Is Aviva life insurance a good choice in the UK?
Aviva is one of the UK’s biggest and most well established life insurance companies, offering simple term life insurance policies, mortgage protection, and critical illness cover. The brand has a strong record of paying claims, solid customer reviews, and useful extras such as the Aviva DigiCare+ app on many policies. For most people who want affordable, straightforward protection from a mainstream insurer, Aviva is usually well worth considering, especially if you want to compare quotes through a broker to be sure the price and features suit your budget and needs.
Who is Aviva life insurance?
Aviva PLC is a well-known global insurance and investment business and one of the most established protection providers in the UK, dating back more than 325 years. In recent years, Aviva was relaunched in 2002 following the merger of Norwich Union and CGU, which was completed in 2009 with the rebranding to Aviva as we know it today. As an insurer, it is currently the largest insurance brand in the United Kingdom, with more than 21.7 million customers in the UK alone.
What types of Aviva life insurance are available?
You can choose from family life insurance (level term), mortgage life insurance (decreasing term), and life insurance with critical illness, and you can apply on a single life or joint life basis depending on whether you are protecting one person or a couple. Aviva also offers other protection policies such as whole of life insurance, guaranteed over 50s life insurance, family income benefit, and business life insurance.
How much does Aviva life insurance cost each month?
Life insurance premiums start from as little as †£5.00 per month and can be purchased via a specialist life insurance broker or direct from Aviva. Premiums will vary based on your age, health, smoker status, amount of cover, and which type of cover you need. Aviva is well-known for providing competitively priced life insurance policies in the UK, however they might not always be the right or cheapest option to protect your family, especially if you have a pre existing medical condition.
Compare Aviva Life Insurance
Aviva life insurance pays out to support your partner, children, or other financial dependents in the event of your death. Your policy could pay out thousands or even millions of pounds to your loved ones to help them avoid serious financial difficulties.
Aviva is one of the most popular options for life insurance policies in the UK and consistently appears in lists of the ‘Top 10 UK life insurance companies’. We recently rated Aviva as the UK’s second-best life insurance company based on its outstanding customer reviews, decent value for money, and excellent claims record.
In our latest review, our insurance experts look at what Aviva life insurance does and the top benefits that are available for Aviva customers. Aviva life insurance may not be right for everyone, so it’s essential to understand how it works and whether it will be an affordable and suitable option for you.
60 Second Summary – Aviva Life Insurance Review 2026
Aviva offers a wide range of life insurance policies to protect your family financially if you die or become terminally ill. Our insurance experts have written this review to explain all the main details about Aviva life insurance to help you work out if it is a good choice to protect your family or mortgage.
Key benefits of Aviva life insurance include free parent life cover (£15,000), accelerated surgery cover (critical illness cover), and access to 24/7 health support through the Aviva DigiCare+ app.
- According to Statista, Aviva is one of the UK’s Top 3 biggest life insurance companies, providing millions of life insurance policies each year.
- Real Aviva insurance customers have rated Aviva 4.1 out of 5.0 Stars on Trustpilot based on over 39,000 independent reviews.
- Aviva offers flexible life insurance policies for people aged 17 – 79, and you can protect your family for up to 50 years (depending on your age when you apply).
- Critical illness insurance can be added to Aviva life insurance policies, which pays out if you are diagnosed with one of 53 specified conditions (core) or 79 conditions (enhanced cover).
- Aviva life insurance won’t be suitable for everyone, and you should carefully consider all your options before choosing your life insurance provider.
How does Aviva life insurance work?
When applying for Aviva life insurance, you will need to choose which type of life insurance you want. You can choose to be covered for as little as 12 months or for up to 50 years (depending on your age).*
The main options for Aviva life insurance policies are:
- Level term life insurance (family protection)
- Decreasing life insurance (mortgage protection)
- Increasing life insurance (sum assured increases by up to 10% each year).
- Family income benefit (a cheaper policy which pays out regularly instead of paying out one large lump sum on death).
- Over 50s life insurance (guaranteed acceptance).
- Business life insurance (including key person life insurance).
*Over 50s life insurance is a whole life insurance policy, so this type of cover will protect you for the rest of your life or until you cancel your policy.
Key facts about Aviva life insurance
- You must be between 17 – 77 years old to apply for term life insurance (maximum age 90 at the end of the policy).
- You must be between 18 – 79 years old to apply for whole life insurance.
- Your cover amount (sum assured) can’t be higher than £5million maximum.
- All life insurance policies automatically include terminal illness cover.
- You can add Waiver of Premium for a small extra cost, which pays your monthly premiums for you if you can’t work due to an illness or injury.
More information – Aviva Life Insurance Key Facts Document
Watch: The History of Aviva | Life Insurance since 1706
Here's a quick video released by Aviva which explains the long history behind one of the UK's biggest and most established life insurance brands.
Is Aviva life insurance good?
