Life Insurance For Women 

However, having the right life insurance policy in place, which pays out in the event of your premature death, can be surprisingly inexpensive. Costs start at less than £10 a month for a £200,000 pay-out.

We carried out some research with the help of our life insurance partner, Lifesearch, to uncover our pick of the best providers. But bear in mind that the quotes are not specifically related to women as, since 2011, a European court ruling meant that gender cannot affect premium prices.

We obtained life insurance quotes through Lifesearch, our life insurance partner, for a single 30-year old (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 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, February 2024).

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.

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. All policies come with the option to be written in trust.

Technically, there’s no such thing as life insurance specifically for women. That’s because in 2011, a European court ruling outlawed gender-based insurance underwriting. It meant insurers could no longer use gender as a basis for pricing their premiums, including for life and car insurance.

Generally speaking, this law change was bad news for women because, statistically, men die at a younger age compared to women. This leads to more claims on life insurance which, historically, meant that men paid higher premiums compared to women.

While life insurers can no longer use gender-based pricing, some target women through their marketing and might offer discounted premiums (for both genders) if you keep active, and rewards for healthy lifestyle choices, for example.

Term life insurance is a common category of life insurance which works in the same way for both men and women.

Policyholders pay a fixed monthly premium to insure a pre-agreed sum, such as £100,000. Beneficiaries receive a tax-free lump sum of the insured amount if the policyholder dies during the fixed term, this could be 20 or 25 years, for example.

Often term life policies are taken out alongside a mortgage, to cover the home loan debt. With term life insurance there is no payout if you outlive the policy term, the policy simply lapses and you don’t receive anything back.

The most popular types of term life cover are level term life insurance and decreasing term life insurance (our pick of insurers above are based on level term cover).

The main difference between the two is that with level term cover the sum insured stays the same (level) for the duration of the policy term (for example 25 years), while with decreasing cover the level of cover gradually falls over time.

As a rule, decreasing term cover is cheaper to buy than level cover. Both types of term life insurance can be used to run alongside a mortgage. The idea is they would clear the debt in the event of the death of the policyholder.

If you have a pre-existing condition or you’ve suffered from specific illnesses in the past, including mental health conditions, this can affect the cost of life insurance premiums.

In some cases, depending on the pre-existing condition, you could be turned down for cover, although usually it will be possible to find a policy – albeit at a higher premium and some conditions may be excluded.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women with around 55,500 women diagnosed in the UK each year, according to charity Cancer Research UK. It is also possible for men to get breast cancer – although cases are rare, accounting for less than 1% each year.

While it may still be possible to get life insurance after a cancer diagnosis, but breast cancer may be excluded from the policy terms. The stage and type of breast cancer, family history, age of diagnosis and time since your last treatment, plus your general health will be taken into account and will affect whether or not you can get cover, and at what level of premium.

It’s important to be open and honest about any pre-existing conditions with your insurer, even if it means your premium is higher. If you fail to disclose information about your health or lifestyle, you could render the policy invalid meaning your beneficiaries would not receive a payout if you died.

Yes, you can get life insurance while pregnant and with most insurers it shouldn’t affect the premium you pay for cover.

When you take out life insurance, whether you’re pregnant or not, you’ll be asked a wide range of questions about your health and lifestyle and any pre-existing conditions. You should answer everything honestly and with as much detail as possible.

Some pregnancy-related conditions, such as gestational diabetes and high blood pressure, might mean insurers may not offer cover or your premium will be higher. In some cases it may be preferable to wait until after your baby is born to take out cover.

Insurers will ask about your weight when you apply for life cover. If you’re pregnant when you apply, you will usually be asked to give your weight immediately before you became pregnant.

The same is true for your alcohol consumption and smoking. While you may have cut back during pregnancy, insurers will be keen to understand what your usual (pre-pregnancy) pattern is in terms of smoking and drinking.

If you’re pregnant when you apply for life insurance or you become pregnant during the application process, you must inform the insurer.

However, if you already have life insurance in place and you subsequently become pregnant you don’t have to tell your insurer and your premiums won’t change. However, you can inform your insurer of your pregnancy if you wish.

A new baby is often a time when people consider taking out life insurance for the first time, or reviewing existing protection arrangements to ensure they are still sufficient.

You should disclose all health conditions – physical and mental health-related – to the insurer during the application process. For many insurers post-natal depression won’t impact on the premium you pay for cover, but this can vary between insurers.

As with any health condition the impact on your life insurance premium will depend on the severity and treatment of the condition.

There are pros and cons to joint life policies. In some cases it may be preferable to get two separate policies. It is important to weigh up your options before deciding what might work best in your circumstances.

While joint cover will be cheaper there can only be one payout from the plan. That’s because with most joint term life insurance policies, in the event of the death of one policyholder there will be a payout but then the policy will end leaving the second policyholder with no cover. In contrast with two separate policies the cover stays in place for the surviving policyholder.

Separate policies can also be beneficial in the event of a relationship breakdown or divorce as each party can keep their own individual life cover in place.

Mr Richardson at LifeSearch says: “Many couples tend to take joint-life policies where both lives are insured for the same amount. However, these may not always be the best solution. There are a growing number of reasons why couples should buy individual life policies instead, which may add a few pennies to the cost, but often work out much better value overall, and with greater flexibility.”