Best Life Insurance For Parents

To find our pick of the best life insurance companies we considered single policies for each parent. We looked for level term cover of £200,000 on a 25-year term for a healthy 30-year old.

While the premiums can be used as a guide, costs will vary depending on individual circumstances. Find more in our full methodology below.

We obtained life insurance quotes through Lifesearch, our life insurance partner, for a single 30-year old parent (insurers are not permitted to price based on gender).

We assumed that the individual was a healthy non-smoker, with no pre-existing medical conditions, and working in a low-risk job. On this basis we looked for £200,000 worth of level-term life cover spanning 25 years.

We then looked at the percentage of life insurance claims each provider paid out, as well its customer service score (as rated by Fairer Finance, October 2023).

With all premiums coming in at under £10 a month and a price differential, in some cases, of pennies, we weighted the results on:

• Percentage of claims paid
• Customer service score
• Any other benefits that come free with the policy

All policies listed offer a funeral pledge of at least £5,000 which bridges any gap in costs between the funeral and getting the full payout. All come with the option to be written in  trust.

We listed only policies that cover terminal illness as standard. This means the policy will pay out on terminal illness or death (whichever happens first).

Critical illness cover will need to be added separately to the policy, and could increase the monthly premium you are quoted. In line with industry standard, none of the life insurers provide cover for suicide for the first 12 months.

While there is no specific product called life insurance for parents, many of the people who take out life cover are parents with dependent children who are looking for financial protection for their family.

There’s a broad range of different options of life cover to consider, including:

• Level term life insurance: The lump sum insured, such as £100,000 payout remains the same for the term of the policy, such as 25 years, for example
• Decreasing term life insurance: The lump sum insured will reduce over time during the policy term. This type of cover is typically linked to a mortgage, so the sum insured can reduce as the size of the mortgage debt reduces over time
• Increasing term life insurance: The lump sum insured will increase over time during the policy term. These policies are index linked and will have premiums that are reviewable and will likely increase over time
• Mortgage life insurance: The sum insured covers the outstanding mortgage debt, so your loved ones can clear the mortgage in the event of your death. Typically the policy works like a decreasing term life policy, so it will reduce over time as your mortgage reduces
• Critical illness cover: Pays out a tax free lump sum in the event the policyholder is diagnosed with a medical condition or illness or specific injury listed in the policy. Policies have a fixed term and a set sum insured, in the same way as level term insurance. Many critical illness policies are taken out alongside life insurance
• Family income benefit: Pays a regular income to loved ones if you die, instead of a lump sum payout. The monthly income is only paid during the term of the policy. So if it was a 20 year policy and you died after 15 years, your family would only get the monthly payout for five years.

Having a family is a huge financial responsibility and many parents want to know their loved ones would be able to cope if they died.

However, this is not just the case for parents in paid work. Stay at home parents, most often mums, are also carrying out valuable work, whether that’s childcare, maintaining a home, life admin or even all three. Consider how this unpaid work would be covered if the key parent was no longer around – which is why life insurance for mums should not be overlooked.

If you have a mortgage and other loans and debts to pay, and even just for the day-to-day costs of family life, getting a life insurance policy in place can provide valuable peace of mind that your family could manage financially after your death.

How much parents will pay for life insurance depends on a range of factors. The most crucial will be your age and lifestyle factors, such as your BMI (body mass index), whether or not you’re a smoker or vaper, and if you have any pre-existing health conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, for example.

The example premium quotes given in our table above are for a healthy, non-smoking 30-year old with no pre-existing medical conditions. In this scenario we found level term life cover for a £200,000 lump sum over 25 years for under £10 per month with a range of leading insurance companies.

But if you’re older, if you smoke, or if you have health conditions, expect to pay more than this.

Exactly how much you’ll pay for life insurance will also depend on the lump sum you want to insure and over what term (length of the policy). A decreasing term life policy or mortgage life insurance policy may typically cost less than level or increasing term cover, for example.

If there are two parents who want cover it is important to weigh up the relative merits of having one joint life insurance policy versus getting two single life policies.

The main advantage of buying two single policies is that, if both partners were to die within the term of their policies, their beneficiaries would receive two payouts – one after each death. With a joint policy, the payout happens just once on whoever dies first. That’s why joint life insurance policies are cheaper – in fact they can cost up to 40% less than two single policies, according to insurance broker Reassured.

As well as more limited cover, joint life insurance can come with complications if a relationship breaks down, for example as it can’t usually be split.

Use our life insurance search, from our partner LifeSearch, to compare the cost of joint cover and two single life policies. This might help you decide which option suits your family and your budget.