Scottish Widows Life Insurance

Updated: Periodically. Details correct at the time of publication – October, 2007.

Scottish Widows was Scotland's first mutual life office formed in 1815. Now a part of the Lloyds TSB group the brand promises to deliver strong ethical values and good investment returns. Scottish Widows is a leading UK life insurance company, with a number of different life insurance policies on offer, including general life insurance (also known as 'Scottish Widows life assurance' or 'Scottish Widows term assurance'), and critical illness cover.

The general life insurance policy offered by Scottish Widows pays out a lump sum in the event of your death or if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. You can also add premium protection to your policy, which will make your payments in the event that you are unable to work due to an accident or sickness.

You can choose between level cover (benefit and premiums remain the same throughout the term), decreasing cover (benefit reduces each month and can be used with a loan or mortgage repayments) or increasing cover (the benefit automatically increases each year in line with the Retail Price Index). The increases can be to a maximum of 10%.

Scottish Widows' critical illness cover pays out a guaranteed cash sum if you are diagnosed with one of a range of critical illnesses during the term of the insurance policy. Children's critical illness cover is automatically included and you can choose to add premium protection.