Life cover
Life cover from £5 a month
What is life cover?
Life cover explained
Life cover pays out money to your loved ones should the unthinkable happen.
It’s important to ensure your family’s future is protected in the event you pass away.
There are various types of life cover, so it’s critical you pick the right type of cover for your family.
You may need your life cover policy to cover an amount of money owed, like a mortgage, or to support your child’s education in future.
Life Cover from LV=
- Cover options begin from £5 per month.
- Free access to LV= Doctor Services & Legal Advice Line and member benefits.
- Terminal illness cover included at no extra cost.
- Get a quote in just 5 minutes.
Get up to £250 gift cards
Up to £250 worth of e-Gift cards available when you get LV= Life Cover
We’re offering up to £250* worth of e-Gift cards when you take out a policy on LV.com and then pay at least six-monthly premiums.
*Amount varies depending on the premium you pay. See T&C's for full details.
How life cover works
When organising life cover, you need to think about the amount of cover you require and how long you want to have the cover for.
Life cover from LV= pays a lump sum if you pass away during the policy term. Over this period, you’ll pay monthly premiums to LV=.
Should you wish, you can have Critical Illness cover alongside your life cover. If you pass away or are diagnosed with a listed critical illness during your policy term, a lump sum will be paid.
Life cover from LV= is intended for protection purposes only and has no cash-in or surrender value. If you don’t pay your premiums, your cover will stop and you get nothing back.
Why would you need life cover?
Every person’s situation is different, meaning that not every person necessarily needs life cover.
That said, if your loved ones depend on your income, whether that be to cover mortgage payments, household bills or living costs, then it's likely you may need life cover. Your life cover policy aims to make sure your family are financially provided for when you pass away.
Look after your loved ones when you’re gone with life cover from LV=
Cover from just £5 per month
Should the worst happen, ensuring your family are financially secure is invaluable. With our life cover beginning at just £5 each month, you can provide a lot of peace of mind for a little.
Life cover inclusions
The need-to-knows
Our Life Cover will
- Pay a lump sum if you pass away within the policy’s term.
- Give you the flexibility to choose the amount of cover you need, from the different types of life cover, and for how long.
- Guarantee your premiums won't change unless you update your cover.
- Provide access to LV= Doctor Services, a Legal Advice Line and other member benefits.
- Let you increase your cover after certain life events and within certain limits, no need for medical evidence.
- Vary in cost in line with your personal situation such as age and whether you smoke.
- Cover you if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness and have less than 12 months to live.
Our Life Cover won't
- Pay out full cover amount if you take your own life within the first 12 months of the policy. The premiums you’ve paid will be refunded, however.
- Cover you if you intentionally provide false or incorrect information or fail to inform us something we ask about when you apply for the policy, make a claim, or apply to re-start a lapsed policy.
- Cover you if you commit or are associated with financial crime.
- Pay out if you pass away after the policy’s end date.
- Pay out for a terminal illness claim if your life expectancy is more than 12 months from diagnosis.
Why pick LV= life cover
Why pick LV=
Cover starts from £5 per month
Free access to LV= Doctor Services
Terminal illness cover as part of the policy for no additional fee
97% of claims were paid in 2024. These figures include claims paid for Life Insurance, Terminal illness and our Whole of Life products (including some guaranteed over 50’s whole of life products). Our whole of life products are no longer available
We intend to pay a claim within 3 days after we’ve made our final decision
The different kinds of life cover
Types of cover
Are you unsure what kind of life cover is right for you? Below we discuss the key considerations for choosing the right life cover for you and your family. LV= provide two types of term life cover: Level Cover and Decreasing Cover. These are available as either single or joint policies.
Level or Decreasing cover?
A guide to Level and Decreasing cover
Level life cover
Why choose ‘level cover’
- Your cover amount and premiums will be fixed for the duration of your policy.
- If you die during the policy term, level life cover will pay a lump sum, so your loved ones are able to settle any debts.
- You can choose the amount of cover you have and for how long (from 5 to 50 years, as long as it stops before you’re 90).
Reasons for not choosing ‘level cover’
- Compared to decreasing cover, it can be more costly.
- It will be worth less in the future as it doesn’t keep up with inflation.
Decreasing lifecover
Why choose ‘decreasing cover’
- The total amount you are covered for reduces every year.
- It’s designed to cover reducing amounts owed on capital and interest repayment mortgages.
- Your monthly premium will be fixed throughout your policy term.
- Decreasing cover usually costs less than level cover.
- You can choose the amount of your starting cover and how long it lasts (from 5-50 years, ending before you’re 90).
Reasons for not choosing ‘decreasing cover’
- This option may not be suitable if you plan to make over/under payments on your mortgage during the policy term.
- It isn’t suitable if using to cover an interest-only mortgage.
