find out more about the difference between terminal illness and critical illness cover. Please remember that life insurance is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made.

Read more about Terminal Illness Cover

Read more about Critical Illness Cover

Even though your policy may have been set up at the same time as you took out a mortgage, or made another financial commitment, they are separate products.

Your policy would pay out in the event of a valid claim during your policy term, whether or not you still have that mortgage or financial commitment in place.

It is at the discretion of your beneficiaries how they choose to use the proceeds in the event of a valid claim.

Yes, you can add Critical Illness Cover at an additional cost when you take out Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance.

It could pay out a cash sum if you’re diagnosed with, or undergo a medical procedure for one of the specified critical illness that we cover during the length of your policy, and you survive for 14 days from diagnosis.

The critical illnesses we cover include many types of cancer, heart attack and stroke. You can see the full list of critical illnesses here. You just need to remember that some types of cancers are not included and you need to have permanent symptoms to make a claim for some illnesses. 

Please remember that these policies are not savings or investment products and have no cash value unless a valid claim is made.

You won’t be covered if you die within the first year of your policy as a result of suicide, death caused by intentional and serious self-injury, or an event where in our reasonable opinion, the insured person took their own life.

We won't pay out if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness which doesn't meet our definition. Terminal Illness Cover can't be claimed:

  • after your death
  • if the length of the policy is less than two years

There could be some circumstances where we are not able to provide full cover based on the answers you gave in your application. If there are any exclusions to your cover, these will be explained in your Policy Booklet.

Your cover will end if you stop paying your premiums when due and it's important to remember that life insurance is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made.

See the Policy Summary (PDF: 222KB) for the full list of exclusions.

There is no legal requirement for you to take out life insurance when you get a mortgage, however it can make sense to have financial protection in place. If you are a homeowner, a mortgage is likely to be the biggest debt you leave behind should the worst happen, so having a policy in place can help give you peace of mind.

Life insurance can help protect the family home by paying out a cash sum if you die during the length of the policy. This could be used by your family to help clear the outstanding mortgage debt. Your loved ones could then continue living in your family home without worrying about the mortgage.

Please remember that life insurance is not a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made.

Find out more about the types of life insurance we offer.

Yes, you can get life insurance with a pre-existing medical condition, depending on how severe your health problem is, and the outcome of your medical assessment.

You’ll need to complete a life insurance application and answer the medical questions you’re asked, which will help us decide your premiums and whether you’re entitled to life insurance. Examples of pre-existing medical conditions which you’ll need to disclose include diabetes, heart conditions and kidney illnesses. 

You would also need to declare a pre-existing medical event, such as a heart attack. Read more on how your medical history can affect your life insurance.

You should think carefully about how long you need cover for. Some people decide to get life insurance to cover the length of a mortgage term; say, 25 years, while others think about how long their children will be financially dependent on them.  

Ultimately, it’s a personal decision and you should factor in your family’s unique circumstances.

Yes, there is nothing to stop you having more than one life insurance policy. In fact, you can have as many policies as you want. However, if you find your situation changes in the future it's sometimes possible to adapt your existing policy. For example, if you have a life insurance policy with us you may be able to increase your cover without the need for further medical information on certain life events. You can also request to make other changes, such as changing the term, the amount of cover, removing a name from a joint policy or even changing your premium payments from monthly to annually.

So there is nothing to stop you from taking out more than one life insurance policy, but given our flexible approach, it’s by no means necessary. Terms and conditions apply.

When you apply for life insurance as a new customer, your policy terms will be based on your smoker status at the time of your application. If subsequently you take up smoking after purchasing the policy, your policy or premiums will be unaffected, so long as the details you gave when you made the application were accurate, and your premiums are up-to-date. Note that if you miss your premiums in the future and we require a health form, you won’t be able to have your policy reinstated.

If you’re a policyholder and you no longer smoke, this won’t affect your current policy or premiums. Your policy would remain valid.

That said, if you now meet our definition of a non-smoker, you may be eligible to take out a new policy as a non-smoker. The cost of a new policy may have changed since you took out your previous one. To classify as a non-smoker, you must have used no tobacco or nicotine replacement products, including electronic cigarettes, over the last 12 months.

Yes, you can cancel your life insurance policy at any time. After applying for cover you'll have 30 days to contact us to change your mind if you decide not to continue with the policy.

If you cancel within this 30 day period, we will return any premiums paid. But if you cancel after this period, you won't get anything back. See the Policy Summary for more details.

You can also cancel if you register and login into My Account or if you want to talk about cancelling a policy, please call us on 03700 600 015 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

We may record and monitor calls. Call charges will vary.

If you’re looking to make a bereavement claim, you’ll need to provide us with the following:

  • Your policy number
  • The name of the person who has died
  • The cause, date and place of death (if known)
  • Who you are and your relationship to the deceased
  • The identity of the legal next of kin (if known)

What happens next?

  • Please call us on 0808 115 0647. Lines are open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
    Then our team will carry out some basic policy checks
  • When you call us, have the death certificate to hand (if available), or details about the circumstance of the death
  • By speaking over the telephone, we’ll be able to obtain as much information to start the claim and can progress matters more quickly
  • Our team will assess your claim; this may include writing to the GP, Coroner (or procurator fiscal) and any other involved parties so we can obtain additional information
  • Throughout the process, we’ll keep you updated

You can also read our Bereavement Claim FAQs for more information and support.

Following a claim on your policy, a beneficiary can be any person or people that you want to receive the property or assets, for example a cash sum from your life insurance policy. This could be achieved by placing your policy under a trust or in your will. Failing that, the rules of intestacy would decide who is entitled to receive your estate.

For more details, visit our Trust Hub

Ready to get a quote?

Or call us on 0800 316 5591
8:30am to 8pm Monday to Friday
9am to 1pm Saturday

We may record and monitor calls

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