10 Best Life Insurance Companies in the UK (September 2025) – Compare Policies, Payouts & Reviews
In this guide to the best life insurance companies, our experts have reviewed the latest independent information to bring you our list of the best in the UK. Alongside this research, we’ve provided some simple explanations about how life insurance works and the different types of policies available.
List of the top 10 life insurance companies in the UK:
Based on our recent expert review of life cover options, customer ratings and historical claims payout data, the best life insurance companies in September 2025 are:
- Vitality (Our rating 5.0 ★)
- Aviva (Our rating 5.0 ★)
- Scottish Widows (Our rating 5.0 ★)
- LV= (Our rating 5.0 ★)
- Legal & General (Our rating 5.0 ★)
- Zurich (Our rating 4.5 ★)
- Royal London (Our rating 4.5 ★)
- HSBC (Our rating 4.5 ★)
- The Exeter (Our rating 4.5 ★)
- Nationwide (Our rating 4.0★)
*All policy information in this guide is accurate per the providers’ websites, last updated in September 2025. You should always do your own research or speak with a broker before making a purchasing decision.
Why you can trust myTribe reviews
myTribe Insurance Experts is an impartial insurance information service, dedicated to helping people in the UK make informed insurance decisions. Our team analyses insurers’ claims rates and genuine customer feedback to identify which providers deliver on their promises. We believe these are the clearest indicators of how insurers treat their life insurance policyholders.
myTribe has no commercial relationships with any of the insurers mentioned in this article, ensuring our expert reviews are free from influence and reflect our genuine views.
What is the best life insurance in the UK in 2025?
Every year, myTribe’s team of insurance experts review all of the UK’s leading life insurance providers, paying close attention to customer satisfaction and claim payout rates. With this information, we can provide you with our impartial and up-to-date list of the best UK life insurers. Read on to see which life insurance policies we rated the highest in 2025:
Vitality life insurance policies
Vitality offers several types of life insurance policies, including term life insurance (which pays out if you pass away during a fixed period) and whole life policies (wihich provide cover for the rest of your life). If you choose a term policy, you can choose a level term policy with a fixed payout, a decreasing term policy which is excellent for covering financial commitments like a mortgage, or an increasing term policy which safeguards your payout against rises in inflation.
You can take out a Vitality insurance policy if you’re aged between 17 and 75. However, you can only benefit from cover before your 90th birthday (unless it’s a whole-of-life plan). With Vitality, your life insurance policy comes with many extras to help you stay healthy and, in some cases, reduce your premiums.
Vitality customer reviews
Vitality currently has a 4.4/5 star rating on Trustpilot from more than 56,000 reviews. We should point out that these reviews are for Vitality, the company as a whole, rather than purely for life insurance. But still, the sheer volume of reviews and the high rating indicate that customers are, on the whole, delighted with them.
Vitality payout rate
In 2023, Vitality paid out £83.5m in life insurance claims, with 99.7% being paid. Vitality’s life insurance claims payout rate for 2023 is among the highest in the market, signalling their commitment to paying as many claims as possible.
Vitality perks
A key objective of Vitality’s is to encourage positive lifestyle choices among its members with the aim of improving their health. With Vitality, you get a wide range of additional benefits, including discounted gym membership, a free Apple Watch with qualifying plans, discounted wearable fitness tech and bicycles and even free treats from Caffè Nero. You can also save on your premiums with Vitality saying, “The healthier you are, the lower your premiums stay”. Ultimately, being healthy benefits you and Vitality, so they’re happy to incentivise positive lifestyle choices.
2. Aviva
Aviva life insurance policies
Aviva offers level, decreasing and increasing cover life insurance policies, with the option to add critical illness cover with an additional premium. Cover is available to anyone between the ages of 18 and 77 and lasts until you’re 90 years old. Like most insurers mentioned here, you can also choose for your Aviva life insurance policy to be joint with your partner. However, it’s important to note that joint policies only pay out once, after the first partner dies.
Aviva customer reviews
Aviva has amassed over 50,000 reviews on Trustpilot, with a current (September 2025) rating of 4.3 out of 5. Again, please be aware that this rating applies to the company as a whole, not just their life insurance. But, it indicates that customers are often very happy with Aviva.
Aviva payout rate
In 2024, Aviva paid out more than £862m in life insurance and terminal illness benefits at a rate of 98.8% accepted claims. The financial amount paid out and the rate at which claims are accepted are among the highest in the UK market, which is why they appear so highly in our rankings.
Aviva perks
One striking extra benefit for Aviva customers is its Digicare+ app. With this app, customers can get a second medical opinion, a complimentary annual health check, mental health support and nutritional advice at no extra cost.
3. Scottish Widows
Scottish Widows life insurance policies
Scottish Widows offers three options for term life insurance. They are level term life insurance (where your premiums and cover amount stay the same throughout the length of your policy), decreasing term (to cover mortgage repayments) and increasing term (to ensure your payout retains its purchasing power in line with inflation). All policies are available to UK residents aged between 18 and 79. You can also get premium protection, which means you don’t have to pay your premiums if you can’t work due to an accident or disability. Joint policies are also available, but you must remember that a joint only pays out once before it expires.
Scottish Widows customer reviews
Scottish Widows has an excellent Trustpilot rating of 4.5/5 stars from over 8,500 reviews as of September 2025. This rating relates to Scottish Widows’ entire range of products, not just life insurance, but it’s among the highest of any of the companies we’ve reviewed here.
