Life and critical illness insurance are essential if you have a family who depends on you.
Should finances change and customers wish to increase their insurance amount again, this is also possible, provided the account has not been frozen for more than three consecutive years.
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Life and critical illness insurance are essential if you have a family who depends on you. This article provides a brief guide to some popular products and providers in the market, outlining their top policies and customer feedback.
Yorkshire Building Society, the UK’s second-largest building society, boasts a long history, having been established in 1864. It also operates as an umbrella organisation for other banking brands, including Norwich & Peterborough Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Egg, the savings company. Life insurance products have been partnered with AIG since 2018.
Yorkshire Building Society customers can choose between Life Insurance and Critical 3 with Life, the latter including critical illness cover. Critical 3 with Life Insurance is designed to be a cost-effective critical illness insurance policy that provides a lump sum payout for individuals diagnosed with cancer, heart attack, or stroke. These are the most prevalent critical illnesses in the UK, accounting for approximately 80% of claims paid by AIG Life.
The life insurance offered by Yorkshire Building Society is generally comparable to other popular products on the market. It provides a lump sum payout upon death or diagnosis of a terminal illness while insured. Customers can select the insurance term and the desired coverage amount. The product offers flexibility in terms of the term; for instance, a decreasing term can be chosen if costs are expected to reduce over time as family dependents become more independent. Alternatively, a level or increasing term can be selected if it better suits individual needs, such as anticipating family expansion or a larger mortgage in the future. Life Insurance can be obtained as an individual policy or as a joint policy with a partner.
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Critical 3 with Life Insurance is presented as an innovative product intended to cover expenses in the event of a serious illness. This insurance type provides a lump sum payout upon diagnosis of specific cancers, stroke, heart attack, or terminal illness. Payout is triggered when a medical consultant determines a prognosis of 12 months or less to live.
Regarding customer service and support, Yorkshire Building Society aims to be flexible in meeting clients’ evolving needs. For instance, customers can reduce their insurance amount, provided it does not fall below the product’s minimum limit. For life insurance policies with annual increases, customers can request to halt these increases at any point; however, the insurance amount will then be frozen at the current level.
Should finances change and customers wish to increase their insurance amount again, this is also possible, provided the account has not been frozen for more than three consecutive years.
Reducing the term of insurance is also an option, as long as the revised period does not fall below the minimum term or reduce the monthly payment below the minimum level. Furthermore, joint life insurance policies can be split into one or two single policies, subject to certain terms. The coverage amount of the new individual policies or both joint policies combined cannot exceed 100% of the original policy, and this change must be made within six months of separation and obtaining new mortgages.
To facilitate this change, Yorkshire Building Society requires evidence of separation and recent mortgages, along with confirmation that both parties consent to the policy alteration.
We compare plans from the leading life insurance providers
Yorkshire Building Society is an accessible insurer, offering both high street branch access and strong customer service.
Defaqto is a well-respected independent rating agency that assesses financial products and awards star ratings from 1 to 5. Five stars indicates the highest quality, helping consumers understand the strengths of different insurance offerings.
The latest Defaqto ratings for Yorkshire Building Society, current as of March 7, 2025, are:
When comparing these ratings to major competitors, Yorkshire Building Society’s direct life insurance excels with a 5-star rating. This matches the high standards set by companies like Aviva, Legal & General, and Zurich, who also have numerous 5-star rated products across life and critical illness. For instance, Aviva boasts 5-star ratings for many of its Life Insurance+ plans, while Legal & General and Zurich also hold numerous 5-star ratings in similar life and critical illness categories. However, some of Yorkshire Building Society’s critical illness plans receive 3 and 4-star ratings, suggesting areas where other providers might offer more comprehensive coverage.
For consumers, these Defaqto ratings indicate that Yorkshire Building Society offers excellent ‘direct’ life insurance. While their critical illness cover is still rated by Defaqto as providing a good level of features and benefits, individuals seeking the most comprehensive critical illness protection may want to compare their offerings against standalone critical illness plans from 5-star rated competitors.
Customer feedback and reviews commend their reliability and the valued relationship customers have with the bank. Customers also appreciate the broader-than-average age range for insurability with Yorkshire Building Society, with life cover available for individuals aged 17-86 and the Critical 3 with Life Insurance policy for those aged 17-75. Yorkshire does not offer a guaranteed cover over 60s plan, so individuals in this age bracket may be required to provide additional health information before being offered cover.
A potential drawback of Yorkshire Building Society’s insurance products is the critical illness component. Compared to many mainstream providers, the range of qualifying illnesses is limited. For example, the list of covered cancers is narrow, and the criteria for strokes and heart attacks are also stringent. In contrast, other popular providers like Vitality offer coverage for a wider range of critical illnesses.
Insurance policies are accessible through high street branches, by telephone, and online.
The streamlined application process is designed to be quick, requiring customers to answer a limited number of questions. Many customers can purchase insurance immediately, often without needing to provide medical evidence.
Both Life Insurance and Critical 3 with Life policies include the additional benefit of access to doctors for a global second opinion medical consultation, if needed.
An online life insurance calculator is available to assist customers in determining their insurance needs and estimating costs before committing to a product.
In summary, Yorkshire Building Society offers a range of life and critical illness policies that are straightforward to set up, and customers generally report a positive customer service experience.
| Type | Plan name | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Critical illness (decreasing) | AIG Critical 3 With Life Insurance | 3 |
| Critical illness (decreasing) | Mortgage Protection Plan | 4 |
| Critical illness (level term) | AIG Critical 3 With Life Assurance | 3 |
| Critical illness (level term) | Mortgage Protection Plan | 4 |
| Critical illness (direct with life cover) | AIG Critical 3 With Life Assurance | 4 |
| Critical illness (direct with life cover) | Mortgage Protection Plan | 5 |
| Life assurance (direct) | Mortgage Protection Plan | 5 |
| Life assurance (direct) | AIG Critical 3 With Life Assurance | 5 |
| Life assurance (direct) | AIG Life Insurance | 5 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | AIG Life Insurance | 3 |
| Life assurance (decreasing) | Mortgage Protection Plan | 4 |
| Life assurance (level term) | Mortgage Protection Plan | 3 |
| Life assurance (level term) | AIG Life Insurance | 3 |
