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Family life insurance is any life insurance policy that gives your family financial support if you die.
You can also add other cover to your policy, such as critical illness cover.
Life insurance can offer a safety net to help your family:
Pay off a mortgage
Clear outstanding debts
Manage everyday bills
Cover your children’s future expenses, like university or a car.
Family life insurance works by paying an agreed lump sum to your loved ones if you die during the policy term, in return for a monthly premium. Here’s how to set up a policy in four steps.
The cost of your premium will depend on a number of factors, including your lifestyle and cover level:
Your age - a 25-34 year old typically pays around £36 a month, versus £60 a month for someone aged over 652
Your health and medical history
Your lifestyle – for example, a smoker typically pays around £11 more per month for life insurance than a non-smoker2
How much cover you want, including whether you want level-term, decreasing-term, or whole-of-life insurance.
Our easy-to-use life insurance calculator can help you work out how much cover you need.
Quick tip
Joint policies tend to be cheaper than two single policies as they pay out only once.
And the younger you are when you take out the policy, the less you’re likely to pay for your monthly premium.
Family life insurance could be worthwhile if you want to give your loved ones a financial cushion to cover the bills when you’re gone. It can offer:
Peace of mind – knowing your loved ones will be financially secure if you’re no longer around can give you comfort and allow you to focus on other things.
Protection for the family home – a life insurance payout could help your family cover the mortgage or rent so they don’t have the upheaval of moving.
Extra protection – life insurance policies can be tailored to give you and your family even more protection. Adding critical illness cover for an extra cost could protect you if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness.
There are three main types of life insurance policy to choose from: level term, decreasing term, and whole-of-life insurance.
The lump sum paid out will be exactly what was agreed when the policy was set up
It can provide a lifeline to cover your family’s ongoing living costs and expenses
It’s considered the simplest type of life insurance
It tends to be more expensive than decreasing-term life insurance
Your family won’t receive a payout if you die after the term has ended
The payout remains fixed and won’t increase in line with inflation
Tends to be a cheaper type of life insurance cover
Can cover the cost of repaying your mortgage, which decreases over time
Good option to protect your family’s finances if you’re on a tight budget
The payout could be quite small towards the end of the policy term
Won’t pay out if you die after the policy term has ended
Might not leave your family anything to cover expenses aside from a mortgage
Guarantees your family a payout no matter when you die
Some policies have an investment element that allows you to build up a cash value in the policy and will allow you to tap into this while you are still alive
Payout can be used to help cover inheritance tax
Tends to be the most expensive type of life insurance as the payout is guaranteed
The cash value could be less than you have paid in
The best life insurance for your family depends on your specific needs and what stage you’re at in your life. Think about your current income and your family’s future. This will help inform your decision about the type of life insurance to choose.
A good way to see what’s out there is by comparing quotes and cover to make sure your family are taken care of financially. When shopping around, here are some key questions to consider:
Is the payout enough to cover your family’s financial needs?
Are the monthly premiums affordable?
Do you want to be covered for the duration of your life or a fixed term?
Do you want the payout just to cover your remaining mortgage or ongoing expenses?
Do you want your life insurance policy to build cash value?
Do you want to add extras like critical illness cover?
For example, it typically costs a non-smoker around £303 a month for £50,000-£99,999 of cover on a 10 year term. Bumping this up to £250,000 of cover would typically cost around £633 a month.
Aside from family life insurance, there are a handful of other options such as income protection and critical illness cover that could offer your loved ones a vital financial lifeline.
Family income benefit provides a monthly payout instead of a lump sum. It acts as a replacement for your salary for a set term: for example, until your mortgage has been paid off or your kids have left home.
Income protection can provide a monthly payment to cover some of your salary (usually 50-70%) if you’re injured or become too sick to work.
Critical illness cover can be added to your life insurance policy or bought as a standalone product. It pays out a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with an illness that’s covered by your policy.
To give you an idea, £50,000-£99,999 of critical illness cover typically costs £53 a month, compared to £96 a month for £150,000-£249,000 of cover2.
Death in service cover is offered free of charge by some employers as part of an employee benefits package. It pays a pre-agreed, lump-sum multiple of your salary if you die while on the payroll.
For example: if you earn £40,000 a year and the agreement is five times your salary, your beneficiaries get £200,000.
We can help you compare life insurance in minutes. Use our simple comparison tool to compare both single and joint life insurance quotes.
Just give us a few details about yourself and how much cover you need, and we’ll send you a list of insurance providers to choose from. Your chosen provider will then ask you a few more questions about your health and lifestyle to give you a more tailored quote.
Discover how life insurance works and how it could help protect your loved ones financially
It’s a good idea to regularly review your life insurance cover to make sure it meets your needs, especially if your circumstances change.
You may be able to increase your cover if, for example:
You have more children
You buy a more expensive house
Your standard of living improves significantly.
Check with your insurer whether you can change the level of cover. If so, it’s likely you’ll have to pay a higher monthly premium, but your family’s growing needs will be looked after.
It depends on the type of policy you have.
If you’re a single policyholder and want to change the beneficiary from your ex to someone else, this is usually quite straightforward. It can be more complicated if the life insurance policy is written in trust
If you have a joint policy, you might be able to split it into two single policies. The other option is to cancel the policy and find new cover separately.
You can find out more about how divorce affects your life insurance by checking your policy’s terms or speaking to your insurance provider.
Standalone life insurance policies don’t typically cover children. But it can be worth paying extra to add children’s critical illness cover to your policy.
That way if your child falls ill or develops a serious condition covered by the policy, you should receive a lump-sum payout to help care for them.
The age at which life insurance expires depends on the type of policy you have.
Some policies have a maximum age limit when they end, for example when you reach 90
Some expire when the policy term ends
Others last until the policyholder dies.
There’s no right or wrong age to get life insurance, but it's usually recommended to start it sooner rather than later.
It’s likely to cost less per month if you take it out when younger. The minimum age for taking out a policy is usually 18.
But the most important consideration is the people who rely on you. You might want to start a policy when you buy a property with your partner or have children, for instance.
Tim Knighton is an expert in building and managing relationships with big brands for the benefit of customers, with more than 20 years of experience. He seeks out the right products that look after you and those you love most during the toughest times.
1 Based on Trustpilot ratings (October 2026).
2Based on 51% of customers who compared quotes for this type of policy in June 2026.
3Based on 51% of customers who compared quotes for this type of policy between December 2025 and May 2026.
What our expert says...
“If you have children, life insurance is crucial. Especially when you consider that, according to Child Bereavement UK, an estimated 127 children under the age of 17 lose a parent every day.
While some of us get life insurance cover through our employers, it’s often not enough to provide a safe future for our families.”