Legal & General is one of the UK’s leading financial services companies, offering a range of insurance products, including life insurance.
Legal & General’s standard Life Insurance pays out a fixed lump sum if you pass away during the policy term.
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Legal & General is one of the UK’s leading financial services companies, offering a range of insurance products, including life insurance. Founded in 1836, Legal & General has been protecting families for over 189 years. They are rated highly by independent experts and are the UK’s number one life insurance provider based on new life insurance sales.
In this comprehensive review, we’ll take a deep dive into Legal & General’s life insurance offerings, examining their key features, costs, policy options, additional benefits, and how they compare to other leading insurers. We’ll also look at real life insurance reviews from customers to see how Legal & General measures up in terms of customer satisfaction and claims handling.
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Some of the key features of Legal & General life insurance include:
Defaqto is a well-respected independent rating agency that assesses financial products, including life insurance. Their ratings help consumers understand the quality and comprehensiveness of different policies. Defaqto assigns star ratings from 1 to 5, with 5 stars indicating the highest quality.
Legal & General has consistently achieved strong Defaqto ratings across its life insurance range. As of March 7, 2025, Legal & General holds numerous 5-star ratings, demonstrating their commitment to providing high-quality protection. These ratings reflect the features and benefits offered within their policies.
We compare plans from the leading life insurance providers
Legal & General consistently receives high ratings from independent financial experts and customers. As highlighted in the updated Defaqto ratings, they demonstrate comprehensive quality across their life insurance products.
Regarding life insurance payout rates, Legal & General has an excellent record. In 2022, they paid out £509 million in life insurance claims, supporting over 12,500 families. This demonstrates their commitment to being there for customers when they need them most.
Legal & General also offers attractive additional benefits with their life insurance at no extra cost, such as accidental death benefit while your application is being processed, and terminal illness cover. They also provide support services like Care Concierge for later life care planning.
When considering life insurance, it’s important to look at real customer reviews to see how insurers handle claims and customer service. On Trustpilot, one of the largest customer review platforms, Legal & General has a rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, indicating generally positive customer experiences. Here are some examples:
Of course, no insurer is perfect, and some customers reported issues like delays with claims. However, the vast majority of Legal & General life insurance reviews are positive.
Here is a summary of Legal & General’s core life insurance products (information is currently up to date):
Legal & General’s standard Life Insurance pays out a fixed lump sum if you pass away during the policy term. You choose the payout amount and how long you want the cover to last. This can be a good option for covering an interest-only mortgage, providing family protection, or covering an inheritance tax bill.
With Decreasing Life Insurance, the payout reduces over time, usually in line with a repayment mortgage. Premiums stay fixed. This tends to be a cheaper option than level term cover as the risk to the insurer reduces over time. Use a decreasing life insurance calculator to work out how much cover you need.
Increasing Life Insurance is designed to protect the policy against inflation. The payout increases each year in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) to a maximum of 10%. Premiums also increase annually, by RPI times 1.5, capped at 15%.
Whole Life Insurance pays out a fixed lump sum whenever you pass away, with no time limit. Premiums are usually higher than for term insurance as a payout is guaranteed. This can be useful for providing a legacy or covering funeral costs.
Over 50s Life Insurance guarantees acceptance without a health questionnaire, if you’re a UK resident aged 50-80. You choose a premium between £5 and £75 per month, which determines your fixed payout. Payouts are lower the older you are, as the insurer expects to pay out sooner.
The cost of life insurance depends on the type of policy, how much cover you need, how long for, your age, health, and lifestyle. Generally, the younger and healthier you are, the cheaper your premiums.
Here are some example quotes for £200,000 of level life cover over 20 years for a healthy non-smoker, based on data from March 2023:
| Age | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|
| 30 | £7.32 |
| 40 | £13.72 |
| 50 | £28.47 |
If you have pre-existing health conditions like diabetes or depression, or lifestyle factors like a high BMI or smoking, you can expect to pay more for life insurance. Some insurers may even decline cover. However, Legal & General aims to offer cover to 95% of applicants.
Critical Illness Cover can be added to a life insurance policy for an additional cost. It pays out a lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of the specified critical illnesses covered by the policy and survive for at least 14 days after diagnosis.
Legal & General’s Critical Illness Cover includes nearly 40 conditions such as cancer, heart attack, and stroke. They also provide additional payouts for less severe illnesses like early-stage cancers.
Children’s Critical Illness Cover is included as standard, covering your children for up to £25,000 or 50% of your payout amount.
Standalone critical illness cover is not available – it must be combined with life insurance.
If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness and given less than 12 months to live, Legal & General will pay out your life insurance early. There’s no additional cost for this – it’s included as standard.
