Whole Life Insurance > Compare the UK's 10 Best Deals :: Drewberry™ (2023)

What is Comprehensive Life Insurance?

Whole life insurance is designed to protect you for the rest of your life, paying a tax-free lump sum every time you die, as long as you keep your premiums up to date.

Often referred to as whole life insurance because it protects against an event that is "sure" to happen, i.e. your eventual death or permanent life insurance.

The permanent nature of this coverage means that it is often used to cover liabilities that will definitely arise in the event of death, such as funeral expenses or the payment of an estate tax.

This is compared tolife insurance, which is a Life Insurance that ends after a certain period agreed between the insurer and the insured. Term insurance, especiallyDecrease in term insuranceTherefore, it is often used to cover fixed-term debt such as an amortization mortgage.

Because payments are guaranteed with Whole Life Insurance, it tends to be more expensive than Term Insurance.

Should I take out whole life insurance?

Whether or not you need Whole Life Insurance depends on your personal circumstances.

If you want a guaranteed lump sum to leave your loved ones after you die or meet other obligations such as an inheritance tax bill, lifetime coverage may be right for you.

Full life insurance or term insurance?

When comparing term insurance and whole life insurance, you will find that whole life insurance policies are generally more expensive than term insurance policies because the benefit is guaranteed.

Payments also tend to be lower with Whole Life coverage. HeABI revealedthe average claim for the whole life policy in 2017 totaled £4,511.16, compared to £78,323.35 for term life policies, although this is not always the exclusive case.

Which is best for me?

Each type of life coverage is typically designed to protect very different liabilities.

• If you have a liability that pays off over time or has a finite life, such as a mortgage, car loan, etc., thenlife insuranceis probably a better option.
• If there is a liability that will arise in the event of death, regardless of the time frame, such as funeral expenses or estate tax,whole life insuranceis usually the best option.

Whole life insurance types

Whether it's funeral expenses or a potentially large estate tax liability, there are a number of different uses for whole life insurance that we've outlined below.

Funeral Insurance and Coverage for Small Debts

One of the most common uses of Lifetime Coverage is to providefuneral insurance.

This ensures that a lump sum is paid at your death to cover funeral expenses, so your loved ones don't have to worry about shouldering the cost or deducting it from your estate.

Life insurance for people over 50plans are usually lifetime coverage used for funeral expenses, although some people may also use these policies to leave a small legacy for the family or cover minor debts.

It's worth considering that your estate is usually needed to cover any debt held solely in your name after your death, provided you have enough money to do so. (Note that the rules are different for jointly named debts/mortgages.)

Assuming you left behind solvent property, debts are usually paid off first and your beneficiaries only receive the equity of any debt payments.

Some people use a whole life insurance policy to cover these small debts, although it's important to note that over time, the premiums on these policies can increase and be worth more than the ultimate benefit.

Inheritance Tax Insurance

When a person dies, inheritance tax is levied on the value of his or her assets above a certain threshold. It takes a 40% bite of anything you want to pass on to the next generation above that cap.

Many families are facing an inheritance tax bill due to rising house prices, so it is becoming more common to use Comprehensive Life Insurance to cover these bills.

Where the estate has sufficient liquid funds to cover the estate tax account, HMRC will generally grant the executor of the estate access to settle the account with a bank transfer from the deceased's account(s).

However, nowadays, most properties do not have sufficient liquid funds available, usually because a house makes up the bulk of the property.

In such circumstances, executors and/or beneficiaries may have to pay out of pocket and try to recover money from the estate at a later date. Bank loans are also commonly available to beneficiaries in this situation.

Writing whole life insurance into a trust

Writing whole life insurance coverage into a trust will not only ensure that the payout is tax-free, but will also provide your beneficiaries with a lump sum that is out of your estate and therefore not tied to succession.

When you use whole life insurance to cover an estate tax bill, it isbasicyou write it into a trust fund so it stays out of your estate when you pass away.

This money can be used to pay the tax collector to have your property handed over to the beneficiaries. That way they can inherit what you always wanted them to have.

Present Insurance Inter Vivos

An Inter Vivos Gifts Insurance policy is not Whole Life Insurance. Rather, it is a set of life insurance policies to cover the inheritance tax liability on any large gifts you make while you are still alive.