Aviva has won countless industry awards for its life insurance policies, most recently winning ‘General Insurer of the Decade’ at the British Insurance Awards 2024.
Industry body Defaqto also believes that Aviva offers high-quality personal insurance policies, with the following policies receiving the highest rating (5 Stars):
- Life Insurance+
- Critical Illness +
- Critical Illness + Upgraded
- Income Protection +
- Over 50s Life Assurance Plan
More importantly, Aviva is highly rated by its customers and consistently receives positive online reviews. Aviva has more than 39,000 independent reviews on Trustpilot and an overall customer score of 4.1 out of 5.0 Stars (rated ‘Great’).
| Insurance Company | Defaqto Rating | Trustpilot Score |
|---|---|---|
 | 5 Stars | 4.3 out of 5.0 Stars (Excellent) |
Do I need Aviva life insurance?
It’s highly recommended that anyone with young children or financial responsibilities should have life insurance to protect their loved ones financially if they die. Before applying for life insurance, you should consider:
- How would my family cope with bills and expenses without my income?
- Do I have savings or investments that my family could fall back on if needed?
- How much is remaining on my mortgage balance? (if applicable)
- Do I have any debts that would need to be repaid if I died?
Aviva life insurance can be a good option for some people but won’t be the right insurance company for everyone. You can apply for up to £5million of life cover to give you and your family peace of mind and financial security.
Aviva life insurance works best for standard life insurance applications but can cover people with certain medical conditions too. If you have serious pre-existing conditions, a specialist insurer (e.g. The Exeter) might be a better choice for you.
What are the main benefits of Aviva life insurance?
Aviva life insurance provides financial security for your family or chosen beneficiaries in the event of your death. There are also several key benefits that Aviva offers to appeal to new life insurance customers such as:
- One year of free parent life cover (up to £15,000) is available for parents with children under 4 years old.
- All Aviva critical illness cover policies automatically include children’s cover for free.
- All Aviva life insurance policies automatically include terminal illness benefit.
- Free access to 24/7 online health support through the Aviva DigiCare+ app.
- Extra care cover can be added to life or critical illness policies and pays out an extra £50,000 if you are diagnosed with a life-changing illness.
- Can add on fracture cover benefit for only £4 per month which pays out up to £6,000 per fracture to support you financially if you break a bone.
- Can add on Global Treatment Cover which gives you access to overseas medical care while on holiday or travelling for business.
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Does Aviva life insurance pay out?
Aviva pays out to support thousands of individuals and families each year, paying out on over 40,000 new life insurance and terminal illness claims in 2024.
In 2024, Aviva paid out:
- Percentage of claims paid: 97.1% (life insurance).
- Total amount paid out: £1.3 billion
- Number of claims paid: 52,000 individual protection claims
- Average amount paid out: £18,837
What does Aviva life insurance pay out for?
- Pays out a lump sum if you die to support your family with important expenses.
- Pays out if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness (life expectancy 12 months or less).
What doesn’t Aviva life insurance pay for?
- Suicidal death within the first 12 months of the policy.
- Terminal illness claims that don’t meet the definitions set out in the policy terms and conditions.
How much does Aviva life insurance cost?
The price of Aviva life insurance varies based on things like your age, smoker status, occupation, and medical history. Aviva life insurance premiums start at less than £5 for younger applicants and will gradually increase as you get older.
Aviva life insurance might be competitively priced for some people but is not always the cheapest compared to other insurers. You should also consider whether you want to take out cover with Aviva and the value-added benefits that are offered.
Our insurance experts have put together the tables below to highlight the difference in life insurance pricing for applicants of different ages. In these examples, we have looked at quotes for £200,000 of level term life insurance and decreasing life insurance over 20 years.
Non-smoker – £200,000 life insurance over 20 years
| Applicant age: 30 years old | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Level term life insurance (family protection) | £7.00 per month | £84.00 per year |
| Decreasing life insurance (mortgage protection) | £6.28 per month | £75.32 per year |
| Applicant age: 40 years old | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Level term life insurance (family protection) | £13.75 per month | £165.00 per year |
| Decreasing life insurance (mortgage protection) | £10.15 per month | £121.80 per year |
| Applicant age: 50 years old | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Level term life insurance (family protection) | £35.97 per month | £431.64 per year |
| Decreasing life insurance (mortgage protection) | £25.49 per month | £305.88 per year |
Smoker – £200,000 life insurance over 20 year
| Applicant age: 30 years old | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Level term life insurance (family protection) | £14.16 per month | £173.52 per year |
| Decreasing life insurance (mortgage protection) | £9.51 per month | £114.12 per year |
| Applicant age: 40 years old | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Level term life insurance (family protection) | £35.31 per month | £423.72 per year |
| Decreasing life insurance (mortgage protection) | £21.85 per month | £262.20 per year |
| Applicant age: 50 years old | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Level term life insurance (family protection) | £100.47 per month | £1,205 per year |
| Decreasing life insurance (mortgage protection) | £58.74 per month | £704.88 per year |
Note: The prices above are for illustrative purposes only. The actual cost of your policy may vary from the figures quoted based on your circumstances and the amount of cover that you need.