Scottish Widows payout rate
In 2024, Scottish Widows paid out 99% of life insurance claims, totalling more than £141 million to 9,939 families. 33% of these claims were on behalf of people who had passed away due to cancer.
Scottish Widows perks
Scottish Widows life cover gives customers access to Scottish Widows Care. This service consists of two offerings: RedArc and Clinic In A Pocket. RedArc is a phone-based service where you can talk to professional nurses and get medical support, including on matters relating to mental health. Clinic In A Pocket is a remote GP and prescription service delivered through its app.
4. LV=
LV= life insurance policies
LV= offers both level and decreasing cover life insurance options. This means you can choose whether your loved ones receive a fixed amount if you pass away or whether the payout reduces in line with financial commitments such as your mortgage. You can also get single and joint life cover policies. All policies are available to UK residents aged between 17 and 84. The policy term can be anywhere from 5-50 years but must end before your 90th birthday. Like most insurers, you can add critical illness cover to your policy (for an extra monthly premium).
LV= customer reviews
LV= is one of the UK’s highest-rated life insurers based on their customer reviews, with a 4.5-star rating on Trustpilot based on over 80,000 reviews (September 2025). It’s important to note that these reviews are for the company as a whole rather than purely for life insurance. But it still demonstrates their commitment to high levels of customer satisfaction.
LV= payout rate
The latest numbers from LV= show that in 2024, the insurer paid out 97% of all life insurance and terminal illness claims, totalling more than £80 million. Once LV= have made a decision to pay out your claim, they aim to transfer the money to your beneficiary within just 3 days. While the payout rate isn’t as high as the first few entries on our list, it’s still very good in the broader UK life insurance market.
LV= perks
When you take out life insurance with LV=, you get free access to Doctor Services, LV=’s remote health product. LV= Doctor Services gives you fast and convenient remote access to medical services via a phone call or app request. You also get free access to LV=’s legal advice line.
5. Legal & General
Legal & General life insurance policies
With fixed monthly premiums starting at just £5 per month (source: Legal & General website September 2025), Legal & General has a life insurance policy for everyone. Choose from level term insurance (with fixed premiums and cover amount) or decreasing term (the cover amount reduces throughout the term; great if you want to cover your mortgage with life insurance). You can also add critical illness cover to your policy, which pays out if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness, such as cancer or multiple sclerosis. To apply for Legal & General life insurance, you need to be over 18, currently living in the UK and have stayed in the UK for at least 183 days in the last tax year.
Legal & General customer reviews
Legal & General have a Trustpilot rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on around 24,900 reviews in September 2025. Similarly to other insurers in this review, these reviews relate to more than purely life insurance, however, they are still among the best in the market.
Legal & General payouts
In 2024, Legal & General paid out 97% of claims, a touch lower than some of its peers. The total number of claims was 14,067, and the total amount paid was £583 million.
Legal & General perks
Legal & General life insurance customers get free access to their Wellbeing Support Service, where you can talk to a dedicated nurse and receive a clinical assessment. For extra help in later life, customers also get access to Care Concierge, a confidential telephone advisory service.
6. Zurich
Zurich life insurance policies
Zurich offers life cover to UK residents starting at only £5 per month (source: Zurich website September 2025). Choose from level cover (fixed premiums and payout amounts), decreasing cover (appropriate to cover mortgage repayments) or increasing cover (to safeguard your lump sum payout against inflation rises). You can purchase life insurance cover from Zurich at the age of 16. The maximum purchasing age is 83. Cover can last until you’re 89. The minimum term length available is one year; the maximum is five years. As with most insurers, Zurich allows you to add critical illness cover to your life insurance policy for an extra monthly premium. If you are diagnosed with a serious illness (from a specified list of 39 conditions), Zurich will pay out up to £25,000.
Zurich customer reviews
Currently, Zurich has a 3.7 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot, based on 3,257 reviews (September 2025). However, it’s important to note that this rating is for Zurich’s entire insurance range, not just life cover. While not quite as high as some of the other insurers we’ve mentioned in this guide, it’s still good and reflects overall positivity among Zurich’s customers.
Zurich payout rate
In 2023, Zurich paid 97% of life insurance claims, totalling £227.3 million. We’ve not seen its claims stats for 2024, but as soon as they are released we’ll update this article..
Zurich perks
Zurich life insurance customers get 24/7 access to Zurich’s support services. These include mental health support and counselling.
7. Royal London
Royal London life insurance policies
Royal London’s Direct Life Insurance offering is straightforward. Open to UK residents aged between 18 and 70, you can get level term cover (where premiums and the cover amount stay the same during your policy term) or decreasing term (the cover level reduces, making it handy for paying a mortgage). You can add critical illness cover to your life insurance policy. However, it’s important to note that it only specifies six serious illnesses. Other insurers have a much longer list of illnesses that they cover.
Royal London customer reviews
Royal London has a 4.6 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot based on 3,922 reviews in September 2025. This is an ‘excellent’ rating and competes well with other insurers in the marketplace, as many have much lower ratings.
Royal London payouts
In 2023, Royal London paid out 94.1% of all term life insurance claims. This is a reassuring percentage if you’re considering taking out Royal London life insurance. It means your loved ones are very likely to receive a payout if the worst happens and you pass away, provided you are honest and accurate in your application.
Royal London perks
Royal London is currently not offering any extras or offers to tempt new customers if you buy life insurance directly from them. However, if you take out a policy through a financial adviser you will get access to its Helping Hand service which includes early care medical services, mental wellbeing support and a dedicated nurse.
