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Get a life insurance quote today and protect what matters most

It’s important to protect the things that really matter – like your loved ones, home and lifestyle – in case the unexpected happens.

Life insurance can give you that reassurance. It’s quick and easy to set up. And it doesn’t need to be expensive. So why not get a quote today?

Gift card offer

As a thank you for choosing Post Office Life Insurance, we'll give you a gift card worth £100 after a qualifying period.

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Offer terms and conditions apply

Why choose Post Office?

  • Pays up to £750,000 in cover if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness (1)

  • Terminal illness cover’s in place from day one. And if a medical specialist diagnoses you as likely to die within 12 months, we’ll pay your full lump sum

  • Choose level, decreasing or increasing cover options to suit your lifestyle and budget

  • Add optional critical illness cover. If you develop a critical illness, it pays a lump sum for financial support while you recover. An extra cost applies

  • Add optional children’s cover. It helps cover costs like medical expenses if your child dies accidentally, or suffers a serious injury or illness specified in the policy. An extra cost applies

Get a quote online

It’s quick and easy to get a quote for Post Office Life Insurance online

Get a quote by phone

Monday to Friday: 9am - 8pm

Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Closed on Sundays and bank holidays

YourMoney.com Personal Finance Winner 2022 - Best Life Insurance Provider award

Best Life Insurance Provider 2022

Post Office is proud to have won the Best Insurance Provider at the YourMoney.com Awards in 2022. That makes it 14 years in a row. (3)

Types of life insurance

Post Office offers three types of life insurance

Compare cover types

  • Level cover option
  • Increasing cover option
  • Decreasing cover option

Level cover option

What is it for?

Providing for your loved ones and/or paying off an interest-only mortgage if you die.

Why might you need it?

If you want a life insurance policy that pays out a fixed amount if you die, choose the level cover option. As long as you have your policy in place it will pay a fixed sum that could help your loved ones pay off an interest-only mortgage, clear other debts and maintain their lifestyle.

How does it work?

  • You pay a fixed premium each month
  • If you die during the life of your policy your loved ones could receive a cash sum pay-out
  • Both your lump sum and monthly payment will remain fixed during the term of your policy
  • You can choose to add optional critical illness cover at additional cost
  • Option to add children's cover to your policy, at additional cost

The amount you pay tends to be more than for decreasing cover because the payout doesn’t reduce. Make sure you consider the effect of inflation when making your calculations.

Increasing cover option

What is it for?

Providing for your loved ones and reducing the impact of inflation on the money you leave if you die.

Why might you need it?

As time goes by, inflation can make the cost of living go up. Increasing cover is a way to reduce the impact of inflation on the money you leave behind for your loved ones. The cash sum paid out if you die increases each year you have the policy in place.

How does it work?

  • You pay a fixed premium each month
  • If you die during the life of your policy your loved ones could receive a cash sum payout
  • Both your lump sum and monthly payment will increase each year during the term of your policy
  • You can choose to add optional critical illness cover for an extra cost
  • You can also add children's cover to your policy for an extra cost

You can reject each annual increase before it takes effect. If you do this for three consecutive years, we'll change your policy to a level cover policy. Increases in monthly payments will be set out in the policy schedule.

Decreasing cover option

What is it for?

Decreasing cover is typically used to pay off a repayment mortgage if you die.

Why might you need it?

It can help protect your loved ones from debts that reduce over time. These might include a repayment mortgage, credit cards and loans. Decreasing cover is often called mortgage life insurance for that reason.

How does it work?

  • You pay the same fixed premium amount each month. This is lower than for level cover
  • The payout amount decreases each month in line with a capital and interest repayment mortgage with a fixed interest rate of 8%
  • Your loved ones could get a cash sum if you die during the term of the policy
  • You can add optional critical illness cover for an extra cost
  • You can also add optional children's cover for an extra cost

The policy value decreases over time, broadly in line with the reducing amount owed on a capital and interest repayment mortgage. This does depend on your mortgage interest rate, so you need to check you would be covered.

If your mortgage rate is higher than 8% or your borrowing changes, this amount may not be enough.

Life insurance calculator

Work out how much life insurance cover you may need with our easy-to-use calculator

Father and son who is holding a model plane above his head running along a wet sun set soaked beach

Critical illness cover and children's cover

Could you keep paying the bills if you were diagnosed with a critical illness like cancer or a heart attack? Paying a little more to add optional critical illness cover to your policy could ease the financial burden if you’re unable to work.

As serious conditions can affect anyone, at any age, we also offer optional children's cover. It pays a one-off lump sum if any of your insured children dies in an accident. It also pays out if they’re diagnosed with a serious injury or illness, to support your family at a difficult time.

Reasons to choose Post Office Life Cover

There’s more to life cover from Post Office than just financial protection. We’re here for you and your family should the worst happen. With all our policies you can access these additional services at no additional cost:

Post Office Here to Help Services

If you lose someone, or you pass away, you and your immediate family can access long-term, one-to-one support from a dedicated personal nurse.

This experienced, independent nurse will be there for you at the most difficult of times. From dealing with bereavement to living with a serious illness such as cancer, cardiac condition, stroke or multiple sclerosis.

They can give lots of practical advice, and emotional support and, if it’s beneficial, a course of assessed therapy or counselling.

The service won’t cost you a penny to use. And you won’t have to claim on your policy.

