Is Royal London The Best Life Insurance Policy?

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Alexandre Desoutter updated on July 29, 2020

This is the ultimate review to guide you through the ins and outs of Royal London life insurance. You might already know that Royal London has several different contract options.

Some are great. Some are less useful. Some are simply too expensive.

So, if you want to get better value for money from your insurance contract, as well as indicative quotes and tips to lower your insurance premium, then you’ll probably love the following article.

Let’s dive right in!

Is Royal London the best life insurance for you?

When taking out life insurance, there are so many things to think about. Life insurance is one of the most important insurance plans to have, as it is the best way to protect your loved ones if something happens to you.

Royal London life insurance has a lot to offer. Here are the main points that you should look at before taking out life insurance with Royal London .

4 Safe overall rating for Royal London

Rating CriteriaSafe RatingOur Review
Customer service satisfaction, claims and support

4.0/5 rating on TrustPilot
5 star rating on Defaqto
Royal London was rated 4.7/5 for customer experience, and 4.8/5 as a product rating on the Feefo website
No live chat or live bot option

Coverage options

Royal London offers a special Over 50s cover
There is a wide range of optional extras to pick from
With Royal London, you can pick between level or decreasing cover
The Critical Illness Cover provides cover for up to 64 medical conditions
Whole-of-life cover is not provided

Value for money

Cover options can be gotten for as low as £7 per month
Cover of £500,000 is offered for both the life term and decreasing cover
The over 50's insurance can be gotten for as low as £3.95 per month

Financial strength

Royal London is the UK's largest mutual life and pensions company offering a range of life insurance policies.

Apps and technologies

Quotations can be gotten online
Support is offered through the Helping Hands Platform
No livebot or chatbot option
Claims cannot be taken out online
No use of technological advancements like mobile app

Safe rating for Royal London Life insurance

Expert and customer satisfaction reviews for Royal London

Review organisationConsumer satisfaction rates for Royal London Life insurance
Trustpilot4,0/5
Defaqto2
Experts rating for Royal London

Royal London insurance in a nutshell

In summary, here are the main features you need to know when taking out life insurance with Royal London .

CriteriaRoyal London details
Minimum age18 years
Maximum age 70 years
Pay-outUp to £500,000
Life insurance with free giftsNo
Extras

No

Terminal illnessYes
Royal London life insurance in a nutshell

What are Royal London life insurance policy types?

When choosing life insurance, you have to make a lot of important decisions. You have to choose between different policy types to find which one would best cover your needs. As the first big choice, you have to choose between:

  • Term life insurance. Term insurance splits into two types: level term or decreasing insurance. If you choose a term insurance, once again you would have to choose between these two. Sometimes, there is an increasing term insurance option.
  • Whole of life insurance. This insurance will pay out when the policyholders die. Not all insurers offer this type of coverage.

What is Royal London term life insurance?

There are two term life insurance options:

  • Level cover guarantees that your loved ones get a payment if you die during a specific period of time. You will receive the same amount during a fixed period. Life insurance can be for 5,10, 20 years, etc., depending on your needs.
  • Decreasing cover guarantees that your loved ones get a payment if you die during a specific period of time. The amount decreases over the policy term. It is really useful if you have a loan, as the price tends to decline over time. You can choose an increasing cover as well.
CriteriaRoyal London life insurance
Minimum term5 years
Maximum term50 years
Pay-outUp to £500,000
Minimum monthly premium£7
Extras or any interesting facts

No

Royal London term life insurance

Should you take level or decreasing term life insurance?

Royal London offers two types of term life insurance: one is level life insurance, the other one is decreasing life insurance.

CriteriaProvider Details
Royal London term life insurance (level)
  • Royal London provides life insurance for people between 18 and 17 years old
  • Cover is available for as little as £7 a month
  • Up to £500,000 is provided as cover
  • Free terminal illness cover is provided
    -There is an option to include the Critical Illness cover to an already existing insurance policy
Royal London decreasing term life insurance, also known as life insurance for mortgage

The Decreasing cover that Royal London offers provides the following:

  • Fixed monthly payments
  • Free Terminal Illness Cover
  • Easy online application
  • Cover for just £7 a month which amounts to 23p a day
  • The decreasing cover is designed to reduce every month in line with a capital and interest repayment mortgage that has a fixed interest rate of 7%
Level or decreasing life insurance

Some providers also propose increasing life insurance, which is a similar concept as decreasing life insurance, but with the premiums getting higher rather than lower.

