Santander Life Insurance Review 2025
Santander Group is the largest Eurozone’s bank in terms of market capitalisation.
There are some conditions for those who want to take out a life and critical insurance policy.
Santander Group is the largest Eurozone’s bank in terms of market capitalisation.
There are some conditions for those who want to take out a life and critical insurance policy.
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Santander Group is the largest Eurozone’s bank in terms of market capitalisation. Moreover, it is one of the largest financial institutions globally. The bank has almost 180,000 employees.
The subsidiary, Santander UK plc, is also one of the leading UK financial services providers. It offers its clients various insurance services provided by Aviva. These services include home, travel, car insurance policies, life insurance, guaranteed protection for the over 50s, and personal accident cover.
Santander offers three main plans: life insurance, life & critical insurance, and guaranteed over 50s policies. These policies offer three main options: level cover, mortgage decreasing cover, and family decreasing cover. Alongside these policies, there is the option to choose various benefits offered to Santander clients. Moreover, it is important to remember that none of these policies have a cash-in value. Thus, if a policy ends or is terminated before the end of its term, the policyholder will not receive any cash value from the premiums paid.
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This policy pays out if the policyholder dies or is diagnosed with a terminal illness, provided there are at least 12 months remaining until the policy ends and the policyholder is expected to die within those 12 months. Policyholders can choose from three types of life insurance plans: level cover, mortgage decreasing cover, and family decreasing cover. Level cover can be used to protect their family, as the amount of cover remains constant throughout the policy term. Mortgage decreasing cover is typically used to protect mortgage repayments. If this policy type is chosen, the amount of cover will decrease steadily until the policy ends.
Life and critical illness insurance is structured to pay out if the insured person dies or is diagnosed with a critical illness (from the list Santander provides in the policy contract) and survives for at least 14 days. Moreover, children’s critical illness insurance is also included. Thus, if one of their children is diagnosed with an applicable illness, the policy will also pay out the sum assured. The payout in this case is typically equal to 50% of the normal sum assured, with a maximum limit of £25,000. Furthermore, if the policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness with more than 12 months remaining until the policy ends and is expected to die within 12 months, Santander will also make a payout of the cover amount agreed in the contract.
There are some conditions for those who want to take out a life and critical insurance policy. Firstly, applicants must be aged between 18 and 59. Moreover, while the policy term can range from 1 to 40 years, the insurance term must conclude before the policyholder reaches 76 years old. Another restriction is a maximum cover amount of £2,000,000.
We compare plans from the leading life insurance providers
Santander also offers several additional benefits that can be included in life and critical insurance policies: life change, replacement, separation benefits, waiver of premiums, and indexation options. These additions are available to clients who have held their insurance contract for at least 6 months. The life change benefit allows policyholders who feel they need more cover due to changed circumstances to request an increase without providing additional information to Santander. The cover can be increased up to two times or £200,000, whichever is lower. This increase is possible until the policyholder reaches the age of 55 and is not available if the waiver of premium option has been previously used.
Replacement benefit is designed for those who have joint life cover. When the first partner dies, the joint policy ends. Normally, it becomes more difficult for the surviving partner to take out a new single life insurance policy. However, with Santander’s replacement benefit, they can take out a new single policy without needing to provide any additional information.
Separation benefit means that if two people take out a joint life cover and later separate, the joint policy can be split into two new single life insurance plans. This benefit is available only until both individuals reach the age of 55 and within 90 days of separation (divorce, etc.). New policies must conclude before the policyholder’s 70th birthday. Furthermore, the life change benefit cannot be added if the separation benefit has been used. It is also important to remember that the separation benefit is only applicable if proof of separation is provided to Santander.
Another benefit is the indexation benefit. It can be applied to both level life cover and decreasing life cover. However, if a policyholder chooses to include this benefit with level life insurance, the premiums will also increase annually. With the indexation benefit, the sum assured increases annually in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI), up to a maximum of 10%. The premiums will increase each year by a percentage slightly higher than the increase in the sum assured, up to a maximum of 14%. Furthermore, if decreasing cover is chosen, even though the cover increases in line with RPI, the premiums will remain constant throughout the insurance term.
The final benefit is the waiver of premiums. It allows for premiums to be waived if the policyholder is unable to work for more than 3 months due to illness or injury, until they can return to work. The age restriction is that applicants must be between 18 and 54 years old when the life insurance policy is underwritten.
This plan offers guaranteed acceptance with no medical questions for individuals aged 50 to 85. Policyholders only need to pay fixed premiums during the life insurance policy term. These premiums vary, and the first month of the insurance contract is free. Travel accident cover is included in the policy. This means that if the policyholder dies while travelling, dependents will receive a higher amount of cover. However, if death occurs within the first two years of the policy, dependents will receive a limited payout, which is less than the full cover amount.
Defaqto ratings are an independent assessment of financial products, helping consumers understand the quality of different offerings. They use a star rating system from 1 to 5, with 5 stars indicating the highest quality. These ratings are based on a detailed analysis of policy features and benefits.
Santander’s life insurance products have received a mix of Defaqto ratings as of March 7, 2025. Their Over 50s Life Assurance stands out with a 5-star rating, indicating a comprehensive and high-quality product in this category. However, most of their other life and critical illness policies achieve a 3-star rating.
Compared to competitors, Santander’s 3-star ratings are generally lower. For example, major providers like Aviva, Legal & General, and Zurich often secure 5-star ratings for many of their life and critical illness products. Aviva, for instance, has numerous 5-star ratings across various critical illness and life assurance plans. Legal & General and Zurich also demonstrate strong performance with a wide array of 5-star rated policies.
For consumers, these ratings suggest that Santander’s Over 50s plan is a strong offering. However, for level term life insurance, decreasing life cover, and critical illness policies, the 3-star rating indicates a more basic level of cover. It may be beneficial to compare Santander’s 3-star rated policies against higher-rated alternatives from other providers to ensure comprehensive protection.
* **Over 50s Life Assurance:** 5 Stars
* **Life Assurance (Level Term):** 3 Stars
* **Critical Illness (Level Term):** 3 Stars
* **Critical Illness (Standalone):** 3 Stars
* **Life Assurance (Decreasing):** 3 Stars
* **Critical Illness (Decreasing):** 3 Stars
| Type | Plan name | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Critical illness (standalone) | Critical Illness Plan | 3 |
| Critical illness (standalone) | Critical Illness Plan Decreasing | 3 |
| Critical illness (standalone) | Critical Illness Plan Increasing | 3 |
| Critical illness (decreasing) | Aviva Life & Critical Illness Cover | 3 |
| Critical illness (level term) | Aviva Life & Critical Illness Insurance | 3 |
| Critical illness (direct standalone) | Critical Illness Plan Decreasing | 4 |
| Critical illness (direct standalone) | Critical Illness Plan Increasing | 4 |
| Life assurance (direct) | Life Insurance Plan | 5 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | Aviva Life Illness Cover | 3 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | Life Insurance Plan | 3 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | Aviva Life & Critical Illness Cover | 3 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Aviva Life & Critical Illness Insurance | 3 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Aviva Life Insurance (Increasing) | 3 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Aviva Life Insurance (Level) | 3 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Life Insurance Plan | 3 |
| Over 50s life assurance | Over 50's Life Assurance | 5 |
