Find out more about Legal and General life insurance, so you can decide if it is a good choice for you
Legal and General Life Insurance Review
One of the most well-known life insurance brands is Legal and General, which was founded in 1836 so it is also one of the oldest.
In our independent review of Legal and General life insurance, we aim to give you a full breakdown of how their life insurance policies work and any benefits they offer. Comparing providers can be extremely difficult, so we’ll aim to give you the information you need to understand which is best for you.
About Legal and General
Originally founded in June 1836 as New Life Assurance Society by Sergeant John Adams and another five lawyers. The Society was restricted to policies within the legal profession. The business later changed its name to Legal & General, following opening its offering to the general public and the legal ownership.
In the 1930s the company acquired a pensions business called Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of New York, which is also where it entered the US markets. It also launched a division in Australia in 1956, which was later sold in 1998 as Legal and General Australia.
It wasn’t until 1995 where the company entered the household insurance market as part of a joint venture with Woolwich Building Society. Later partnerships were also included with Barclays Bank in 2001 and Nationwide in 2008.
Main areas of the business for Legal and General Group PLC. are:
- Investments
- Pensions
- Life insurance
- Health insurance
- General insurance
- Later life mortgages (Equity Release)
- Later life care
About Legal and General life insurance
Currently Legal and General is the number 1 life insurance provider in the UK based on the number of policies sold per year.
Here are some of the main features for Legal and General life insurance.
| Policy type | Life insurance |
| Premium options | Guaranteed premiums (fixed). Reviewable premiums (variable or increasing). |
| Cover options | Level term life insurance (family protection). Decreasing term life insurance (mortgage protection). Family income benefit. Whole of life insurance. Over 50s life insurance. Increasing life insurance (Indexed). |
| Coverage type | Single life. Joint life (first death). Joint life (second death). |
| Terminal illness cover benefit | All standard Legal and General life insurance policies include terminal illness cover automatically for anyone with a terminal diagnosis of under 12 months left to live. |
| Waiver of Premium benefit | Pays your monthly premiums from 26 weeks onwards if you’re unable to work due to sickness or an accident. Optional benefit available for an extra cost. |
| Indexation option (RPI) | Increasing cover option to annually track RPI (Retail Price Index) to a maximum of 10% per annum. Premiums will increase at a rate of 1.5 times RPI up to a maximum of 15% per annum. |
| Age limits (minimum and maximum ages) | Minimum age 18 at entry. Maximum age 77 at entry. |
| Life insurance exclusions | Suicidal death within the first 12 months of the policy start date. Terminal illness where the condition or illness does not meet the criteria of the policy definitions. |
You can also view the full terms and conditions for Legal and General life insurance within the Legal and General Key Facts documents.
Note: various factors including your medical history, amount of cover you want, term of cover and more can affect the premiums you will pay. For more information and advice about how to reduce the cost of your cover, it could be worth speaking to an independent insurance expert.
Find out more about life insurance policies in our ‘MPO Life Insurance Guide’.
Legal and General life insurance contact number
You may need to speak to Legal and General about an existing life insurance policy or want to discuss a new policy. You can contact them on the numbers below.
Legal and General life insurance contact number (advice):
Tel. 0800 009 6559
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm
Legal and General life insurance contact number for existing customers:
Tel. 0370 163 0657
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am – 6pm
Legal and General life insurance contact number for new customers:
Tel. 0808 296 6430
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am – 8pm / Saturday 9am – 1pm
Note: Legal and General life insurance contact numbers may change so please let us know if the numbers above are no longer working. We will do our best to make sure that our numbers are up to date and working.
Legal and General critical illness cover
Here are some of the main features for Legal and General critical illness insurance
| Policy type | Critical illness insurance |
| Premium options | Guaranteed premiums (fixed). Reviewable premiums (variable or increasing). |
| Cover options | Level term Critical illness insurance (family protection). Decreasing term Critical illness insurance (mortgage protection). Family income benefit. Increasing Critical illness insurance (Indexed). |
| Coverage type | Single life. Joint life. |
| Illnesses covered by core plan option | 31 conditions covered (100% payout). 2 additional conditions covered (25% payout or up to a maximum £25,000). |
| Illnesses covered by enhanced plan option | 48 conditions covered (100% payout). 28 additional conditions covered (50% payout or up to a maximum £30,000). |
| Children’s Critical illness insurance core plan option | Included for any child aged between 30 days and 18 years, or up to age 21 if in full-time education. Pays out up to £25,000 or 50% of the sum assured. 31 conditions covered (100% payout) and 2 conditions covered (partial payout). |
| Children’s Critical illness insurance enhanced plan option | Upgrade available at an extra cost. Pays out up to £30,000 or 50% of the sum assured. 76 conditions covered and 8 specific children’s critical illness conditions |
| Age limits (minimum and maximum ages) | Minimum age 18 at entry Maximum age 64 at entry |
| Critical illness insurance exclusions | Policies will not pay out for any conditions not listed on the policy terms or if the policyholder dies within 14 days of diagnosis. |
Note: You should check your policy documents carefully, as slightly different terms and conditions will apply to each insurer and each policy. You will only be able to claim if your condition meets the description that is specified in your policy.
Learn more about critical illness insurance in our ‘Critical illness insurance review’.
We also have a guide that explains exactly how these policies work and one that helps you understand how to claim on your policy.
Legal and General life insurance claim
Making a bereavement claim can be an extremely hard time for anyone and so most insurers will help you through this process. To make a Legal and General life insurance claim, here are some details that might help.