Royal London does not offer Increasing cover

Can you take out a Royal London plan life insurance with someone else?

Yes, you can either have a single or a joint policy at Royal London .

Taking out a joint policy covers two people that are together under the same policy. In the end, it is cheaper than two single policies. It covers both of your contributions to the family. It only pays out once, and the sum will be given to the other partner if one dies. It leaves the surviving member of the couple without life insurance after the death of the first partner.

Taking out a single policy pays for one person only. It pays out the amount chosen. Taking out two policies is more expensive, but you can choose the level you want, and it’s beneficial if the two partners don’t need to be insured at the same level.

What are Royal London life insurance extras?

You can add these extras at additional cost to your Royal London life insurance:

Details Reviews
Helping Hands Service

This is a service that gives the policyholder access to a dedicated nurse in the case of an illness, injury or bereavement during the term of the plan.

Waiver of premium

This separated into two optional parts; for sickness and unemployment. This allows the policyholder pick which to add to their insurance policy.

The Co-operative Legal Services

With this service, legal advice can be provided with ease to policyholders.

Serious illness benefit option

With this benefit, extra life insurance protection is provided for the policyholder and his/her children provided that they are above 30 days old.

Funeral Plans

Royal London proposes prepaid Funeral Plans

Royal London life insurance extras

Should you take out Royal London life insurance critical illness cover?

What is critical illness cover?

It is an extra that can be added to your policy, or can be combined with your standard life insurance. It pays out if you contract a disease. The illness developed must be specified in your policy contract. The most common illnesses covered are cancer and heart attacks, etc. If you become really ill, your insurance will pay out exactly as if you’ve passed away.

Is Royal London the best critical illness cover?

Here are the main features when you take out Royal London life insurance with serious illness:

CriteriaOverall life insurance and critical illness cover
Coverage

The Serious illness cover that Royal London provides up to £350,000 depending on your age and it offers the following:

  • Children's Critical Illness cover for children aged 30 days to 21 years.
  • Cover is provided for up to 64 critical conditions.
  • Optional Critical Illness cover is provided.
Children's Cover
  • The children cover provided by Royal London is valid for children between 30 days old and 21 years old.
  • This cover provides up to £25,000 or 50% of the amount of cover in the case that the child is diagnosed with one of the critical conditions.
What should you know about Royal London critical illness cover?

Royal London paid up to £174m in life and terminal illness claims in 2018.

Royal London life insurance

How much is Royal London life insurance?

The big question is knowing how much life insurance you’ll need. Your answer to this question (as well as your age) will mainly determine the price of your life insurance:

However, your life insurance price will also depend on several factors:

  • Your medical conditions
  • Whether or not you are a smoker
  • Which add-ons you add to your life insurance
  • Your salary
  • The coverage you want
  • Whether you take out a joint policy or not

So you must ask yourself the relevant questions for your own situation, for example: Do you have a loan? Do you have savings? Do you have debts? Do you have a family? Does your job offer protection?

How to contact Royal London life insurance?

Here are all the important phone numbers for contacting Royal London life insurance:

ServicePhone NumbersOpening Hours
Get a quote at Royal London 0800 032 7781 Mon to Fri: 8am-7pm
Sat: 9am-5pm
Sun: 10am-4pm
How to claim at Royal London 0345 6094 500Mon to Fri: 8am-7pm
Sat: 9am-5pm
Sun: 10am-4pm
How to cancel at Royal London

0345 600 7788

Mon to Fri: 8am-7pm
Sat: 9am-5pm
Sun: 10am-4pm
Royal London phone numbers

What are Royal London general contact details?

