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Life insurance

✓ Pays your loved ones a lump sum when you pass away
✓ 5 Star Defaqto Rated life cover
✓ Discounts and rewards for healthy living.

Get a life quote

What is life insurance?

Life insurance, or life cover, is an insurance policy that pays out a lump sum to your loved ones when you die. There's no restrictions on how they can use the money. It can help them cover things like debt repayments and funeral costs.

Our cover gives you peace of mind that your family will be supported after you’re gone, but benefits you, too. You'll get discounts on leading brands to help you live a healthy life, and rewards for getting active.

Award-winning cover from Vitality

  • 5 Star Defaqto Rated life cover

    5 Star defaqto rated life insurance logo

    It’s verified as a trusted product.

  • Discounts and rewards for healthy living

    Vitality life insurance discounts and rewards logo

    Plus, with a qualifying plan you could get the Apple Watch deal.

  • Thousands of 5 Star Trustpilot reviews

    Highly rated Trustpilot life insurance logo

    Vitality members have a great customer experience. 

  • 99.6% of life insurance claims paid

    Life insurance claims logo

    You can rely on us.

Do you need life insurance?

Life insurance is a good idea if you want to ease the impact your death could have on your loved ones. Most people choose to buy it at key life stages, like:

What are the different types of life insurance?

There are two types of life insurance policies - term life insurance and whole of life insurance.

The most popular and cheaper of the two is term life insurance, which covers you for between five and 70 years. If you pass away within the policy term, your loved ones receive a lump sum.

If you’re buying a home, you can get term life insurance to cover your mortgage. If you die before it’s paid it off, the policy pays off the remaining amount. So your family can keep their home and not have to worry about the repayments.

Whole of life insurance lasts your whole life so your family get a guaranteed lump sum. The policy ends when you pass away, so the monthly premiums are more expensive.

How much life insurance do you need?

The amount of life cover you need will vary depending on your personal circumstances. It’s worth thinking about how much:
  • Is left to pay on your mortgage
  • Other debt you need to pay off
  • Money you’d need for childcare or education
  • Money your family may need to cover your funeral. In the UK, the average funeral costs £3,989 (Royal London National Funeral Cost Index Report, 2019)
  • You can afford to pay on life insurance premiums.
Once you’ve bought a life insurance policy, review the amount of cover you need every year. As your circumstances change, so will the cover amount you need. For example, if you pay off some of your debts or have more children.

How does life insurance work?

You'll pay monthly premiums. When you pass away, your loved ones will make a life insurance claim, and receive a lump sum.
  1. Decide on the type of policy you need

    2. Choose between term life insurance or whole of life insurance.

  2. Choose your cover amount 

    3. This is the amount of money that your loved ones would receive as a lump sum.

  3. Pay your monthly premium

    4. A premium is the payment you make in exchange for your policy by a monthly Direct Debit.

  4. Claiming

    5. When you pass away, your loved ones will make a claim with the insurance provider.

  5. Payment

    6. Once the claim is approved, they’ll receive a lump sum into their bank account.

How much does life insurance cost?

The cost of life insurance depends on your health and lifestyle factors, like:
  • Your height
  • Your weight
  • Any pre-existing health conditions you may have
  • If you smoke
  • If you're employed in a high-risk occupation e.g firefighter.
Our life insurance starts from £8 per month, but if you get active, you can control your ongoing premiums.
Get a life insurance quote

What does life insurance cover?

Life insurance covers your family or dependents with a lump sum payout when you die.

What's covered?

Life insurance covers:

✔Death
Your loved ones will get a lump sum when you die.

✔Terminal illness
If you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness with a life expectancy less than 12 months, you’ll receive the payout.

What's not covered?

Life insurance may not pay out if:

✘Your policy has expired
If your life insurance policy expires and you haven’t claimed, it won’t pay out to your family when you pass away.

✘If you stop paying your premiums
If you don’t keep up with your payments, your cover stops.

