What this site is for
Almost nobody wakes up wanting to buy life insurance. People arrive here because something more immediate is on their mind: a joint mortgage application, a diagnosis, a first baby, a parent's estate, a letter about sick pay running out. The questions are practical, and the honest answers are often uncomfortable.
So we answer the question first, in full, with the actual UK rules and the actual numbers. Only then do we explain the gap that is usually left, and what closing it would cost. If that is useful to you, there is a form. If it is not, the answer was still free and complete.
Who writes the guides
Our guides are researched, written and reviewed by the Before It Happens editorial team. We publish under the site's name rather than inventing a named expert, because on subjects like this a fabricated byline would be worth nothing to you.
What we do instead is show our working. Where a guide states a rate, a threshold, a waiting time or a statistic, it names the source and the date it applied — usually GOV.UK, the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Land Registry, NHS England, the Money and Pensions Service, or the Association of British Insurers. UK rates change most Aprils, and a figure without a date is not much use.
What we are not
We are not an insurer, an insurance broker, a solicitor or a financial adviser, and we are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Nothing on this site is personal financial, legal, tax or medical advice. It is general information about how things work in the UK.
That distinction matters. Whether a particular policy is right for you depends on your health, your debts, your dependants, your employer's benefits and your budget. That assessment has to be done by someone regulated to do it, who has actually spoken to you.
How we are paid
When you complete the quote form, we pass your enquiry to one selected FCA-authorised protection insurance broker, and we may be paid for that introduction. That is the whole business model, and we would rather state it plainly here than bury it in the small print.
Two things follow from it, and we hold ourselves to both. Being paid for introductions never changes what a guide says: we do not soften the answer to make cover look more necessary than it is, and we tell you when the honest answer is that you probably do not need to do anything. And the broker, not us, is responsible for any advice you receive. It will tell you which insurers it can compare, whether it charges a fee, and how it is paid.
What we will never do
- Quote you a premium. Only an insurer can price your actual circumstances.
- Tell you that you will be accepted, or that a claim will be paid.
- Rank insurers as "best" when the right answer depends entirely on you.
- Sell your details on. Your enquiry goes to one broker, for your quotes.
Corrections
If a guide is wrong, out of date, or missing something that matters, tell us and we will fix it. Use the contact page and quote the page address. We would rather be corrected than confidently wrong on a subject where being wrong costs people money.