Your guide to joint life insurance

What is joint life insurance?

As a relationship progresses, it’s natural to share more financial responsibilities with your partner. A joint life insurance policy provides cover for you both, whether you’re a married couple or not. Should one of you die during the term of your life insurance policy, you could receive a cash sum. This tax-free cash sum goes to the remaining partner and in most cases your couples life insurance policy will then end.

How does joint life cover work?

A joint life insurance policy offers cover for both you and your partner under a single plan, even if you’re not married. It involves one application and a single monthly payment. 

Cover is usually provided on a ‘first death’ basis, where the cash sum is paid out if one of the partners dies during the length of the policy. If a valid claim is made, the policy will then end. This would leave the surviving spouse without life insurance. But there is a replacement cover option with our life insurance for couples policies. This allows the survivor to take out a new single life policy, ensuring they still have some protection in place. 

Subject to terms and conditions.

The benefits of a joint policy

With a policy in place, you can rest easy knowing that you have acted to financially protect your other half and your family. There are many benefits to couples life insurance, including:

• Both you and your partner are covered under one policy by one insurer
• Potentially cheaper premiums than two single life insurance policies
• Joint life insurance isn’t just for married couples, it can be for any two insurable people – even business partners
• Option to choose between Level Life Insurance or Decreasing Life Insurance based on your needs

What’s covered?

You can jointly decide how much the surviving partner and dependants might need for ongoing financial commitments should one of you die during the policy term. You should then balance this with how long you need the life insurance for couples cover for. A cash sum could help with:

• Paying off your outstanding mortgage
• Household bills
• Day-to-day living expenses
• Raising your children
• Outstanding loans

For an idea of how much joint life insurance cover you may need, use our Life Insurance Calculator.

Before you apply

You should know that life insurance isn’t a savings or investment product and has no cash value unless a valid claim is made. It's your responsibility to make sure your joint life insurance policy is right for you, so if you need any advice then you should get in touch with a financial advisor.

Please read the Policy Booklet and Policy Summary [PDF 113KB] before you apply for couples life insurance.

Choosing the right policy

If you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness (with a life expectancy of less than 12 months), your partner may need financial support to help cope after you pass. This is why a joint life policy could be a suitable choice for couples.

There are two main types of couples life insurance policies to choose from – Level Life Insurance and Decreasing Life Insurance. Terminal Illness Cover is automatically included at no extra cost on policies with a term of two years or more.

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