Legal & General over 50s life insurance review 2026
A closer look at Legal & General’s Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance: who can apply, what it pays out, what it costs, its key terms and how to make a claim.
- Entry age
- 50–80
- Guaranteed acceptance
- Premiums
- £5–£75
- A month, fixed
- Maximum cash sum
- £10,000
- Across all L&G Over 50s plans
- Full cover
- After 1 year
- Sooner for accidental death
In a nutshell
Legal & General’s Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance is whole of life cover for UK residents aged 50 to 80, with guaranteed acceptance and no medical. You choose a monthly premium, and both the premium and the cash sum it buys stay the same.
- Premiums from £5 to £75 a month, depending on your age and whether you smoke, with a maximum cash sum of £10,000 across all your L&G Over 50s plans.
- Full cover after one year. If you die in the first year, L&G refunds the premiums instead, unless the death is accidental and happens within 90 days of the accident. Accidental deaths linked to causes the terms list, such as a hazardous sport, only get the premiums back.
- You stop paying at 90, but the cover lasts for the rest of your life.
- No cash-in value, and if you stop paying, the plan is cancelled and you get nothing back.
- In L&G’s own examples from 8 June 2026, £25 a month bought a non-smoker aged 50 a cash sum of £7,643, and one aged 80 a cash sum of £1,893.
- Rated 5 stars by Defaqto and 3 stars by Fairer Finance.
- When we checked on 25 September 2026, applying directly came with a £120 gift card.
Who can apply for Legal & General over 50s life insurance?
L&G guarantees to accept you, without any medical questions, if you’re aged 50 to 80 and a UK resident who lives in the UK and spent at least 183 days here in the last tax year.
- Age to apply
- 50 to 80
- Where you live
- UK resident, with at least 183 days in the UK in the last tax year
- Medical questions
- None: acceptance is guaranteed
- Premium and cash sum based on
- Your date of birth and recent smoking habits
- Premiums
- £5 to £75 a month, fixed
- Maximum cash sum
- £10,000 across all your L&G Over 50s plans
- Full cover
- After 1 year, or sooner for an accidental death
- Joint policies
- Not available
- How to apply
- Online, by phone or by post
When you apply, L&G asks for your date of birth and your recent smoking habits, which it uses to set your premium and cash sum. You count as a non-smoker if you haven’t used tobacco, e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement products in the 12 months before you apply. If your smoker status affects your premium or cash sum, L&G may ask for your consent to contact your doctor.
Your answers need to be accurate. If you, or someone acting for you, give an inaccurate answer deliberately or recklessly, L&G can cancel the policy, refuse to pay and may not refund the premiums you’ve paid. If the mistake is careless, it can change the policy to the terms it would have offered with the right information.
Over 60s and over 70s can apply with the same guaranteed acceptance, but L&G says the cash sum for your chosen premium is likely to be lower the later you start.
Your partner can apply for their own plan if they meet the same conditions, but plans can’t be held in joint names. You can hold more than one L&G Over 50s plan, as long as the cash sums add up to no more than £10,000. If you have a plan taken out on or before 25 November 2017, L&G says to check its terms for your total cash sum.
You can get a quote online, which L&G says takes 2 minutes, or call L&G free on 0800 316 8539 (8.30am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm on Saturday).
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What does Legal & General over 50s life cover pay out?
Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance is whole of life cover. It pays a cash sum if you die after one year from the policy start date, and the policy ends when you die. The cash sum is fixed, shown in your Policy Schedule and stays the same for the whole policy.
- Death after the first year: the cash sum is paid.
- Accidental death in the first year: the full cash sum is paid, as long as death happens within 90 days of the accident and the injury didn’t come from one of the causes listed below.
- Any other death in the first year: L&G refunds the premiums paid instead of paying the cash sum.
L&G’s terms define an accident as a bodily injury caused by an accident which, solely and independently of any other cause, results in death. The injury must come from external, violent and visible means, so sickness, disease and degenerative processes don’t count.
In the first year, L&G also refunds the premiums rather than paying the cash sum if the injury that caused the death came directly or indirectly from suicide or intentional and serious self-injury, a hazardous sport or pastime, any flight other than as a fare-paying passenger on a licensed airline, committing, attempting or provoking an assault or any criminal offence, war, riot or civil commotion, or taking alcohol, or drugs not prescribed by a registered doctor in the UK.