You will find in this table all the general contacts that you would need if you want to reach Royal London life insurance:

General contacts
Mailing address

Gracechurch Street 55
EC3V
London
United Kingdom

Social media

Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube

Chatbot

No

Royal London general contacts

scottish widows life insurance contact number

How to claim at Royal London life insurance?

You will find on this table the different possibilities for reporting a claim on your Royal London life insurance:

How to claim on your life insurance at Royal London ?
When to claim?

As soon as possible

Claim by mail

Customer Services
PO Box 409
Royal London House
Alderley Road
Wilmslow
SK9 0EG

Claim by emailNot Available
Claim online

Not Available

Claim by phone0345 6094 500
Claim at Royal London life insurance

Here are all the important Royal London life insurance contact number!

How to cancel my Royal London life insurance?

You will find on this table the different ways to cancel your Royal London life insurance:

How to cancel your life insurance at Royal London
Fees
  • If you cancel within 30 days the premium paid would be refunded fully
  • If the cancellation is done after 30 days, no refunds would be made
Cancel by mail

Customer Services
PO Box 409
Royal London House Alderley Road
Wilmslow
SK9 0EG 10

Cancel by email

[email protected]

Cancel onlineNot Available
Cancel by phone

Not Available

How to cancel my Royal London life insurance?

How do I get Royal London life insurance quotes?

Here are the different ways to get a life insurance quote at Royal London :

How to get a life insurance quote at Royal London
Quote online
  • On the Home Page, Click on the "Get a free quote" option
Quote phone0800 032 7781
Get a quote at Royal London

How do I log into Royal London life insurance?

There is no Login option

Do we recommend Royal London life insurance?

Royal London is one of the largest life insurance and pensions companies in the UK. It was founded in 1861 and has been in operation for more than 150 years.
The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Ltd is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority and this makes them able to pay out claims easily. Royal London offers two levels of life insurance policy, and also cover for policyholders over 50. They also offer optional extras like Family Income Benefit, Waiver of Premium. Legal services and the Helping Hand services are also provided to help policyholders. They have a poor rating of 2 stars on Defaqto and a 4 star rating on TrustPilot. Their services are recommended.

What is life insurance? 

Life insurance is a contract between an insurance company and the policyholder. In exchange for an annual or monthly premium, the insurance company agrees to give out to a designated beneficiary a lump sum if the policyholder were to pass away. 

Is life insurance worth getting?

Yes, it is worth getting life insurance when people depend on you financially, like your family.

How much is life insurance in the UK? 

How much life insurance in the UK is depends on a lot of factors. However, with our data, we calculate that the average monthly cost of life insurance is £15. Of course, the price will depend on whether you take out joint or single life insurance, and the term of your insurance if you are not taking out  a whole life insurance policy. 

How does life insurance work in the UK?

Like with other types of insurance, it is a standard procedure: the policyholder pays a premium to a provider, with an agreed level of cover. 

What are the best life insurance with free gifts?

Lots of life insurance providers offer free gifts: 
- Royal London
- Legal & General
- Aviva
- Shepherds Friendly 
- OneFamily 
- British Seniors Insurance Agency

What is the best life insurance in UK?

There are lot of life insurance policy that have interesting features. Depending on these features, you can decide if this life insurance suits you. 
To find what is the best life insurance for you, use our tool to compare prices and offers from all the insurers on the market instantly.  

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Alexandre Desoutter
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Alexandre Desoutter has been working as editor-in-chief and head of press relations at HelloSafe since June 2020. A graduate of Sciences Po Grenoble, he worked as a journalist for several years in French media, and continues to collaborate as a as a contributor to several publications.

In this sense, his role leads him to carry out steering and support work with all HelloSafe editors and contributors so that the editorial line defined by the company is fully respected. and declined through the texts published daily on our platforms.

As such, Alexandre is responsible for implementing and maintaining the strictest journalistic standards within the HelloSafe editorial staff, in order to guarantee the most accurate, up-to-date information on our platforms. and expert as possible. Alexandre has in particular undertaken for two years now the implementation of a system of systematic double-checking of all the articles published within the HelloSafe ecosystem, able to guarantee the highest quality of information.