Compare Life Insurance Providers – Introduction

The team at Black Lion Insurance has put together this handy at-a-glance guide to help you compare life insurance providers.

It’s quite high-level in this section – not too much detail, but it will certainly give you the key points you need.  We’ve covered things like key policy factors and the things you need to think about when choosing the right insurance policy.

Feel free to read through this page, then delve a bit deeper via the selection drop-down box to learn more about specific life insurance providers.

There are lots of useful life insurance terms explained, too.

Looking after YOU

Have you thought about what your greatest asset is?  In our opinion, it’s YOU.  Taking out the most suitable cover will support your dependents financially should you suddenly not be around.  If you die, no amount of money will assuage your family’s grief.  However, you can be comforted by the fact that your loved ones will be looked after from a financial point of view.

The Black Lion Insurance Difference

Here at Black Lion Insurance, we’re all about educating our customers.  Ultimately, we want to help busy, hard-working people like you to learn about risk and how best to protect yourself and how best to compare life insurance providers.

So, we don’t sell.  We listen, evaluate and then we’ll present you with the information you need to make an informed decision.

Give us a call on 0203 146 2259

Life Insurance Terms Made Easy

Sometimes, when you need to compare life insurance providers, the language associated with these types of insurance products can seem rather complicated.

There’s no need to worry.  Here’s our back-to-basics, jargon-free explanation of the words you’re likely to hear when considering life cover.  Also below is a list of top tips which we’ve put together to make life easier for you.

Benefit

The sum that you will be entitled to when you claim.  With life insurance, this is normally paid as a lump sum to your specified beneficiaries.

Policy holder

The person who is the owner of the life insurance policy.  In brief, that’s likely to be you.

Life assured

The insured person. Again, probably you but it may not be.  For example, you may buy a life insurance plan for your partner. But it’s you that pays for it rather than your spouse.

Premium

The amount you pay to your insurer for your life insurance.  Usually, payments are made by monthly standing order.

Sum assured

In effect, your cover.  This is the amount which your insurance provider will pay to your loved ones in the event of your death.

Nominee

The people (normally your family) who will receive the pay-out.

Indexation

Linking your cover to the retail pricing index (RPI) to work with inflation.  Often, there’s more than one option and you can choose the percentage at which you index your premiums.

Policy term

The duration for which your policy offers life insurance coverage.  Also referred to as policy term or policy tenure.  This could be any amount of time from 1 year or whole of life.

Cease age

The age of the life assured (you or your partner, say) at which your policy ends.  So, you may decide this to be when you retire, for example.

Death benefit

The benefit paid to your nominee(s) if you die during the lifetime of your policy.

Surrender value

If you discontinue your plan before its maturity age, the insurer could pay you a lump sum.  Not all policies include a surrender value.

Exclusions

Things that are not covered by your insurance policy.  Buyer beware!  Make sure that you consider and examine these very carefully or your nominees will lose out on payment if you die.  For example, suicide is excluded from all life insurance plans.

Compare Top UK Insurers

Takes approx. 60 seconds

Step 1. Select Type of Policy

The Top 10: Compare Life Insurance Providers in the UK

AEGON

Aegon offers a number of benefits in its life insurance policy at no extra charge, including access to Health Assured, a health and wellbeing helpline; also, an advance payment of £10,000 which can be paid before completion of probate to a funeral director.

AIG

AIG has a “Best Doctors” service, enabling its policy holders to access medical advice. 

You’ll be able to take out policies on behalf of other people, not just your spouse; also included is family income benefit, which divides your pay out to offer regular, longer-term support to your nominees.

AVIVA

This insurer offers a comprehensive range of additional and optional benefits.  It’s worth nothing that terminal illness cover is included at no extra cost. 

Additionally, if you buy your policy through Black Lion Insurance, you’ll have access free of charge to their Support Plus service, which offers counselling and a doctor’s second opinion.

GUARDIAN

Terminal illness cover is included automatically.  Also, your policy will include Waiver of Premium for free, as well as cover for redundancy and paternity leave.

With Guardian, you’ll have access too Guardian Anytime and Halo, both of which offer medical support and advice.

LEGAL & GENERAL

L&G is one of the UK’s top providers of life insurance.  It offers guaranteed or reviewable premiums with unlimited cover.

If you take a joint life policy, Legal & General will allow you to separate them upon divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership.

LIVERPOOL VICTORIA

With LV, you can also take out critical illness cover that includes CI  for your children. LV offers a number of additional benefits, including a Health and Wellbeing line, a Doctors service and overseas cover.

ROYAL LONDON

Founded in 1861, Royal London consolidated all its brands, including Bright Grey and Scottish Provident. 

