Saga Life Insurance Review 2025

Saga is well known for catering to the older generation, and offers a range of products exclusively to the over 50’s. This includes holiday packages, money services, and even a monthly magazine.

What types of life insurance does Saga offer?

Saga offers two types of life insurance with various options to create a tailor-made policy for you.

Level Term Cover

Your lump sum payout is protected over the course of the policy period and remains the same throughout. If the policyholder has purchased a £30,000 life insurance policy, it will payout that £30,000 even at the end. This is in contrast to Decreasing Term Cover.

Decreasing Term Cover

This option means that the lump sum awarded to your beneficiaries or estate will decrease over the policy period. When the policyholder has some kind of repayment loan that also reduces in time, this is a useful option since it will tend to provide cheaper monthly premiums. If you have bought £300,000 of protection, this will become zero on policy expiry.

Additional Cover Options

There might be a time when you are diagnosed with an illness that does not result in death, but can still affect you and your family in a difficult way. This stress can be compounded if you find yourself unable to work or earn a living. This is where the option of adding Critical Illness Cover could be useful. For an additional premium you can add this cover to your life insurance policy so that you are covered upon death, diagnosis of a terminal illness, or diagnosis of a critical illness. The definition of “Critical Illness” will be determined by your policy wording, but will include at least heart attacks, stroke or cancer.

Waiver of Premium Cover: if you find yourself in a position where you are unable to work, this cover will cover your premiums if you become too ill or incapacitated due to sickness or injury to carry out your normal occupation. This is available for an additional premium.

Life Insurance Features

• Pays out a lump sum on death
• Option to choose between single or joint policyholders
• Policy types available include:
• Level term or decreasing term cover to suit your circumstances
• Additional policy cover can be added to your life insurance policy, such as critical illness cover and waiver of premium cover.

Additional Benefits

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• Terminal Illness Cover: if your policy term is over two years and you are diagnosed with a terminal illness that leaves you with a life expectancy of 12 months or less, Saga may pay out a lump sum
• Accidental Death Benefit while your application is being processed, either for up to 90 days or until Saga accept, postpone, or decline your application. If you die during this period, Saga will pay out the insured amount you’d asked for, up to a maximum of £300,000.
• Policy premiums are payable until the policy anniversary after your 90th birthday, after which no more premium is payable, and cover will continue.
• You have the option to pay premiums monthly or annually, and if you choose the latter you will receive a discount for annual payment.
• Saga Life Insurance offers an additional funeral funding amount. This benefit provides up to £300 towards funeral costs through Saga’s appointed funeral director. This is automatically included in your policy.

Why Might Saga Life Insurance Not Payout?

• Failure to provide accurate policyholder information at time of application
• Self-inflicted injury or suicide
• Terminal illness cover if your policy period is less than two years
• If you have chosen to add Critical Illness Cover, a valid payout requires a diagnosis of an illness listed in the policy document
• Missing scheduled premium payments can invalidate the policy

Please note: Policyholders must reside in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland (not including the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands)

Advantages

• As long as you are a UK resident aged 50-75 you can get Guaranteed Life Insurance with Saga: the maximum sum assured is £19,000 and payout is only after 12 months from the policy start date.
• Guaranteed Life Insurance does not require a medical examination or detailed medical history during application
• Whole life cover: Unlike some policies that limit coverage to a specific age (e.g., 80 years old), Saga provides coverage for the entirety of the policyholder’s life.
• Policies can be placed in a trust. This can help avoid inheritance tax, maximizing the value for beneficiaries.
• Saga offers fixed premiums, ensuring consistent payments throughout the policy term.
• Saga offers competitive monthly premiums, starting from under £6.
• Policies are fully protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). In the event of One Family’s insolvency or credit default, the FSCS will compensate customers, ensuring no financial loss.

Disadvantages

• Saga’s fixed premiums do not increase over the policy term, which means inflation may reduce the real value of the payout over time. This could potentially lead to the payout value being less than the total premiums paid.
• The policy has no cash-in value. If cancelled, no money is returned, unlike some policies that offer a cash-in value after a certain period.
• Age restrictions: Minimum age of 50 years.
• Maximum coverage limit: The Guaranteed Life Insurance product has a maximum payout of £19,000, which may be insufficient for some to ensure family financial security.