Post Office Health and Wellbeing Services

Our Health and Wellbeing Services are designed with your physical and mental wellbeing in mind.

You'll have access, at no additional cost, to a 24/7 online GP (UK registered), nutrition and fitness professionals to get you to your goals, and mental health and health check specialists 365 days a year.

There’s no cap on how many times you can use these services. And your partner and any children up to age 21 can take advantage too.

About these support services

These services are separate to and don't form part of the Post Office Life Insurance policy contract. They're available to you for free but may be withdrawn at any time.

Life cover types

  • Life Insurance

    • Get up to £750,000 of cover (1)
    • Choose level, decreasing or increasing cover to suit your lifestyle and budget
    • Terminal illness cover included
    • Add critical illness and children’s cover, at additional cost
  • Over 50s Life Cover

    • Get up to £10,000 of cover depending on your age
    • For UK residents aged 50 to 80 
    • Guaranteed acceptance with no medical required 
    • Add a funeral benefit option at no extra cost

Common life insurance questions

  • Life insurance is a policy that pays out a lump sum to your family or loved ones if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness during its term.

    We know you'd rather not think of the time when you're no longer around. But it's important to protect the things that really matter, like your loved ones, home and lifestyle, – in case the unexpected happens.

    Life insurance can give you reassurance. It's quick and easy to set up. And it needn't be expensive.

  • People rarely want to think about life insurance. But certain moments in life may make you look seriously into taking out a policy – like getting married, having children, buying a home and more.

    If you have people who depend on you, like children or a partner, it can be sobering to consider what might happen to them if you pass away unexpectedly.

    A life insurance policy can protect your loved ones against uncertainty and make sure your dependants are financially protected if the worst were to happen.

  • Even if you don't have a mortgage, life insurance could help your family cover the cost of everyday living and maintain their lifestyle. Things like rent, private or university education costs, birthdays and weddings all need paying for. You may even need cover to pay for domestic tasks if the person left behind has to pay someone to do them after you're gone.

  • Critical illness cover pays a cash sum if, during your policy term, you suffer from heart attacks, strokes (depending on the severity), coronary artery or certain types of cancer that meet our definition.

    At such a difficult time, it can ease financial pressures on you, your family or your partner. For instance, it may help pay for a mortgage, rent or everyday living costs. It might also be used for modifications to your home needed as a result of your illness. Find out more about our critical illness benefit.

  • The last thing your loved ones need when you’re gone is a drawn-out claims process. So we make it easy for your personal representatives to claim the cash sum from your policy when the time comes.

    If you've recently lost someone and need to claim, you can find all the information you need in our life cover support page.

  • Joint life insurance protects two people under one policy with one monthly premium payment. It only pays out once if a policyholder dies within the term.

    Two single policies protect each policyholder separately but will mean paying two premiums each month. Consider which option is right for you.

  • Serious conditions can affect anyone, at any age. Children’s cover is like your own critical illness cover. You can use the lump sum to pay medical bills, care costs and adapt your home to accommodate a changing lifestyle.

  • With Post Office Life Insurance, your monthly payments will continue until the earliest of these:

    • The end of the term of your policy
    • Your death
    • Our acceptance of your diagnosis of a terminal illness

    If you make a claim after being diagnosed with a terminal illness, please don't stop paying your monthly payments. We’ll first confirm if your terminal illness meets our terminal illness definition, as per the terms and conditions.

  • For more FAQs visit our life cover support page

Need some help?

Life cover help and support

To make a claim, find answers to common questions, access bereavement and wellbeing support or contact us for something else:

Visit our life cover support page

About our life insurance

Post Office Life Insurance is underwritten and administered by Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited. Neilson Financial Services Limited assist in the administration. If you buy Post Office Life Insurance over the telephone or online via the Post Office website, it is arranged and sold by Neilson Financial Services Limited, following an introduction by Post Office Limited. If you buy Post Office Life Insurance online via a price comparison website, it is arranged and sold by the firm that provides the price comparison website services.

Post Office Limited is an appointed representative of Post Office Management Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 630318. Registered in England and Wales. Registered numbers 2154540 and 08459718 respectively. Registered office: 100 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7ER.

Things you need to know

Post Office Life Insurance is for customers who are UK residents aged 18-70 at the start of the policy. The minimum term is 5 years and cover must end before your 90th birthday.

We won’t pay a claim if you don’t keep your payments up to date as you will no longer be covered under the policy. If you don’t tell us something or give us incorrect answers to our application questions that affects your cover, we may reduce the amount we pay for a claim or at worst cancel your cover and not refund your monthly payments.

Here to Help is provided by RedArc Limited. Post Office Health and Wellbeing Services are provided by MediPartner Limited. Both are independent health and advisory services and not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Notes

(1) Your cash sum is dependent on your age, smoker status, length and type of cover and your personal circumstances at the time you apply.

(2) In the last 14 consecutive annual YourMoney.com Awards, Post Office Insurance won at least one of: Best Online Life Insurance Provider, Best Direct Life Insurance Provider or Best Life Insurance Provider. On each occasion, we were shortlisted for our product features and price, before being judged by a panel of readers on the quality of service provided. There was no award in 2020.

(3) Calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calling a standard UK number starting with 01 or 02 from your fixed line or mobile and may be included in your call package. Calls may be monitored or recorded for training and compliance purposes.