Guaranteed acceptance life insurance

Not exactly. Guaranteed life insurance is a type of whole-of-life policy. However, insurers can underwrite whole of life policies in different ways. Some require medical questions or health checks, while others don’t. But guaranteed life insurance always offers guaranteed acceptance without any medical questions or exams. It’s most commonly marketed as over-50s life insurance.

Whole-of-life insurance is also called life assurance. This type of policy covers you for your entire life and pays out whenever you die, as long as you keep up with your premiums.

Put simply:

• All guaranteed life insurance is whole-of-life cover

• But not all whole-of-life insurance is guaranteed — some involve full or simplified medical underwriting

While guaranteed life insurance offers a set payout whenever you die, there are some caveats.

Usually, these are:

• You must pay your premium on time every month or year

• You must have been honest on your application (for example, if you said you were a UK resident but live abroad, your policy could be voided)

There are also some causes of death that may be exempt or which come with a waiting period before they will be eligible for a payout. These include:

• Death from ill health (as opposed to an accident)

• Death from suicide

• Death from risky behaviour, such as extreme sports or illegal activity

Waiting periods are usually 12-24 months and your beneficiary will generally receive the amount you’ve paid in premiums back, but no lump sum payout.

Yes, you can put a guaranteed life insurance policy in trust.

This stops it being considered part of your estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes. It is worth doing if the value of your estate is likely to exceed the IHT threshold, which is £325,000 as of 2025.

The maximum age to take out guaranteed life insurance is usually between 80 and 85, depending on the insurer. Some providers stop new applications at 75 or 80, while a few accept applicants up to 85.

No, you don’t need a medical exam to take out guaranteed life insurance.

This is why this type of cover is popular with people who might otherwise struggle to get a policy – usually due to pre-existing health conditions.

Not having to have a medical exam also means you can take out a guaranteed life insurance policy within minutes, as there’s no need to wait for the test results to come in.

No, most guaranteed life insurance policies in the UK don’t build a cash value. They’re designed to pay a fixed lump sum when you die, not to provide an investment or savings element.

Here’s what that means:

• You pay regular premiums for life, and when you die, your loved ones receive the agreed payout.

• If you stop paying your premiums, the policy usually ends and you won’t get any money back.

• The payout amount is fixed at the start of the policy and doesn’t grow over time, so inflation may reduce its real value.

Some older or specialist whole-of-life assurance policies do include an investment element (sometimes called with-profits), meaning they can build a small cash value you can access while alive, but this isn’t typical for guaranteed life insurance.

In short: guaranteed life insurance is protection, not a savings or investment product.

Yes, you can cancel a guaranteed life insurance policy at any time. But you will lose your cover and won't get a refund on the premiums you've paid, unless you cancel within the cooling-off period (usually the first 30 days.

If you’re thinking about cancelling because your circumstances have changed, it’s worth checking whether adjusting your cover or switching policy type could meet your needs without losing what you’ve already paid.