The cash sum is paid to the legal representative, and the policy ends once it has been paid. L&G says the money could go towards a funeral, unpaid bills or leaving something for your loved ones, but that the policy isn’t designed to meet the full cost of a funeral and doesn’t guarantee to. Because the cash sum is fixed, inflation will reduce its buying power over time.
The cash sum will normally form part of your estate, so it may be subject to inheritance tax. You can put the policy in trust at any time, and L&G’s terms say a trust can keep the proceeds outside your estate and help manage inheritance tax. L&G doesn’t advise on whether you should, and suggests asking a financial or legal adviser.
Our guide to life insurance in trust explains how trusts work.
What else comes with the plan?
Two support services come with L&G’s Over 50s cover at no extra cost.
| Benefit | What it does | Available with |
|---|---|---|
| Wellbeing Support | Phone-based help from registered nurses for you and your immediate family, through L&G’s partnership with RedArc: from a reassuring conversation and practical advice to clinical assessments and help arranging further services. L&G’s examples include bereavement counselling or therapy, physiotherapy after an injury and help managing a serious or chronic illness. | Available with: Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance, at no extra cost |
| Care Concierge | Free, tailored one-to-one impartial guidance from L&G’s Care Experts on understanding and finding adult and later life care, for the policyholder, their partner, children and parents. | Available with: Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance, free |
How much does Legal & General over 50s life insurance cost?
You choose a monthly premium between £5 and £75, depending on your age and whether you smoke, and L&G uses your date of birth and smoking habits to work out the cash sum it buys. Once the policy starts, the premium and the cash sum stay the same.
L&G’s published examples
L&G publishes these examples for non-smokers paying £25 a month, taken from its website on 8 June 2026. It says that at that time the average monthly premium its customers had paid over the previous six months was £26.99.
| Example | Monthly premium | Cash sum |
|---|---|---|
| Non-smoker aged 50 | £25 | £7,643 |
| Non-smoker aged 60 | £25 | £6,046 |
| Non-smoker aged 70 | £25 | £3,701 |
| Non-smoker aged 80 | £25 | £1,893 |
Examples published by L&G. The age is your age when cover starts. Your own cash sum depends on your age, whether you smoke and the premium you choose.
- Your age when the policy starts
- Whether you smoke
- The monthly premium you choose
L&G says the cash sum for your chosen premium is likely to be lower the later you start. In its examples, the cash sum for an 80-year-old is about a quarter of the cash sum for a 50-year-old.
Because the policy lasts for life, L&G can’t say exactly how much you’ll pay overall: it depends on your premium and how long you live, and you may end up paying in more than the cash sum. In its £25-a-month examples, the premiums paid pass the cash sum after 76 monthly payments (6 years 4 months) for the 80-year-old, 149 (12 years 5 months) for the 70-year-old, 242 (20 years 2 months) for the 60-year-old and 306 (25 years 6 months) for the 50-year-old.
Our over 50 life insurance calculator shows how monthly payments add up over time and when they could pass the amount a plan pays out.
Legal & General over 50s gift card offer
Note: Free gifts are offered by select brokers only, our life insurance brokers do not offer free gifts.
When we checked on 25 September 2026, L&G was sending a £120 gift card to customers who take out Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance online, by post or by phone.
You become eligible six months after the policy starts, as long as you haven’t cancelled it and your payments are fully up to date. L&G sends a letter or email with details of how to redeem the card (allow up to 60 days for it to arrive), and you have 12 months from the policy start date to claim it.
The offer is only for direct applications: you’re not eligible if you apply through a financial adviser, a comparison site or a cashback website, or if you’ve held and cancelled L&G Over 50s Life Insurance in the last 18 months. It’s one gift card per policy, with no cash alternative, and it can’t be combined with other discounts or offers. L&G can amend or withdraw the offer at any time.
- Gift
- £120 gift card
- Eligible from
- 6 months after the policy starts
- Claim within
- 12 months of the policy start date
- How to apply
- Directly with L&G: online, by post or by phone
See other insurers’ offers and their conditions in our guides to life insurance with a free gift and over 50 life insurance with a free gift.