Can I get critical illness cover from Aviva?
Aviva sells critical illness cover alongside its life insurance policies, which pays out to support you if you are diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Aviva’s core critical illness cover will pay out for 53 specified medical conditions and you can upgrade your cover to include an additional 26 medical conditions.
How does Aviva critical illness cover work?
You can get either a single life or joint critical illness cover policy to provide extra financial security for you and your family if you become seriously ill. Here are some of the key facts about how Aviva critical illness cover works:
- You can be covered for between 5 years – 50 years maximum.
- You must be between 18 – 64 years old to apply for Aviva critical illness insurance.
- All adult critical illness policies automatically include children’s cover free of charge.
- Your policy can pay out up to £1million maximum.
- You can upgrade both adult critical illness cover and children’s critical illness cover for a higher level of protection.
- Can add on accelerated surgery cover which pays out if you are on an NHS surgery waiting list for your medical condition.
What does Aviva critical illness cover pay out for?
- 100% of the cover amount for 42 conditions and 20% or £20,000 for 11 conditions (adult core cover).
- 50% of the cover amount or £25,000 for 32 conditions (children’s cover).
- 100% of the cover amount or £30,000 for an additional 26 conditions (enhanced cover).
What doesn’t Aviva critical illness cover pay for?
- Medical conditions that are not covered within your policy terms and conditions.
- Diagnoses that don’t meet the specific definition set out in your policy documents.
- Critical illness claims if you die within 2 weeks of being diagnosed.
How do I contact Aviva about my life insurance policy?
You can find Aviva’s life insurance contact details on aviva.co.uk for their customer services, claims, and complaints teams. You can also use Aviva’s website chatbot to quickly contact a member of Aviva’s customer service team online.
Aviva Life Insurance customer service contact details
Telephone – 0800 285 1098
Telephone (overseas)– +44 1603 603 479
Opening times – 8.00am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday (closed weekends and Bank Holidays)
Aviva Life Insurance address (postal enquiries)
Aviva PLC Head Office,
St Helen’s,
1 Undershaft,
London,
EC3P 3DQ
How do I claim on Aviva life insurance?
If you need to claim on an Aviva life insurance policy, you can either start your claim online or call Aviva’s life insurance claims team. Before you call, it can be helpful to make sure that you have the following details ready.
Aviva’s claims team will ask for the following information:
- Name of the deceased and your relationship to them.
- Cause of death
- Policy number (if known)
- Preferred contact number and email address
Aviva Life Insurance claims contact details
Telephone – 0800 015 1142
Telephone (overseas) – +44 1603 603 277
Online – Aviva – Online Life Insurance Claims
Opening hours – 8.00am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday (closed weekends and Bank Holidays)
Can I cancel Aviva life insurance?
You can cancel Aviva life insurance at any point during your policy term, and you should never be charged a fee to cancel your cover.
Simply contact Aviva and let them know that you no longer need your policy, and their life insurance team will take care of cancelling your cover for you. You can get in touch with Aviva’s cancellations team using the following contact details:
Aviva Life Insurance cancellation contact details
Telephone – 0800 285 1098
Post:
Aviva Life,
Norwich BCC,
PO Box 520,
Norwich,
NR1 3WG
Note: Aviva has a 30-day ‘cooling off’ period for life insurance customers, so you can cancel your policy within the first 30 days and receive a refund if you change your mind.
How do I complain about Aviva life insurance?
If you’re not happy with your Aviva life insurance policy, you can contact them online to make a complaint. Fill in their Online Complaints Form with the following details to submit your complaint:
- Your full name and date of birth.
- Preferred contact details.
- Why you are complaining.
- How you would like the complaint to be resolved.
Note: According to Aviva’s latest complaints data, 3,869 insurance complaints were received in the first 6 months of 2024 (around 1.1 in every 1,000 policies). 38.4% of complaints were closed within 3 days, and 52% were closed within 8 weeks.
Making a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an impartial and free service for financial services customers in the UK. This service can be used to settle any disputes between life insurance companies and their customers in the United Kingdom. If they feel that you have suffered any financial loss as a result of your life insurance policy, then they may rule for compensation to be awarded.
Telephone – 0800 023 4567 (or 0300 123 9123)
Telephone (outside the UK) – 0207 964 0500
How do I compare Aviva life insurance quotes?
You can request quotes for Aviva life insurance by contacting Aviva directly, through a price comparison site, or via an independent life insurance adviser. It’s always useful to compare multiple life insurance quotes, so you are completely comfortable with the policy that you choose.
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