When you make a gift to someone, assuming that person has not made other gifts or lifetime transfers before, the gift will only be out of your possession if you live for 7 years andpotentially up to 14 years- after doing.

During that 7-year period, property tax on a sliding scale may be due on the gift if you die during that period.

The following table provides the inheritance tax rate due inpotentially exempt transfers (PET)you do in your lifetime over a period of 7 years.

This covers most gifts to individuals and gifts to certain trusts (although most gifts to trusts arelifetime collectible transfers [CLT]and therefore have different rules).

While inheritance tax generally must be paid on the estate value, inheritance tax on intervival gifts must be paid by the recipient of your gift.

This means that your gift could earn someone an inheritance tax bill several years after you make it, when the money may already be gone.

The amount they would have to pay is reduced depending on how long they live after making the gift, so aset of Life Insurance policies with decreasing term – known as Seguro Presente Inter Vivos –may cover potential inheritance tax liabilities on gifts you make.

How much does whole life insurance cost?

Whole life insurance tends to be more expensive than term insurance because the payout is guaranteed.

As with other types of insurance, whole life coverage costs more to buy the older you are when you take out the policy.

Coverage for over 50 years

• For 50+ coverage, a subset of lifetime, many companies offer guaranteed acceptance under a certain age, such as age 80, without the need for a medical exam.
• Guaranteed 50+ plans don't tend to be tied to the health of the policyholder, as long term insurance often is, which can make them more expensive as there is a greater risk unknown to the insurer.
• “50+” plans tend to have lower maximum benefits and most require policyholders to survive a minimum period before paying out.

The cost of whole life insurance is often more expensive than term insurance because there is no term limit.

The risk for the insurer is insured, because as long as you keep paying premiums and don't violate the terms of the policy, there will be a final payout at the end of the policy (i.e. when you die).

Beware of reviewable permanent life insurance premiums!

In the past, many whole life insurance policies were sold with adjustable premiums. This means that the insurer has the right to increase premiums to cover your increased costs for the life of your policy.

Hewhole life insurance costcan increase significantly over time if you have reviewable premiums. If there are guaranteed premiums available to you, we generally recommend choosing these over adjustable premiums to prevent your premiums from becoming unaffordable and to keep you the level of protection you need.

Factors the insurer can use to increase reviewable premiums include:

• Inflation
• return on investment
• reinsurer fees
• The level of future claims the insurer expects to pay
• Insurance expenses and taxes
• The insurer's need to maintain a buffer of capital/financial reserves.

All of this can result in a significant increase in premiums over the life of the policy on each policy anniversary date through no fault of yours.

whole life insurance calculator

use ourwhole life insurance quotetool to calculate whole life coverage premiums for your specific needs and circumstances.

As mentioned, this will depend a lot on the amount you want to insure, so you must first calculate how much whole life insurance you need to purchase.

If you're using it to cover funeral costs or small non-mortgage debt, this should be pretty easy. Simply get a quote from a funeral director for your funeral expenses or calculate how much you owe and set up your life insurance policy to match that.

Inheritance Tax Insurance Calculator

Calculating permanent life insurance to cover an estate tax liability is more complicated, because you must try to estimate what your estate will be worth when you die, and therefore how much estate tax you owe.

A good first step is to use ourFree Inheritance Tax Calculatorto add up all your assets and calculate your potential estate tax liability.

Once you figure this out, you'll be in a better position to understand the amount you want to secure to protect your loved ones upon your death.

Will I need a doctor for whole life insurance?

This depends on a number of factors, although a doctor is more likely to be a requirement the more you want to take out insurance. If you need a doctor, health problems can increase the cost of insurance.

Generally speaking, however, there is often no medical coverage for whole life insurance, especially when you want to insure relatively small sums.

Many providers, especially those offering guaranteed 50+ plans, don't even require you to fill out a health questionnaire over the phone to get lifetime coverage.

Essentially, this is because providers realize they are insuring you against an event that will definitely happen in the future, regardless of how healthy or unhealthy you are.

As such, premiums tend to be higher overall to meet more lenient medical requirements for coverage.