Key policy terms
These are the main terms, taken from the policy summary, the policy terms and conditions and L&G’s Over 50 pages.
| Term | Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance |
|---|---|
| First year | Premiums refunded instead of the cash sum, unless the death is accidental |
| Accidental death in the first year | Full cash sum, if death happens within 90 days of the accident |
| First-year deaths treated as non-accidental | Injuries caused directly or indirectly by suicide or self-injury, hazardous sports or pastimes, flying other than as a fare-paying passenger on a licensed airline, assault or crime, war, riot or civil commotion, and alcohol, or drugs not prescribed by a registered doctor in the UK |
| Premiums | Fixed, paid monthly up to and including your 90th birthday |
| After age 90 | No more premiums; the cover continues for the rest of your life |
| Reducing your premium | Allowed once, after at least a year, as long as L&G still offers the option and the premium doesn’t go below the minimum. Your cash sum reduces too |
| Missed premiums | L&G writes to remind you, and may cancel the policy if a premium isn’t paid within 60 days of its due date. Premiums already paid aren’t refunded |
| Cash-in value | None, unless a valid claim is made |
| Cooling-off period | 30 days from receiving your Policy Schedule, with a refund of premiums paid |
| Cancelling later | Possible at any time, but premiums aren’t refunded and the cash sum is no longer payable |
| Joint policies | Not available; each partner takes out their own plan |
| Inflation | The cash sum is fixed, so inflation will reduce its buying power |
| Inheritance tax | The cash sum normally forms part of your estate. The policy can be put in trust at any time |
| Inaccurate answers | Deliberate or reckless: L&G can cancel the policy and refuse to pay. Careless: it can change the policy to the terms it would have offered |
| Changes to the terms | Only fair and reasonable changes: to make them clearer or more favourable to you, or after relevant changes in legislation, regulation or taxation |
| Compensation scheme | Covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) |
Making a claim on Legal & General over 50s life insurance
L&G’s published claims statistics count Over 50s claims together with Life Insurance claims. For the two combined, it reported for 2025:
- Share of Life and Over 50s claims paid in 2025
- 97.5%
- Life and Over 50s claims paid in 2025
- 13,950
- Paid on Life and Over 50s claims in 2025
- £527m
The combined figure was between 96.7% and 97.5% in each year from 2022 to 2025. L&G’s Over 50 page also headlines “100% of claims paid”, without saying for what period.
To claim, call L&G’s Over 50s claims line on 0800 009 3506 or write to L&G. You can also start a claim online through its Claims Portal and upload documents from any device.
L&G’s claims page asks for the policy number (or direct debit reference), the full name of the person who has died, a copy of the death certificate, your name and relationship to them, and the legal next of kin if known. The policy terms also ask for the cause, date and place of death if known, and say L&G can still help if you don’t have the policy number.
L&G then carries out some basic policy checks and assesses the claim, which may include writing to the GP, the coroner (or procurator fiscal) and anyone else involved. For an accidental death in the first year, it may ask the coroner to confirm the circumstances. The cash sum is paid to the legal representative, and the policy then ends.
L&G says its claims handlers are trained by the Samaritans.
- Over 50s claims phone
- 0800 009 3506
- Opening hours
- Mon–Fri, 9am–5.30pm (the policy documents say 9am–5pm)
- Over 50s claims email
- Over50s.claims@landg.com
- Claims email in the policy documents
- myclaim@landg.com
- Start a claim online
- legalandgeneral.com (opens in a new tab)
Phone numbers and hours as published by L&G when we checked on 25 September 2026.