Royal London’s life cover policies are guaranteed, which means that your premiums won’t increase over time if your cover stays the same.  They also offer family income benefit, a premium waiver and additional benefits such as access to legal services to help you write your will.

VITALITY

Owned by Discovery Holdings and in a joint venture with PruHealth and PruProtect, Vitality is new to the insurance marketplace. 

Founded in 2007, Vitality provides incentives and rewards for those in their Vitality Optimiser programme, a fitness and wellbeing package.  With engagement, customers could qualify for premium discounts, fitness trackers and cinema tickets.

This insurer offers term life insurance and whole of life insurance.

ZURICH

Zurich is a key player in the world of insurance, with locations in more than 170 countries worldwide.  Zurich offers general insurance, life insurance, pensions, savings and investments.

If you meet certain conditions, with their Level Protection Plan you can convert some or all of your Life Insurance to Whole of Life Cover at the end of your policy term.

Takes just 60 seconds!

Top Tips from Black Lion Insurance

  • Think about the cover your nominees will need. What is the essential sum to pay the mortgage and to settle everyday living costs, such as a mortgage and bills. Also, consider the likely cost of your funeral.  This will lessen the impact of your passing from a financial point of view.
  • There are different types of policy coverage options, including Level Term Life, Decreasing Term Life, Family Income Benefit, Whole of Life and Joint Life. You can read more about them via the links.
  • Check that you haven’t already got some form of life insurance with your employer in the form of “death in service” benefit. You may not even need additional life insurance.  However, be aware that should you leave your job, you won’t be covered.
  • You may wish to consider adding critical illness cover which will pay out if you develop a serious illness. Ask Black Lion for our advice on this; we’d recommend an insurer that offers a comprehensive list of illnesses in their definitions.

More Reasons to Secure Expert Advice from Black Lion Insurance

Even from the brief outline of each of the providers above, it’s obvious that there’s a lot to think about.  Insurance is our Thing.  We provide information and options to our customers every day.  In our opinion, we have all the expertise that hard-working people like you will need.

However, if you’re a lawyer, a boat builder or an artist, life insurance is most likely NOT your Thing.  Whether you build houses, reduce people’s tax bills, or cut their hair, the very idea of trawling through the pros and cons of every principal insurance provider may seem like a bit of chore.

You’ve surely got other stuff to do and don’t have the time to compare life insurance companies.

But that’s OK.

It’s not always easy or even practical to do a like-for-like insurance provider comparison, so let us do it for you.

Your Go-To Experts for Life Insurance

  • Coming to a whole of market insurance consultancy such as Black Lion Insurance will make it easier to compare life insurance providers much, much easier.  It goes without saying that we’ll treat you as the sensible human being you obviously are. But we won’t blind you with science.  No jargon here.
  • Remember, we’re impartial. Totally independent.  And, this is regulated advice.  We’re fully insured and responsible for any policy we set up for you.  If you go direct, you won’t be covered, it’s as simple as that.
  • Moreover, there’s no fee for our service unless you decide to take one of the policies that we offer.
  • You’ll speak to a dedicated adviser from start to finish. The same person who will email you and follow up. And, we can negotiate on your behalf.  We have heft, you know.  In other word, good bargaining power with all the providers we deal with.
  • Black Lion Insurance offers a supportive, discreet and thorough claims service, too. In this regard, we hope that your loved ones never have to call us.  But, should they need to do so, each contact will be handled with the utmost care.  Of course, your pay out will be made as quickly as possible.

We’re here to make things easier, not worse.

Why not contact Black Lion Insurance today?  Protecting the people you love the most could be the most important thing you ever do.

Takes just 60 seconds!

What our clients are saying

Black Lion insurance were great in helping me get through the countless jargon and pitfalls when it comes to setting up insurance. I was thankfully recommended to them by a colleague and they made the process seamless ensuring I have the most appropriate policy for me.
Thomas

I’m an IT contractor and I wasn’t sure if I was eligible for this cover, however, to my delight, not only could I have the cover, but I could pay it through my Ltd company. I was covered within an hour of getting in contact. Very prompt and informative service!
Sanjay P

Polite and very clear when explaining my product of interest. Happy to answer any questions and recap on areas that I wanted to ensure I understood clearly before committing. Didn’t feel pressured or rushed at any point and the chap was very pleasant.
Donna Rudd

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About Us

Part of Halo Consulting, Black Lion Insurance are a dedicated team of insurance consultants with years of experience in guiding our clients to a solution that meets their specific needs. We specialise in helping both employed and self employed individuals, as well as business owners on a variety of solutions, which range from life insurance, income protection insurance, keyman insurance and shareholder protection insurance.