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Who are Vitality?
Founded in 1997, the Vitality brand offers life and health insurance policies. The company is based in London with offices in Bournemouth, Croydon and Stockport. It is a subsidiary of multinational financial services organisation Discovery Limited, which operates in 30 countries, servicing over 20 million customers.
What types of life insurance policies does Vitality offer?
Vitality offers the following types of life insurance:
- Whole of life – which pays out no matter when you die
- Level term – where the pay-out remains the same regardless of when a claim is made, so long as it is within the specified term
- Decreasing term – where the potential pay-out reduces over the term of the policy, in line with outstanding debt that you are gradually paying off, such as a capital and interest repayment mortgage
- Increasing term – where the potential amount paid out increases by a fixed amount each year over the term to account for rises in the rate of inflation
- Over-50s – people in this age group are guaranteed to be accepted as policyholders, which is not the case with other policies because of their age and risk profile.
It also offers:
- Serious and critical illness cover – which pays out a tax-free sum on diagnosis of serious illness or injury
- Income protection insurance – which pays a regular income if you can’t work due to illness or injury (monthly payout can be boosted by 20% for up to six months under its Vitality programme which promotes healthy living)
- Mortgage protection insurance – which pays off the remainder of your mortgage balance if you become terminally ill or die within the policy term.
How much life insurance do I need?
You’ll need to consider a range of factors when working out how much life insurance you need. These include your income, how long your dependants will need financial support, the amount of debt you have and how much you have in savings and investments.
To give you a helping hand, our life insurance calculator will guide you through the process of working out how much cover you need in three easy steps.
How much does life insurance cost?
Life insurance premiums with Vitality can start from under £10 a month (for a single 30 year old, non-smoker with £200,000 worth of level-term cover, March 2024). But the actual cost will depend on several factors. These include:
- policy type
- amount of cover
- age
- health
- lifestyle
- occupation.
The younger and healthier you are, the less you will typically have to pay. To find out more about how this works, read our guide on the cost of life insurance.
Is Vitality a good life insurer?
Fairer Finance rates Vitality’s life insurance offering 75% for customer service experience.
On the Trustpilot customer review platform, the company as a whole scores 4.2 stars out of five, from over 38,000 reviews, with some debate about the quality of its customer service.
In 2022, Vitality paid out 99.7% of all life insurance claims, amounting to a total of £96 million across life, serious illness cover and income protection cover.
Should I consider Vitality for life insurance?
Before applying for life insurance, check whether you already have cover. Some employers offer death-in-service cover, for example, which will pay out a tax-free lump sum to your dependents if you pass away while working for the company.
It may still be worth buying a separate life insurance policy, even if you have this type of cover, to ensure you’re adequately protected.
Don’t forget to shop around and compare life insurance policies from a number of different insurers to get the best deal. In addition to factors such as price and cover level, look out for additional benefits such as accidental death benefit and terminal illness cover.
How do I contact Vitality?
Vitality’s customer service number is: 0345 602 3523. Its offices are open between 8am and 7pm Monday to Friday, and between 9am and 1pm on Saturdays.
Claims can be made by calling 0345 601 0072 or emailing lifeclaims@vitality.co.uk.
The company also has Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube accounts.