Legal & General over 50s life insurance ratings
These ratings are for L&G’s Over 50s plan itself, not for L&G as a whole.
| Review site | Rating | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Fairer Finance | 3 stars | Fairer Finance’s product rating for the Over 50s Life Insurance Fixed Plan, checked on 25 September 2026. Fairer Finance’s data shows the entry was last updated on 15 May 2026. View on Fairer Finance (opens in a new tab) |
| Trustpilot (quoted by L&G) | 4.7 / 5 | L&G’s Over 50 page says 229 customers had given its Over 50s Life Insurance an average of 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot as of 8 June 2026. We haven’t checked this figure on Trustpilot itself. |
Defaqto rating
Defaqto rates each product from 1 to 5 stars. It gives L&G’s Over 50s Life Insurance Plan - Fixed Plan 5 stars in its over 50s life assurance category.
| Policy | Range | Defaqto rating |
|---|---|---|
| Over 50s life insurance | Over 50s Life Insurance Plan - Fixed Plan | 5 out of 5 stars |
Rating checked on 24 September 2026 and may have changed since. Defaqto ratings: defaqto.com (opens in a new tab)
Is Legal & General over 50s life insurance good?
L&G says its Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance is designed for UK residents aged 50 to 80 who want a fixed cash sum for their loved ones, with guaranteed acceptance, a simple application and no medical or lifestyle questions. The premium never goes up, you stop paying at 90 and the cover lasts for life.
It also has clear limits. The cash sum is capped at £10,000 across all your L&G Over 50s plans and doesn’t grow with inflation, a death in the first year that isn’t accidental only returns the premiums, and depending on how long you live you could pay in more than the cash sum. In L&G’s own £25-a-month examples, that point comes after 6 years 4 months for a non-smoker who starts at 80, and after 25 years 6 months for one who starts at 50.
Independent ratings differ: Defaqto gives the Fixed Plan 5 stars, while Fairer Finance gives it 3 stars.
Pros
- Guaranteed acceptance with no medical questions for UK residents aged 50 to 80
- Premiums fixed from £5 a month, stopping at 90 while the cover continues for life
- Full cash sum for an accidental death in the first year, if death happens within 90 days of the accident and the cause isn’t one the terms list
- Published example cash sums for non-smokers aged 50, 60, 70 and 80
- Wellbeing Support and Care Concierge at no extra cost
- Rated 5 stars by Defaqto
Cons
- Maximum cash sum of £10,000 across all your L&G Over 50s plans
- Only the premiums are refunded for a non-accidental death in the first year
- The fixed cash sum loses buying power to inflation
- You may pay in more than the cash sum, and there’s no cash-in value
- Stop paying and the plan is cancelled with nothing back
- No joint policies
- Rated 3 stars by Fairer Finance
Legal & General over 50s policy documents
L&G asks you to read the key documents before you apply. These are the documents for Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance, which is provided by Legal & General Assurance Society Limited:
-
Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance policy summary (opens in a new tab)
How the policy works, who can apply, the key features and the main exclusions and limits.
-
Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance policy terms and conditions (opens in a new tab)
The full terms: eligibility, the first year, premiums, claims and cancelling.
-
Over 50 Life Insurance FAQs (opens in a new tab)
L&G’s answers on cover limits, premiums, joint plans, cancelling and cashing in.
-
£120 gift card terms and conditions (opens in a new tab)
Who qualifies for the gift card, and when and how to claim it.
Documents are published by L&G and open on its website. We read the policy summary QGI12836 (11/2025) and the terms and conditions LG3704 (10/25).
How Legal & General over 50s life insurance compares
Over 50s plans work in a similar way, but the details vary from one plan to another, so it’s worth comparing more than the monthly premium.
The points worth checking on any plan are the ones covered on this page. For L&G’s plan: you can apply from 50 to 80, the cash sum is capped at £10,000 across all your L&G Over 50s plans, a non-accidental death in the first year returns the premiums, you stop paying at 90, and the premium and cash sum are fixed.
Also compare the cash sum each plan gives for the same premium at your age. L&G publishes examples for £25 a month, and our over 50 life insurance calculator shows how monthly payments add up over time.
L&G itself says other products may be available if you’re willing to answer lifestyle and medical questions, and that some could give more protection for the same price.
Our guide to over 50s life insurance explains how this type of cover works and lists the insurers in our reviews that offer it, alphabetically.
Other insurers’ over 50s life insurance guides
- Aviva over 50s life insurance
- NatWest over 50s life insurance
- Post Office over 50s life insurance
- Sainsbury’s over 50s life insurance
Read our full Legal & General life insurance review, or see all our insurer reviews.
