You can cancel an Aviva life insurance policy whenever you like, by phone, email or letter, but Aviva refunds premiums only if you cancel within the first 30 days. That rule is set out for the Life Insurance Plan, the term cover Aviva sells direct, and Aviva's Life Insurance+, Whole of Life Insurance+ and Simple Life papers repeat the same 30 days.

Wanting different cover from what your Aviva policy gives is a common reason to cancel. An FCA-authorised broker will talk you through what else exists, without charge, when you hand in the form on this page.

Which Aviva policy are you cancelling?

The name Aviva life insurance covers several products, and the paperwork that governs your cancellation depends on which you hold. Your policy schedule names it.

ProductWhere its cancellation terms are set out
Life Insurance Plan (level, increasing or decreasing cover), sold direct by AvivaPolicy summary and policy conditions
Life Insurance+Policy conditions
Whole of Life Insurance+Policy summary
Simple Life InsurancePolicy summary

Mortgage life insurance bought from Aviva direct is the Life Insurance Plan's decreasing cover: the summary describes the plan's decreasing cover as one that falls each month "broadly in line with a repayment loan, for example a mortgage". Cancelling that cover follows the Life Insurance Plan rules in this guide.

The over-50s plan is different, and its terms for stopping or cancelling sit in our Aviva over-50s guide. A policy first issued by AIG Life is now handled by Aviva, which AIG Life insurance: now with Aviva explains. If you cannot lay your hands on the paperwork, finding an Aviva life policy covers how to trace it.

What do you get back, and what do you lose, when you cancel?

Aviva's conditions for the Life Insurance Plan give the refund rule in two sentences: "You have a 30 day cooling off period to change your mind. If you cancel within this period, we’ll refund any premiums you’ve paid." The window opens on whichever comes later: the date Aviva confirms your start date or the date your documents reach you. If you do not cancel in that window, the conditions say the policy continues, and "You can still cancel after this period, but we won’t refund your premiums."

The policy summaries for Aviva's Whole of Life Insurance+ and Simple Life Insurance, and the Life Insurance+ conditions, give the same 30-day refund rule, so a refund after that point should not be expected on any of the products in the table above. Nothing else comes back either: the Life Insurance Plan summary states "The policy has no cash-in value at any time", and Aviva's Simple Life summary says it is not a policy you can "cash in" and that you get no money if you cancel it.

The bigger loss is the cover itself. The conditions state "If you cancel your policy, you won’t be able to make a claim." On the web page for the plan, Aviva adds that the policy "only pays out on a successful claim", which is why nothing is saved up for later. If you are ending the policy because of the cost, a broker can look at what replacement cover would involve before you decide, using the same form.

Is a missed Direct Debit the same as cancelling?

Not at first. In the Life Insurance Plan conditions, premiums are "payable monthly by Direct Debit", and Aviva gives you "60 days from each due date to pay your premium". Two details matter if you are behind:

  • If a claim is made during those 60 days, Aviva deducts the unpaid premium from any benefit it pays.
  • To collect an unpaid premium, Aviva will "only accept payment from a debit card", and you need to give it new bank account details so regular payments can carry on.

After that window the conditions are blunt: "If you don’t pay your premiums within the 60 day period, we’ll cancel your policy. If this happens, you won’t be able to make a claim." So a lapse ends up in the same place as a cancellation, without the conversation, and the 30-day refund is long gone by then. If you mean to end the policy, tell Aviva yourself, so that your wishes are on record.

Aviva's Life Insurance+ conditions give the same 60 days from each due date and cancel the policy once they pass. For a Whole of Life Insurance+ or Simple Life policy, a broker can go through what a missed payment means for it on the free call-back.

How do you reach Aviva to cancel?

Aviva's web page says that if you decide to cancel it will "make it as easy as possible" and that you contact it. The Life Insurance Plan policy summary lists the routes: phone on 0800 285 1098 (from outside the UK, +44 1603 603 479), email to directprot@aviva.com, or post. Calls may be monitored and will be recorded. For a letter, Aviva's life insurance page gives PO Box 520, Norwich NR1 3WG, addressed to Aviva Life, Norwich BCC. The Simple Life, Whole of Life Insurance+ and Life Insurance+ papers print the same phone number with a different email, protection@aviva.com; the rest of the range is in our Aviva life insurance overview. These details are printed in Aviva's own policy papers, so check them against the latest letter from Aviva before you ring or write.

MyAviva.co.uk is among the contact routes Aviva prints; for whether your policy can be closed online or needs a form, the broker who rings after you fill in this page's form can say how Aviva handles that, at no cost to you. Whichever route you take:

  • keep the date and time of your request, and the name of the person you spoke to;
  • ask for the cancellation to be confirmed in writing;
  • keep the Direct Debit running until Aviva has confirmed, in case the request has not gone through.

Switching, separating or mid-claim: when to hold off

Cancelling is simple; undoing it is not, because new cover is priced and accepted on today's age and health. If you are switching, it is usually safer to have the new policy confirmed in writing before the old one ends, so you are never uninsured. How to switch life insurance companies covers the order of steps.

A joint policy has its own route. If your Life Insurance Plan schedule shows a separation benefit, a couple can cancel the joint policy and each take out a new single policy without further health questions, but only if Aviva's conditions are met, among them: both policyholders agree to cancel, the new policy starts within 180 days of the separation, and the oldest person covered has not yet reached 55. The benefit applies only to policies accepted on standard terms and not placed under trust. Can one person cancel a joint policy looks at who can act alone, and a trust adds its own rules, in cancelling a policy in trust.

If a claim has already been made, do not cancel until you have spoken to Aviva; how long Aviva takes to pay out describes that process. For the wider picture on ending any policy, see what happens if you cancel life insurance.

Torn between ending your Aviva policy, swapping it or leaving it alone? A broker can weigh up all three with you on a short, free call that you set up through the form on this page.

Frequently asked questions

Does Aviva charge a cancellation fee?

On money, Aviva's terms deal only with refunds: premiums come back in the first 30 days and not after. If you wonder whether your own policy carries some further charge, put that to the broker during the free call.

When do my 30 days to change my mind start?

For the Life Insurance Plan, the clock starts at whichever is later: Aviva's confirmation of your start date, or the arrival of your documents. Your own welcome paperwork shows the dates that count.

Why might Aviva close my policy?

Three things can lead to it. Under the Life Insurance Plan conditions Aviva cancels if premiums are not paid within the 60 days. It may also cancel, refunding the premiums you have paid without interest, if information you gave was untrue or incomplete and would have affected its decision. If a life covered was outside Aviva's age limits when the policy began, the conditions say it cancels and refunds all premiums, again without interest.

Is it worth cancelling an old Aviva policy if the mortgage is paid off?

That depends on who else relies on the cover and what else you have in place. Do you need life insurance if your mortgage is paid off sets out the questions to weigh first.

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