Cover amount
The amount you want to leave your loved ones if you die, or the amount you want to receive if you become terminally or critically ill1.
Life insurance FAQs
Your questions answered
If you have questions about life insurance, take a look at our frequently asked questions – you'll also find definitions of commonly used terms and phrases.
Product terms
Policy duration (or term)
The length of time for which you, the policy holder, are covered if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal or critical illness1.
Terminal illness
Being diagnosed with a terminal illness that's expected lead to death with 12 months. This is determined by your hospital and verified by our medical team.
Monthly premium
The amount of money you pay every month. This is based on your personal circumstances (assessed during application), your cover amount and how long you want to be covered for. Your monthly payments will stay the same throughout the duration of the policy – unless you make any changes.
Process terms
Quick quote
The initial price based on your date of birth, whether you smoke, and a combination of duration and cover amount or monthly price. A quick quote is part of the process for Barclays Simple Life Insurance. It gives an early indication of the cost of life insurance for your specific needs. Around 80% of people get the same price after applying.
Changing your policy
Your circumstances may change after you’ve bought your policy. You can increase your amount cover without re-applying. Eligibility criteria and restrictions apply.
Underwriting
The process of evaluating an insurance application. This involves working out your risk of death or terminal or critical illness1 by reviewing your medical information and lifestyle, and taking your age into consideration. Based on this information, the underwriter determines if you qualify for life insurance and, if so, how much you'd pay for it.
Frequently asked questions
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You must be a UK resident and at least 18 years old.
The maximum age for buying a policy is 64.
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Our life insurance premiums can cost as little as £6 per month – that's the equivalent to 20p a day. Your individual premium will depend on your own needs and circumstances.
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It depends on your individual circumstances. You may want to think about leaving a lump sum to your dependents or help clear an outstanding mortgage if you die. If you'd like more help, try our cover calculator.
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You can add Critical Illness Cover (CIC) to your mortgage protection policy at an extra cost. You can't add CIC to Barclays Simple Life Insurance.
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Yes. Putting your plan in trust can help to make sure that the right people get the policy proceeds if there’s a claim. It can also help to reduce Inheritance Tax, and a payout when the policy is in trust is generally quicker than one when a grant of probate is needed. It's a good idea to put your policy in trust at the outset, but you can do so at any time. Please contact Legal & General for further information about their trust service using the details below:
Legal and General - Trust Information
If you have any questions or need more information, call the Legal and General helpdesk on 0370 010 4080 2 Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6pm and Saturday, 9am to 1pm.
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Yes, you can cancel your policy at any point throughout its lifetime. If you cancel within 30 days from the start of the policy, we'll return any premium you've paid. If you cancel after 30 days, you won't get back any of the payments you've already made, but you won't need to make any future payments.
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We'll give an indicative price based on a number of things, including your age, amount of cover needed, length of term, whether you're taking out a single life or a joint policy and whether you smoke. To finalise the price, we'll also ask more detailed questions about your health and lifestyle and the premium could rise based on your answers. In some cases, we might ask for information from your doctor. When we have all the details we need, we'll set a start date for the policy – this could be the same date as your mortgage starts.
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The cost of life insurance is affected by lots of things, including your health, age and whether you smoke. One of the key drivers is the rates of death and sickness over the duration of the policy.
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If you move abroad during the policy, it might be affected – check the Policy Booklet for more information (Barclays Simple Life Insurance Policy Booklet [PDF, 281KB]3) , or Life Insurance for Mortgage Holders Policy Booklet [PDF, 297KB]3 .