Legal & General over 50s life insurance FAQs
No. L&G guarantees to accept UK residents aged 50 to 80 without any medical questions, as long as they spent at least 183 days in the UK in the last tax year. When you apply, it asks for your date of birth and recent smoking habits.
You choose a premium from £5 to £75 a month, depending on your age and whether you smoke, and it won’t go up. In L&G’s examples for non-smokers paying £25 a month, taken from its website on 8 June 2026, the cash sum was £7,643 at 50, £6,046 at 60, £3,701 at 70 and £1,893 at 80.
Up to £10,000 in total across all your L&G Over 50s plans. The most you can have depends on the premium you choose and on any other L&G Over 50s plans you hold.
L&G refunds the premiums you’ve paid instead of paying the cash sum. The exception is an accidental death within 90 days of the accident, when the full cash sum is paid. Even then, only the premiums are refunded if the injury came directly or indirectly from one of the causes the terms list, such as a hazardous sport or pastime.
Premiums are due monthly up to and including your 90th birthday. After that there’s nothing more to pay, and the cover continues for the rest of your life.
No. It isn’t a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made. If you stop paying your premiums, the plan is cancelled and you won’t get anything back.
Yes. You have 30 days after receiving your Policy Schedule to change your mind and get the premiums you’ve paid refunded. You can cancel at any time after that, but you won’t get the premiums back and the cash sum will no longer be payable.
No. Plans are set up individually, so they can’t be held in joint names. Your partner can apply for their own plan if they’re aged 50 to 80 and meet the UK residence conditions.
Yes, once, after you’ve held the policy for at least a year, as long as the new premium isn’t below the minimum and L&G still offers the option. Your cash sum reduces too.
When we checked on 25 September 2026, L&G was offering a £120 gift card with Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance taken out directly online, by post or by phone. You become eligible six months after the policy starts, if it hasn’t been cancelled and your payments are up to date. It isn’t available if you apply through a financial adviser or a comparison site.
Call L&G’s Over 50s claims line on 0800 009 3506 or write to L&G. You can also start a claim online through its Claims Portal. Have the policy number (or direct debit reference), the full name of the person who has died and a copy of the death certificate ready.
Yes, at any time. L&G’s terms say a trust can keep the proceeds outside your estate, which can help manage inheritance tax. L&G lists Over 50s Life Insurance among the policies that can go in trust, and says its trust service is free.
Sources
The facts on this page come from these sources.
- Legal & General — Over 50 Life Insurance product page (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance Policy Summary (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (LG3704) (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Over 50 Life Insurance FAQs (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Defaqto — Defaqto Star Ratings (Life & Protection) for Legal & General (opens in a new tab), defaqto.com, accessed 24 September 2026.
- Fairer Finance — Fairer Finance - over 50s life insurance product ratings (Legal & General Over 50s Life Insurance Fixed Plan and Increasing plan) (opens in a new tab), fairerfinance.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance £120 gift card terms and conditions (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — L&G Retail Protection claims statistics 2025 (adviser infographic, "2025 Claims") (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General Group Plc — L&G press release - L&G paid out over £1.388bn protection claims in 2025 (opens in a new tab), group.legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — L&G claims statistics 2024 (adviser infographic; archived copy, Wayback Machine capture of 4 Dec 2025) (opens in a new tab), web.archive.org, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — L&G claims statistics 2023 (adviser infographic, "Our claims statistics 2023") (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — L&G claims statistics 2022 (adviser one-pager; archived copy, Wayback Machine capture of 6 Dec 2024) (opens in a new tab), web.archive.org, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Legal & General - How do I make a claim (customer claims page, phone numbers and opening hours) (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Legal & General - Contact us about your life insurance (existing customers FAQs, claims contacts, bereavement support) (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Life Insurance FAQs (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
- Legal & General — Protection trusts hub for existing customers (Online Trust Hub) (opens in a new tab), legalandgeneral.com, accessed 25 September 2026.
Related pages
-
Over 50s life insurance
Guaranteed acceptance for ages 50–85, and what to check before you buy.
-
Best life insurance
What to compare when you choose a policy.
-
Term life insurance
Cover for a set number of years, with level or decreasing cover.