Age limit on whole life insurance

The maximum age for life insurance varies by insurer. The age limits on whole life coverage are generally higher than on term insurance, and it is possible to find coverage between the ages of 70 and 80.

That's why policies are so attractive to seniors looking to use life insurance as part of their estate planning.

How is whole life insurance taxed?

Without proper estate planning, the payment on any life insurance policy becomes part of your estate when you die.

HMRC usually chargesinheritance taxto 40% on the proportion of assets that exceed an established limit. This will include the life insurance payment, which may bring you down to less than the initially required amount.

Writing Whole Life Coverage into a Trust

To avoid charging inheritance tax on payout, it is recommended that you take out a whole life insurance policy in a trust for your loved ones so that it never becomes part of your estate and is taxable.

Paying for Lifetime Coverage in a trust can also leave your family with money to pay any inheritance taxes your estate may incur after your death.

Compare the best UK life insurers

	Aegon As long as you meet Aegon's eligibility criteria, you will automatically receive £1m free lifetime cover for up to 90 days whilst your policy is processed. Minimum entry age: 18 years old Maximum entry age: 84 Maximum amount insured: Unlimited
	AIG AIG's total life insurance includes access to the company's Best Doctors service, a medical second opinion service to help you get the right treatment and care. Minimum entry age: 17 years old Maximum entry age: 84 Maximum sum insured: £25 million (with consideration for sums greater than this amount on a case-by-case basis)
	royal london As long as you are under 70, you can increase your coverage atlower£200,000 or half of the sum insured if you face an increase in inheritance tax due to increased wealth or changes in government legislation. Minimum entry age: 18 years old Maximum entry age: 89 Maximum amount insured: Unlimited
	Scottish widows Scottish Widows whole life insurance does not include a terminal illness benefit. However, Scottish Widows has one of the highest increases in cover allowed if you look at the increase in inheritance tax: you can increase it by the same amount.lower£500,000, 50% of sum insured or potential increase in inheritance tax on property. Minimum entry age: 18 years old Maximum entry age: 83 Maximum sum insured: £25 million for tier cover and £15 million for incremental cover (cap for incremental cover is £30 million)
	Vitality Vitality's policy comes with the same unique features as other VitalityLife products, including the ability to add options to your plan that can reduce premiums as a result of healthy living or allow you to accumulate points towards various lifestyle rewards such as physical activity trackers. or free movie tickets. Minimum entry age: 16 years old Maximum entry age: 74 years old Maximum amount insured: £20 million
	Zurich Zurich lifetime cover includes a terminal illness benefit as standard, although if you wish to include premium waiver this is an optional extra, unlike other providers where it is included as standard. Minimum entry age: 16 years old Maximum entry age: 83 Maximum amount insured: Unlimited

Whole life insurance consultancy

As independent life insurance consultants, we are available to answer any questions and provide guidance to ensure you make an informed decision when considering life insurance.

If you're looking for whole life coverage as part of estate and estate tax planning, our advisors' expertise can be invaluable in helping you and your beneficiaries mitigate any potential liability.

Why talk to us?

We started Drewberry because we were tired of being treated like a number and not being given the service we all deserve when it comes to things as important as protecting our health and finances. Below are some reasons why it makes sense to talk to us.

• There is no fee for our service.
• We are independent and impartial.
  Drewberry is not affiliated with any insurance company, so we can provide you with completely unbiased advice to ensure you get the most suitable policy based solely on your needs.
• We have bargaining power on our side.
  This allows us to negotiate better prizes for you than if you went directly.
• You'll speak with a dedicated expert from start to finish
  You will speak with a designated expert via direct phone and email. No more automated machines and no more shipping from pillar to post - you'll have someone to talk to who knows you.
• Enjoy our 5 star service
  We pride ourselves on providing a 5-star service, as you can see onOur 3449 and growing independent customer reviews rate us 4.92/5.
• Benefit from the protection of regulated boards
  You are protected. When we provide a regulated consultancy service, we are responsible for the policy we set for you. If you do it yourself or go directly to an insurer, you will not get this protection, so you will not benefit from these amounts.
• Claims support when you need it most
  You have support if you need to make a complaint. The most important thing when it comes to insurance is that claims are paid quickly. We're here to help you with the claim process and make sure it's as smooth and stress-free as possible.