However, a terminal illness payout would replace the eventual death payout, so if you did pass away your loved ones would not receive an additional payment. Terminal illness cover also cannot be claimed in the last 12 months of your policy term.
Legal & General sometimes runs promotions offering free gifts like Amazon vouchers or retail gift cards when you take out a policy. It’s important to compare the underlying cover and price with other insurers to ensure you’re getting the best life insurance for your needs. Don’t choose an insurer based on a freebie alone.
Putting your life insurance in trust means that when you pass away, your payout goes directly to your chosen beneficiaries rather than into your estate. This can help avoid inheritance tax (if applicable) and probate delays.
Legal & General offers a free online trust tool to help you put your life insurance in trust easily. This is especially worthwhile if your estate may be liable to inheritance tax, or if you want to keep your life insurance payout separate from the rest of your assets.
Legal & General aims to pay claims as quickly as possible. When a loved one passes away, you can notify Legal & General by phone or email. They will provide a dedicated claims handler to support you through the process.
The main documents required are the death certificate, policy details, and your identification. Once Legal & General has everything they need, they aim to pay claims within 5 working days.
In 2022, Legal & General paid out over 95% of life insurance claims, demonstrating their strong commitment to paying claims. They also offer a funeral pledge where they can pay up to £10,000 of the claim amount early to help with funeral costs.
When shopping for life insurance, comparing quotes from multiple insurers can help you get the best deal. Prices can vary significantly between providers based on their underwriting and target customer demographics.
At Life Cover Quotes, we make it easy to compare life insurance. Simply provide a few details about yourself and the cover you need, and we’ll connect you with our panel of FCA-regulated partner brokers who will search the market for the most competitive quotes for you.
We work with leading UK insurers including Legal & General, Aviva, AIG, Royal London, Zurich, and more, so you can compare a range of options. Our quote service is fast, free, and there’s no obligation to take out cover.
When comparing life insurance, consider:
Taking all these factors into account, along with the premium prices, will help you find the best life insurance policy for your individual needs and budget.
In summary, Legal & General is a leading UK life insurer with a strong track record, a wide range of flexible policy options, and excellent added benefits. Their high Defaqto rating and positive customer reviews demonstrate the quality of their cover and service.
If you are looking for reliable, comprehensive life insurance, Legal & General is well worth considering. Their Increasing Life Insurance offers a good way to future-proof your cover, while their Over 50s Life Insurance can provide valuable later life protection without medical underwriting.
Of course, as with any financial product, it’s important to compare your options and make sure you understand the cover and exclusions before taking out a policy. Use our life insurance calculator to work out how much cover you need, then compare quotes from Legal & General and other leading insurers to find the best life insurance policy for your needs and budget.
| Type | Plan name | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Critical illness (standalone) | Multi Protection | 5 |
| Critical illness (standalone) | Multi Protection + CI & Children's Extra | 5 |
| Critical illness (standalone) | Multi Protection + CI Extra | 5 |
| Critical illness (standalone) | Multi Protection Children's Extra | 5 |
| Critical illness (decreasing) | Decreasing Term Assurance | 4 |
| Critical illness (decreasing) | Multi Protection | 5 |
| Critical illness (decreasing) | Multi Protection + CI & Children's Extra | 5 |
| Critical illness (decreasing) | Multi Protection + CI Extra | 5 |
| Critical illness (decreasing) | Multi Protection Children's Extra | 5 |
| Critical illness (level term) | Level Term Assurance | 4 |
| Critical illness (level term) | Multi Protection | 5 |
| Critical illness (level term) | Multi Protection + CI & Children's Extra | 5 |
| Critical illness (level term) | Multi Protection + CI Extra | 5 |
| Critical illness (level term) | Multi Protection Children's Extra | 5 |
| Critical illness (direct with life cover) | Level Term Assurance | 5 |
| Income protection | Illness & Injury Insurance | 3 |
| Income protection | Income Protection Benefit | 5 |
| Income protection | Low Start Income Protection | 5 |
| Income protection | Rental Income Protection | 5 |
| Life assurance (direct) | Level Term Assurance | 5 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | Decreasing Term Assurance | 5 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | Multi Protection | 5 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | Multi Protection + CI & Children's Extra | 5 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | Multi Protection + CI Extra | 5 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | Multi Protection Children's Extra | 5 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Level Term Assurance | 5 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Multi Protection | 5 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Multi Protection + CI & Children's Extra | 5 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Multi Protection + CI Extra | 5 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Multi Protection Children's Extra | 5 |
| Whole of life assurance | Whole Of Life Protection Plan | 4 |
| Over 50s life assurance | Over 50s Life Insurance Plan - Fixed Plan | 5 |
