Life Insurance
Life insurance from £5 a month – that’s one less thing to worry about
What is life insurance?
Life insurance explained
Life insurance pays out a sum of money to your family should the worst happen, and you pass away.
With the uncertainty around the cost of living, it’s important you keep your loved ones’ futures protected.
There are different types of life insurance, so it’s important you choose the right cover for you.
Your life insurance policy may need to cover any money you owe, such as a mortgage. You may also want it to cover your children going into further education or be certain they’ll always have a place they can call home.
Life Insurance from LV=
- Cover starts from as little as £5 per month
- Free access to LV= Doctor Services & Legal Advice Line and other member benefits
- Terminal illness cover included at no extra cost
- Get a quote in under 5 minutes
Claim up to £250 gift vouchers
Get up to £250 worth of eGift vouchers when you take out LV= Life Insurance
We’re offering up to £250* worth of eGift vouchers 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 detailsThis video won't play unless you have given consent for targeting cookies.
More about Life Insurance
How does life insurance work?
When arranging life insurance, you should consider the amount of cover you need and the length of time you wish to have it for.
Our life cover pays out a cash lump sum if you pass away during the policy term. Over this period, you’ll pay monthly premiums to LV=.
You can also take out Critical Illness cover with your life insurance, which then means a cash lump sum is paid to you if you die or are diagnosed with one of the listed critical illnesses during the term of the policy.
Our life cover is designed for protection purposes only and has no cash-in or surrender value. If you stop paying your premiums the cover ends, and you get nothing back.
Do I need life insurance?
Everyone's circumstances are different and not everyone needs life insurance.
However, if your children, partner or other relatives depend on your income to cover costs such as a mortgage, household bills or other living expenses, the answer is probably 'yes', as it will help provide for your family in the event of your death.
To find out more take a look at our guide on what life insurance is and how it works.
Protect the ones you love with life insurance from LV=
Cover from just £5 per month
Knowing your family are financially protected, should the worst happen to you, can give you the reassurance you need to concentrate on the people who matter the most.
With our cover starting at just £5 per month, peace of mind may be a lot easier to achieve than a peaceful home.
Life Insurance cover inclusions
Here’s what you need to know
Our Life Insurance will
- Pay out a cash lump sum if you die within the plan term.
- Give you the flexibility to choose the amount of cover you need, from the different types of life insurance, and for how long.
- Guarantee your premiums won't change in the future unless you change your cover.
- Give you access to LV= Doctor Services, a Legal Advice Line and other member benefits at no extra cost.
- Allow you to increase your cover after specific life events, within certain limits without the need for medical evidence.
- Vary in cost depending on your personal circumstances such as your 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 Insurance won't
- Pay out the full amount of cover If you take your own life within the first year of the policy. Instead we will just refund the premiums you’ve paid.
- Cover you if you deliberately provide false or inaccurate information, or don’t tell us about 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 are involved in, or commit 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 after diagnosis.
Reasons to choose LV= life insurance
Why choose LV=
- Cover starts from as little as £5 per month
- Free access to LV= Doctor Services
- Terminal illness cover included at no extra cost
- 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.
- Once we've made our final decision we aim to pay a claim within 3 days
The different types of life insurance
Types of cover
Not sure what type of life insurance you need? We cover the key points below to help you understand what the right cover looks like for you. At LV=, we offer two types of term life insurance; Level Cover and Decreasing Cover, and we’re able to offer these as single or joint policies.
Level or Decreasing cover?
Level and Decreasing cover explained
Level cover life insurance
Reasons for choosing ‘level cover’
- Level cover means that your cover amount and premiums are fixed for the term.
- This type of cover will pay out a lump sum should you die during the term of the policy, meaning you can leave money to your dependents or family or pay off any debts such as your mortgage.
- The amount of cover you can have is up to you – and you can choose how long it lasts (from 5-50 years, as long as it ends before you’re 90).
Reasons for not choosing ‘level cover’
- Level cover can be more expensive than decreasing cover.
- It will be worth less in the future as it doesn’t keep up with inflation.
Decreasing cover life insurance
Reasons for choosing ‘decreasing cover’
- With decreasing cover, the total amount of money you are covered for reduces every year.
- It’s designed to cover reducing amounts owed on capital and interest repayment mortgages.
- Premium remains the same throughout your policy.
- Decreasing cover is usual cheaper than level cover.
- The amount of starting cover you can have is up to you – and you can choose how long it lasts (from 5-50 years, as long as it ends before you’re 90).
Reasons for not choosing ‘decreasing cover’
- This product may not be suitable if you are planning to make over/under payments on your mortgage during the term.
- It will not be suitable if you are using it to cover an interest-only mortgage.
- The amount of money paid out may be more or less than the amount you owe on your mortgage or loan (dependent on when you die and/or interest rates).
SINGLE OR JOINT COVER
Single and joint life cover explained
Single life cover
- Single life cover covers you as an individual only.
- Money is paid out if a claim is made during the plan’s term.
- Single life cover plans can be taken out as a couple if you take out a plan separately. A claim made on one of your policies won’t affect the other person’s cover.
- This differs from a joint life policy where it only pays out once when the first person claims on the policy. This means that the other person on the joint policy is no longer covered as the plan will end.
Joint life cover
- Joint life cover provides the same amount of cover across the same length of term for both people on the policy.
- The plan will pay out on the first claim made and will end at this time. This means that the other person on the policy is no longer covered.
- Joint life insurance usually costs less than two individual single life cover plans.
Children's critical illness cover
Optional extra
For ultimate peace of mind if you are planning on starting a family or already have children
Our children’s critical illness cover is an option to add on to your life with critical Illness policy at an additional cost.
AMOUNT OF COVER
How much cover do you need?
Once you've decided the type of life insurance that best suits you, the following considerations can help you think carefully about how much cover you need
Important information
Here's what you need to know about life insurance, so you have the full picture
- 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 die, we'll normally pay the lump sum to your estate. Inheritance tax could apply to the part that's worth over £325,000 (tax years 2023/24 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
- If you stop paying your premiums, you won't get any money back and your cover may stop
- 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 guidelines within 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
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Calls may be recorded and/or monitored for training and audit purposes.
Life insurance FAQs
You've got questions, we've got answers
How much does life insurance cost?
LV= life insurance starts from £5 a month. However, your individual price will depend on several different factors. These factors include, but are not restricted to, your age, health, lifestyle, and the length of your insurance term.
How long do I need my cover to last?
Our life insurance and life with critical illness cover can run between 5 to 50 years. Your life insurance policy must end before your 90th birthday.
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 money is going to be used to help pay the costs of raising your children, you might want it to end once your youngest is old enough to support themselves.
If the money is to be used to repay a mortgage, you may want it to end when the mortgage is repaid.
If you are unsure, you should speak to a financial adviser.
What does life insurance cover me for?
Life insurance pays out to your loved ones should the worst happen and you pass away within your plan’s term.
With LV= life insurance, 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.
Will you pay a life insurance claim?
In 2024, we paid 97%* of all life insurance claims totalling over £80m in payout.
*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).
Do you offer whole of life insurance cover?
No, unfortunately new LV= Whole of Life products are no longer available.
How long does it take to get my life insurance money?
Once LV= has everything needed and agrees to pay a claim, it can take between 3-5 working days for funds to clear. However, the total time will depend on our specific requirements, and we may reduce the amount payable or refuse payment if the insured person’s application was not completed truthfully and accurately.
Do you have life insurance with cancer cover?
LV= life insurance pays out when the insured person dies or is diagnosed with a terminal illness, where they have 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, they would be covered.