- The amount of money paid to you may be more or less than the amount you owe on your mortgage or loan (dependent on when you pass away and/or interest rates).
SINGLE OR JOINT COVER
A guide to single and joint life cover
Single life cover
- Single life cover protects you as an individual.
- If a valid claim is made during the policy term, money is paid out.
- You are able to take out a plan individually as a couple and individual claims will not impact the other’s cover.
- This is different from a joint life policy which only pays out once when the first person claims. The other person on the joint policy will no longer be covered.
Joint life cover
- Joint life cover gives the same cover across the same length of term for both individuals on the policy.
- The policy will pay out on the first claim made, ending the policy. The other person will not be covered.
- Joint life insurance is typically cheaper than two single life cover policies.
Children's critical illness cover
Additional cover
If you wish to start a family or have children, children’s critical illness cover can provide additional assurance.
You have the choice to add our children’s critical illness cover to your policy at an additional cost.
Cover amount
How much cover will you need?
Once you have chosen the kind of life cover for your needs, you will need to consider the following to decide how much you will need
Important information
Life cover need-to-knows
- Available to UK residents aged 17 to 84.
- You can choose the length to run between 5-50 years, but the policy must end before your 90th birthday.
- If you pass away, we'll typically pay the lump sum to your estate. Inheritance tax could apply to the part that's worth over £325,000 (tax year 2024/25 to 2027/28).
- We won’t pay a claim if you die as a result of intentionally taking your own life within the first 12 months of your policy.
- This is a protection policy only and has no cash in value. If you stop paying your premiums, your cover may stop and you won’t get any money back.
- As part of your life insurance application, we may need to contact your doctor for a medical report. You don’t have to give your consent to us obtaining a medical report if we need to, but you won’t be able to complete the online application without agreeing to this. It’s still your responsibility to answer all the questions accurately and honestly in your application. If you don’t, we might not pay a claim and could cancel your policy.
- Increase options are available after marriage/civil partnership, divorce, the birth of a child or mortgage increase. Sometimes we won't be able to offer you increase options, subject to the limits explained in your policy conditions.
Make sure you read the policy summary so you understand what you're buying...
The information on this page shouldn't be taken as advice, It's up to you to decide if it's right for you and you should speak to a financial adviser if you're not sure.
Financial Advice
Need advice?
We've chosen to partner with LifeSearch to offer you independent advice on which protection products are right for you.
Mon to Thu - 8am - 8pm Fri 8am - 6pm
For Text Phone first dial 18001
Calls may be recorded and/or monitored for training and audit purposes.
Life cover FAQs
You’ve probably got lots of questions, but here are some of the most common:
How much does life insurance cost?
LV=’s life cover policies start from just £5 a month. Each person’s policy and price will vary depending on your personal circumstances. Your cover amount will include, but is not restricted to your age, health, lifestyle, and the length of your insurance term.
How long should a life cover policy last?
Our life cover including policies with critical illness cover can run for 5 to 50 years but must end before you turn 90.
It’s up to you to decide how long you want your cover to last. However, you might want to think about things like:
- If the payout will be used to help support raising your children, you might want it to end once your children can support themselves financially.
- If you plan for the payout to be used to repay a mortgage, you may want your policy to end when your mortgage repayments end.
If you are unsure, you should speak to a financial adviser.
What does a life cover payout cover me for?
Life cover pays out to your named beneficiary or beneficiaries should the worst happen, and you pass away within your plan’s term.
With LV= life cover policies, terminal illness cover is included at no extra cost. This covers and pays out a cash lump sum if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness and are not expected to live for more than 12 months.
Do you offer whole of life cover?
Unfortunately, LV= new Whole of Life products are no longer available.
Do you have life cover with cancer policies?
While we don’t have a specific cancer cover policy, we do offer Life and Critical Illness cover. Our life cover pays out when the insured person dies or is diagnosed with a terminal illness and has less than 12 months to live. If the insured person is diagnosed with terminal cancer and, in the opinion of your medical specialist and our chief medical officer, had less than 12 months to live, we would most likely pay out. Our critical illness cover will pay out if you are diagnosed with a critical illness during the term of the policy.
How much life cover claims did you pay out last year?
In 2024, we paid 97%* of all life insurance claims totalling over £80 million in payouts.
*These figures include claims paid for Life Insurance, Family Income Benefit, Terminal Illness and our Whole of Life products (including some guaranteed over 50s Whole of Life products).
How long does it take for me to receive my life cover payout?
Once we’ve received all the paperwork needed and agree to pay a claim, it can take between 3-5 working days for your estate (or beneficiary if in trust) to receive the payout. The total time to receive the payout depends on any specific requirements. LV= may reduce the amount payable or refuse payment if the insured person’s application was not truthful or accurate.
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