Life Insurance
Life insurance pays out a lump sum cash payment to your loved ones in the event of your death. The money can be used for any purpose, but typically it is used to repay any outstanding mortgages, debts and cover living costs for your family.
How does it work?
When the policy is set up, you decide the amount of lump sum payment and the amount you would like to pay per month for the policy. For example for around £5.00 per month, you could have a policy which pays out £100,000 on your death*.
Once the policy is created it runs for a specific length of time, for example 20 or 30 years. There are some policies that can run forever (until you die) so they are guaranteed to pay out, but the monthly payments are usually higher.
If you take a policy for 20 years, if you die during that period of time, the policy will pay out for a valid claim.
In 2024, Aviva paid 98.9% of all life insurance claims***
Life Insurance Providers
Life insurance is provided by insurance companies, many of them are household names like Aviva, Zurich, Vitality and Legal & General. There are other more specialist providers who will offer more bespoke policies.
Life Insurance can be obtained by most people including those who may have a life-limiting illness or have recovered from a serious illness, but the monthly payments may be higher.
Many insurers offer enhanced benefits to their cover, for example online GP appointments, discounted gym membership, extra cover for children or flexibility to adjust the cover during the term.
What affects the cost of the policy?
The monthly payments for your policy can be fixed for the full length of the term (i.e. 20 years) so you pay the same amount per month for the full term. Also, the younger you are when you take out the policy, the lower the monthly payments.
Other factors that affect the cost relate to your lifestyle, health and work. People who are heavy smokers or have a history of illness, may find their monthly payments are higher. People who work jobs that could be considered more dangerous, for example off shore oil rig workers, may pay higher monthly payments as well.
Using an Insurance Broker to arrange your cover
First Select Life Insurance arranges Life + Critical illness insurance from a range of leading providers and specialists. Not all policies are the same and selecting your cover based just on price, means your not comparing all features and benefits.
For just a few extra pounds per month, a policy could provide much more benefit, but this is not always clear on price comparison sites and consumers very rarely read policy documents. First Select Insurance Brokers check and compare policies and clearly call out the differences to our clients.
Ready to find out more?
Please complete the contact form below and one of our experts will be in touch, usually same day.
About us
First Select Life Insurance are friendly and professional mortgage and insurance brokers. We can access mortgages and insurance from the whole of the UK market, meaning we can get the best possible deal for our clients circumstances. Based in Manchester, we are a family business with decades of experience in financial services. Our goal is to be the most trusted regional mortgage and insurance advisory business in the northwest of England.
Our team of experts are ready and waiting to help. Contact the team below:
Phone: 0161 393 1575 // 07780 446 937
Email: hello@firstselectfs.co.uk
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References:
Life Insurance & Life + Critical Illness quotations, 02/06/2026 based on non-smoking male aged 25.
*Life Insurance only: £100,000 decreasing indemnity. Monthly Premiums £5.00. Aviva.
**Life Insurance + Critical Illness Cover: £100,000 decreasing indemnity. Monthly Premiums £16.34. Aviva.
***Aviva paid out 98.8% of all Life Insurance claims in 2024
Source: https://www.aviva.co.uk/insurance/life-products/life-insurance/knowledge-centre/paying-out-when-you-need-it/