How to make a Legal and General life insurance claim
You will be asked to provide the following details so it’s best to have these before contacting the Legal and General life insurance claims team:
- Policy number (can be found on policy documentation or bank direct debit reference)
- Name of the deceased (person or people covered in the policy)
- Date, place and cause of death (if known)
- Relationship to the deceased
- Details of next of kin (if known)
What happens next with your claim
- Legal and General life insurance claims team will carry out basic policy checks
- Details of death certificate will be processed with cause of death
- Legal and General will assess if you have a valid claim, which includes contacting the GP or coroner (if applicable)
- You will be updated throughout the process
Legal and General life insurance claims contact details:
Tel. 0800 137101
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm
Legal and General life insurance claims statistics 2021
Here are the top level statistics for Legal and General life insurance claims paid out in 2021 for life, critical illness insurance, terminal illness, and income protection.
- Total paid out: £797 million
- Customers paid out: 16,890
- Percentage of claims paid: 97% individual protection
- Average pay out: £47,243
Legal and General life insurance claims statistics 2022
Here are the top level statistics for Legal and General life insurance claims paid out in 2022 for life, critical illness insurance, terminal illness, and income protection.
- Total paid out: Over £883 million
- Customers paid out: 17,768
- Number of claims paid out each day: 48
- Amount paid in claims each day: Over £2.4 million
Find out more – Legal and General Claims Statistics (2022)
Legal and General life insurance trust
You also have the option to put in place a Legal and General life insurance trust deed with a new or existing policy.
With a trust, you can specify exactly who receives the pay out from your life insurance partner. This could be a spouse/civil partner, your child(ren) or even a charity of your choice.
The main benefits of a Legal and General life insurance trust
- Can be a cheaper alternative to a Will if not in place (usually free)
- Express your wishes within a trust deed (e.g. beneficiaries and trustees)
- Quicker pay out (avoids going through probate process)
- Can avoid or reduce Inheritance Tax (40%)
Types of Legal and General life insurance trust deed:
- Legal and General life insurance discretionary trust
- Legal and General life insurance absolute trust
- Legal and General relevant life insurance trust
- Legal and General group life insurance master trust
Note: You might not be sure which type of trust will be most suitable for you. You can speak to a financial advisor for help and support in this decision.
How to cancel Legal and General life insurance
You should be aware that you are not tied in to any Legal and General life insurance policy and you can cancel at any time.
There are two main ways of cancelling your life insurance cover:
- Cancel your direct debit with your bank or building society
- Contact Legal and General directly to cancel your cover
If you choose to cancel your policy within the first 30 days of your cover starting then any premiums paid will be refunded automatically.
Any life insurance premiums that have been paid up to the point of cancellation after 30 days will be lost. This is because there is no cash in value with Legal and General life insurance. You might want to consider getting advice before cancelling any existing cover or policy.
Learn more about how to cancel your policy in our guide ‘Can you cancel life insurance?’.
You can also choose to review or change your cover rather than cancelling completely, which can save costs long term.
Legal and General life insurance free benefits
Here is a list of benefits that are automatically included with all Legal and General life insurance policies:
- Terminal illness cover which pays out to the policyholder upon diagnosis of any terminal illness with less than 12 months to live
- Children’s critical illness cover (core cover) is automatically included for any children aged between 30 days and 18 years with Legal and General critical illness insurance policies
- 24/7 virtual GP for a second medical opinion from a qualified nurse and mental health support services
- Guaranteed insurability allows you to increase your cover at any time without the need for further medical evidence
- Accidental death cover from when your application is submitted for up to a maximum of 90 days until your application has been assessed
- Free life insurance for any property purchase with Legal and General mortgage life insurance if the policyholder dies before the purchase is complete
- Hospitalisation benefit (accidental) with critical illness insurance pays out £5,000 cash lump sum for anyone admitted hospital for more than 28 days
Legal and General life insurance optional benefits
Here is a list of the optional benefits that can be added to any Legal and General life insurance policies for an additional cost:
- Critical illness insurance ‘Extra’ for enhanced cover and an increase to the number of conditions covered
- Children’s critical illness insurance ‘Extra’ for enhances children’s cover including children specific conditions
- Waiver of premium to help to pay your premiums if you are unable to work for more than 26 weeks due to accident or sickness
- Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) option is an optional benefit with Legal and General critical illness cover
How to buy Legal and General life insurance
There are a number of ways that you can buy a new Legal and General life insurance policy to protect your family. You can:
- Apply to Legal and General directly
- Speak to an insurance expert to get the right advice
It’s important to understand what your options are and to make sure that you’re making the right choices, especially with something as important as protecting your family.
See more tips and facts about how to buy life insurance policies in more of our MPO life insurance guides including:
- How can I reduce my life insurance premiums?
- How much should I pay for life insurance?
- Should I review my cover?
- Do you need life insurance for a mortgage?
- How much life insurance do I need?
- And more…
Legal and General life insurance reviews
You can view Legal and General life insurance reviews on the independent review website called Trust Pilot. You will be able to read independent customer reviews from other existing and new customers for all areas of Legal and General Group PLC.
Currently Legal and General life insurance reviews score is 3.1 based on 11,706 independent customer reviews (as of December 2022)
You can also write your own Legal and General life insurance reviews on their Trust Pilot page.
You may also notice that any Legal and General life insurance reviews will be responded to by an internal customer service agent.
Resources
Finder.com – Life insurance statistics
Statista – Life insurance industry in the UK: Statistics & Facts
