LV= life insurance review

LV= keeps its range simple with just one life insurance product – term life insurance – plus an optional critical illness cover add-on.

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Ceri Stanaway

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3.9 ★★★★★ (279 reviews) Write a review

Who is LV=?

The insurer formerly known as Liverpool Victoria started out in 1843 as a burial society, whereby participants’ voluntary subscriptions were used to help pay for the funeral costs of members and their families. Now one of the UK’s biggest insurers, LV= may be better known for its car insurance, but still harks back to its original roots with its range of life insurance products.

What types of life insurance does LV= offer?

LV’s core product is its term life insurance, which pays out a lump sum to help pay the mortgage and other expenses if you die or get diagnosed with a terminal illness. You can add critical illness cover onto this to receive a payout if you become seriously, rather than terminally, ill.

LV= term life insurance

As the name suggests, term life insurance only covers you for a specified timeframe, so it’s not as pricey as whole of life insurance. It can be a good choice if, say, you want to provide a safety net for your little ones while they’re little, but don’t want to be left forking out for cover once they’ve flown the nest (and are hopefully earning enough to look after you in your dotage – sorry, we mean “golden years”).

LV= offers three types of term life insurance:

  1. Level term life insurance, where both your monthly payments and the cover amount stay the same
  2. Inflation-linked life insurance, where the cover amount increases in line with inflation. Your premium increases in line with inflation multiplied by 1.5
  3. Decreasing life insurance, where your payments stay the same but the level of cover decreases over time

LV= term life insurance with critical illness cover

While some insurers offer standalone critical illness cover, LV’s is only available in combination with its core life insurance policy. You can opt for level-term, inflation-linked or decreasing cover.

The critical illness add-on offers a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with one of more than 60 illnesses. For around two-thirds of these, LV= pays out the full amount, after which cover ends. The rest it dubs “additional payment” conditions – if you’re diagnosed with one of these less serious conditions, it’ll typically pay out between £12,500 and £25,000 (or a proportion of your cover, depending on which is lower), and you’ll retain your full level of cover.

With combined policies, if you choose the same level of cover for both life insurance and critical illness, you’ll only receive a payout for the first claim (so if you make a critical illness claim, you will no longer have life insurance cover). You can also choose a higher level of cover for life insurance, in which case if you claim for critical illness, you’ll still have some life insurance cover.

Compare LV= policies

1 - 2 of 2
Updated regularly
Name Product Age range at application Cover range Term Pays out Joint cover Link
LV= Term Life Insurance
LV= Term Life Insurance
17-79
N/A - there is no minimum or maximum
5 to 45 years
If you die or get a terminal illness and aren’t expected to live longer than 12 months
Yes - only pays out for the first member of a couple to become terminally ill or die.
LV= Term Life Insurance with Critical Illness Cover
LV= Term Life Insurance with Critical Illness Cover
17-64
N/A - there is no minimum or maximum
5 to 40 years
If you become critically ill and live for 14 days after diagnosis
Yes - only pays out in full once
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Benefits of LV= life insurance

  • Cover starts from just £5 a month, and LV= says that it paid 95% of life insurance claims in 2018.
  • LV= life insurance customers get access to additional benefits, including discounts on general insurance products and LV= Doctor Services, which offers app- or phone-based access to expert medical advice if you need it.
  • If you choose LV= term life insurance with critical illness cover, up to £25,000 of children’s critical illness cover is automatically included in your monthly premium.
  • For some critical illnesses, LV= offers “enhanced” cover. This pays either 150% or 200% of your cover limit (up to a cap of £200,000) for certain conditions that can have a particularly harsh impact on people’s lives.

    Drawbacks of LV= life insurance

    • LV’s Life protection policy only gets a 3-star Defaqto rating out of a maximum five stars.
    • Critical illness cover is only available if you also have a life insurance policy; many providers also offer it as a standalone option.
    • LV’s maximum age at application for life insurance is lower than some other providers, particularly if you want index-linked insurance.
    • As with most life insurance policies, if you stop paying your premiums, you won’t get any money back and your cover may stop

    LV= life insurance exclusions

    The specific exclusions will depend on which type of cover you take out, so you’ll need to check the policy documents carefully, but some key exclusions are:

    • As with all insurance, if you don’t answer questions truthfully when you apply, this might invalidate your cover.
    • LV= won’t pay a life insurance claim if you die as a result of suicide within the first 12 months of your policy.
    • You can’t claim under a terminal illness in the last 12 months of LV’s life insurance plan.
    • If you have the critical illness add-on, you’ll only be covered for the conditions named in the policy.

    LV= life insurance customer reviews

    LV= fared fairly well in the 2024 Finder customer satisfaction survey, with 80% of its customers in the survey saying they’d recommend the brand to a friend. Several mentioned that prices had initially been low but they were less happy about renewal prices. Many praised its service.

    One said: “Good all round, no problems, helpful when needed. Can actually speak to a person.”

    On the reviews platform Trustpilot, LV= overall has an “excellent” rating of 4.5 out of 5, based on around 70,000 reviews (last updated: March 2024).

    What’s the claims process for LV’s life insurance?

    You (or someone claiming on your behalf) can:

    • Call 0800 756 5869 (for TextDirect, dial 18001 0800 756 5869). Lines open 8.30am-6.30pm Monday to Friday.
    • Email healthclaims@lv.com
    • Write to LV= Claims Department, Emperor House, Grenadier Road, Exeter Business Park, Exeter, EX1 3LH

    You can help make an unpleasant task go as smoothly as possible by having important information to hand, including the policy number and either medical reports from a doctor or an original death certificate, depending on what you’re claiming for.

    Frequently asked questions

    Life insurance ratings

    ★★★★★ — Excellent
    ★★★★★ — Good
    ★★★★★ — Average
    ★★★★★ — Subpar
    ★★★★★ — Poor

    Finder scores, in blue, are based on our expert analysis. We also show reviews from users, where we've received more than 10, with a score in yellow. We gather more reviews from customers every year in Finder's customer satisfaction survey.

    To find out more, read our full methodology.

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