✘You die as a result of suicide
If you take your own life, your family might not receive a payout.
 

Important policy documents

Life insurance plan summary
Life insurance plan terms and conditions

Discounts and rewards available with Vitality life insurance

  • Apple Watch logo
  • Caffe Nero
  • ODEON Vue logo
  • Virgin Active Logo in White
  • Garmin white logo
See all discounts and rewards

How our life insurance claims process works

Step 1: Make a claim

Making a life insurance claim will be a distressing time. Our trained experts will handle the claim with compassion and care throughout.
Should you or your family need to make a claim, call us on 0345 601 0072 or email lifeclaims@vitality.co.uk.

Step 2: Claims assessment

Once we've got all the required documents, we’ll assess the claim. Our team will be in touch throughout the process to keep your family updated.

Step 3: Payment

Once the claim is approved, the lump sum will be paid into the nominated bank account.

More on our claims process
Chris' story 

"It's not often that a life insurer actually saves your life”

Chris went for a check-up at his local pharmacy through his Vitality life insurance plan. Shocked, the nurse explained he needed to see his doctor immediately. A week later, Chris found out he had type 2 diabetes. But through creating healthy habits, like tracking his steps and eating healthy - he and his family have benefitted. Here's how Vitality helped him.

Related life products

  • Serious illness cover

    Medical bag icon

    Serious or critical illness cover pays out a tax-free lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness. The illness may not be life threatening, but it still affects your day-to-day life.

    More on serious illness cover

  • Income protection insurance

    Coins icon

    Income protection insurance pays you a tax-free monthly income if you get sick or injured and can’t work.

    More on income protection insurance

  • Mortgage protection insurance

    home icon

    Mortgage protection pays off your mortgage if you get ill or you die before it's paid off.

    More on mortgage protection insurance
Want to get a quote?

It only takes two minutes.

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Need advice?

Call us on 0161 974 2517. Our team are on hand to answer your queries. 

Request a callback

Life insurance FAQs

Is life insurance worth getting?

If you have people that depend on you, it could be worth getting life insurance. It can help protect them financially if something unexpected happens to you. 

How long should I get life insurance for?

This is up to you and depends on your circumstances. With our life cover plans, you can choose a term from five years, up to your whole life.

Can you have more than one life insurance policy?

Yes, you can have more than one life insurance policy with different providers. You might want to consider having more than one policy to address different needs.

Can I change my life insurance policy if my circumstances change? 

Yes. If your circumstances change, you change your cover amount, or add on cover options. Likewise, if you and your partner share a joint life insurance policy and you split, you can separate your plan.

You can also choose to add indexation to your plan at no extra cost. Indexation protects you against rises in the cost of living, so you have the correct level of cover you need. By adding this onto your plan, your cover amount will increase each year. You can also choose to opt out of any future increases.

Can you get life insurance without a medical exam?

Not always, but you need to tell your provider about any medical conditions you may have. If you don’t suffer from any conditions, you might not need to have a medical exam.

Helpful guides

Need help understanding life insurance and your options? Read our top guides below or browse our full range of life guides.

  • Term life insurance

    Father playing with his son on the floor

    Term life insurance gives you cover for a specific amount of time. You choose the term, and if you pass away during that term, your family receive a lump sum.

    Term life insurance explained

  • Life insurance premiums

    Woman drinking a smoothie whilst sat in front of her laptop

    What are life insurance premiums, and how are they calculated? We answer your questions in our life insurance premiums guide.

    Life insurance premiums explained

  • Whole of life insurance

    couple sitting on bench

    Whole of life insurance covers you for your entire life. It guarantees a payout to your loved ones when you die or become terminally ill.

    Whole of life insurance explained

  • Life insurance payouts

    A gavel rests on the table whilst two people are sat opposite each other talking

    How do life insurance payouts work, and who gets your life insurance payout? Our guide answers all of your questions.

    Life insurance payouts explained
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