DeadHappy life insurance: what happened and who looks after policies now

DeadHappy could no longer sell new policies from March 2024 and went into administration in June 2024. Its insurers took over its customers in July 2024, and in July 2026 the administrators filed the notice that moves the company from administration to dissolution.

In December 2023 Pacific Life Re, which reinsured the Shepherds Friendly policies, gave notice ending its reinsurance agreement with Shepherds Friendly. The administrators say this meant DeadHappy could not offer new policies from March 2024.

On 24 June 2024 Adam Stephens and Kevin Ley of Evelyn Partners LLP were appointed as joint administrators of Dead Happy Limited. A notice on DeadHappy’s website in July 2024 said customer policies all remained valid and customers should keep paying as before.

The company kept trading for a short time while Covéa Life and Shepherds Friendly used their step-in rights to move customers’ policies across to themselves. Shepherds Friendly says DeadHappy handed over the management of the policies it insured on 15 July 2024. Trading stopped on 22 July 2024, once every customer had been transferred, and DeadHappy said all customer records had gone to the insurers.

DeadHappy had collected policy payments, usually by direct debit, into a bank account kept separate from its own. The administrators paid £294,080 of that money to Shepherds Friendly and £498,375 to Covéa Life under their step-in agreements.

The administrators then sold DeadHappy’s system for setting up and managing policies to Octopus Legacy Limited. In August 2024 they said the sale was taking longer because customers’ personal data had to be fully removed from it first. They sold the DeadHappy trade marks and social media addresses to Leftvers CIC, which they say has Andy Knott as a director in common with Dead Happy. The policies themselves stayed with the two insurers.

The FCA register shows Dead Happy Limited as no longer authorised since 29 April 2025. Companies House records the administration as ending on 3 July 2026, when the administrators filed a notice of move from administration to dissolution. Their final report says the company has no property that could be paid out to creditors, and that it will be dissolved three months after that notice is registered.

Companies House, the FCA register and the insurers’ pages were checked on 3 October 2026.

If you have a DeadHappy policy, it did not end when DeadHappy closed. The insurer behind it took over the policy and your records, and you now deal with that insurer directly.

Which insurer you deal with depends on when the policy was written. DeadHappy’s administrators say its policies were insured by Covéa Life until November 2022, about 18,000 of them, and by Shepherds Friendly after that, about 7,000 more.

Shepherds Friendly, the trading name of The Shepherds Friendly Society Limited, says it was always the insurer of its DeadHappy policies in the background and has looked after them directly since 15 July 2024. It says the policy is still in place, its terms are the same and all valid claims will be paid. Its DeadHappy policyholders also become members of The Shepherds Friendly Society, with a vote at its annual general meeting.

Shepherds Friendly names three DeadHappy policies: Life Insurance (Roller 10 year term), Cancer Cover (10 year term) and Leveller Life Insurance. It says Leveller premiums always stay the same. Premiums for the 10-year Life Insurance and Cancer Cover go up with age at each policy anniversary, and you’ll be invited to reset the term in line with your policy terms. If you’re not sure which of these you have, Shepherds Friendly asks you to get in touch.

Covéa Life Limited is still an active life insurance company on the Companies House register. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, and Covéa Insurance offers its life insurance through it. Its life insurance page asks customers who need help with their policy to call 0330 134 8500.

DeadHappy’s 2020 plan outline, from when Covéa Life was the insurer, describes a life plan that could be combined with a ‘near death’ plan. That paid out for stage 2 cancer, a serious heart attack, a serious stroke or multiple sclerosis. The maximum payout was £350,000, or £175,000 for near death cover. A plan lasted 10 years at first, with the option each year to refresh the 10 years after a few health and lifestyle questions.

DeadHappy’s customer login has closed, so you can no longer download your documents there. Shepherds Friendly says it will send policyholders anything they need.

When Shepherds Friendly took over, it said card payments would move across automatically, with a payment reference that says Shepherds Friendly, and that people paying by Direct Debit would need to re-enter their bank details with it.

• Check your policy documents. DeadHappy said the name of your insurer is in them.
• Look for an email from your insurer. In 2024 DeadHappy told customers to check their email for one from Covéa Life or Shepherds Friendly, and to contact that insurer directly.
• Check your bank statements. Shepherds Friendly told card payers to look out for a payment reference that says “Shepherds Friendly” after the handover.
• Think about when you took the policy out. Up to November 2022 points to Covéa Life, and after that to Shepherds Friendly.
• Still not sure? DeadHappy said the insurers hold all customer records, including policy and contact details, so ask Shepherds Friendly’s DeadHappy team or Covéa’s customer service team.
• Our guide to lost life insurance policies has more on tracing a policy you can’t find.

Life Insurance (Roller 10 year term). Its key facts (October 2022), published by Shepherds Friendly, describe a 10-year guarantee that you could reset to a full 10 years for free each year, payouts from £1,000 to £350,000, and a cost that rises a little at each policy anniversary. It was for people aged 18 to 60, with a maximum age of 70, so the guarantee can’t be reset after 60. It doesn’t pay out for a death by suicide or on active military duty, and it has no cash value.

Leveller Life Insurance. Its key facts (October 2022) describe level term cover for a fixed term of 5 to 40 years, for people aged 18 to 65 when it started, ending by age 70, with a minimum payout of £10,000. It also pays out on a diagnosis of terminal illness that meets its definition.

Cancer Cover (10 year term). Its key facts (September 2023) describe an option added to the life insurance. It pays up to 100%, 50% or 20% of the cover amount, depending on which of three tiers the cancer falls into, with cover amounts from £400 to £150,000. You can cancel it without affecting the life insurance, but you can’t take it out again.

DeadHappy’s Trustpilot profile is now closed to new reviews.

These reviews are about DeadHappy’s own service while it was trading, not about the insurers that look after the policies now. Checked on 3 October 2026. Life Cover Quotes is not connected with DeadHappy or Trustpilot.

DeadHappy no longer sells life insurance: it could not offer new policies from March 2024, and the FCA register says Dead Happy Limited can no longer provide regulated activities and products.

If you already have a DeadHappy policy, it carries on with its insurer, so DeadHappy closing doesn’t by itself mean you need new cover.

With the 10-year Life Insurance (Roller) and Cancer Cover, premiums rise with age, and the Roller key facts say its guarantee can’t be reset after age 60. It’s worth checking when your guarantee runs out and what the policy will cost as you get older.

If you decide you want different cover, keep your existing policy until the new one has started, so you aren’t left without cover in between. A new policy is priced on your age and health when you apply.

Our guides to term life insurance, over 50s life insurance and critical illness cover explain the main types of cover, and you can read all our insurer reviews. If you’ve been turned down for cover before because of your mental health, our guide to life insurance and mental health may help.

Guides to life cover

• Term life insurance: Cover for a set number of years, with level or decreasing cover.
• Level term life insurance: The payout stays the same for the whole term.
• Critical illness cover: A lump sum on diagnosis of a serious illness your policy covers.
• Over 50s life insurance: Guaranteed acceptance for ages 50–85, and what to check before you buy.

Insurer reviews

• Shepherds Friendly life insurance review
• All insurer reviews: plain-English reviews of UK life insurers, listed alphabetically